You wake up today — hungry, tired, still the same old shit. It never feels like you got quite enough rest. Now you have to do things you’d rather not do. Maybe you think of your younger days sometimes, when things were easier. No matter, that’s not how your life is now. You do what you’ve gotta do.

But things just got tougher. See, recently you’ve been lucky to live in relative isolation, at the end of a row of homes with no neighbor next door. But when you look over today, you see someone new moving in. And you really, really don’t like the look of him. He looks rough. Mean. Not like you. You can tell he’s the sort who picks fights for fun. Maybe it’s just because he feels threatened about his own inadequacy. But you know his type — you’ve been hurt by them before.

As time rolls on, you live your life the best you can, but you keep a close eye on him. You see him a lot in his yard, preparing — training for something. You have a sinking suspicion in your gut that it’s going to be truly dangerous to someone — innocent people, maybe even you or someone you care about.

Your neighbor has become an existential threat. Any hope of appealing to the authorities vanished when you saw them hanging around him, acting buddy-buddy, grilling up meat and laughing at his violent hobbies. It sure seems like you’re on your own.

So now it’s up to you. You need to make a plan. The day may come very soon that you are face-to-face with this threat, and you need to be prepared.

How will you handle it? Seriously, take some time to think about it and make a plan. Your life could depend on it.

All done?

…

Oh, there’s one thing I forgot to mention.

Your neighbor? It’s this mean dude right here (NSFW).

And this is you (also NSFW).

You don’t deserve this, do you? You don’t deserve what they’ve put you through.

And maybe he doesn’t either. But he’s still a threat.

Let’s revisit your plan, now. Is it still gonna work? If it’s well-formulated, it might. You might just save your life from this menace.

But what’s going to happen next? Once this threat is neutralized, someone’s going to take his place. What will you do about that guy? One of these days you might just lose the fight.

And although it’s true you have the right to fight to save your life from an existential threat, it still seems like something is — well, somehow wrong, doesn’t it? After all, from your opponent’s perspective, you seem like the existential threat. And they’re just fighting for their own lives. Sure, you know that’s not true — you know you’d rather not fight, that if he gave up first you’d stand down too. Well, maybe you would. But would you stand down first, when he’s still aggressive and poised to attack? Would that save you when his owner is whipping him from behind, egging him on?

When the common man is fighting with each other, it’s time to turn and look at the masters who profit from the fight. Who is the one making money off your suffering? Who is the one telling you that the guy next door is your enemy? What do they get out of shoving you in the ring together? Who are the ones laughing and filming as you punch each other in the face?

What gives them the right to do this to you?

Identify your masters. Then find your strength in numbers.