Weakness is provocative

To sociopaths, weakness is provocative. If you are weak, they'd have to be stupid to NOT take advantage of that.

To sociopaths (the power hungry, authoritarians, and the far left), weakness is provocative. If you give up control, or show a lack of determination, then a sociopath thinks they'd have to be stupid to NOT take advantage of that. It's another way of saying, "nature abhors a vacuum"... in this case a power vacuum.

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~ Aristotle Sabouni
Created: 2020-05-30

"Weakness is provocative" is sometimes attributed to Trent Franks (R) American Politician from the 1980's.
Don Rumsfeld used it in speeches in 1977 and 2006.
Fritz Kraemer used "provocative weakness" in the 1940's. But the idea goes back much older than that.

All intelligent diplomats understand that your currency (what you value) isn't what matters in negotiations, it's what the other guy values.

If the other guy wants power/control, then the less the costs of taking it by force, the more likely they are to do it... because they can. And conversely, the higher the costs, the less likely they are to do it. This is fundamental human nature. Some kids will lie, cheat or steal to get what they want... and politicians/leaders of nations are just big children. So without consequences, the worst things imaginable will happen.

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We need to agree on what terms mean. This used to be easy, before SJW's/Marxists started Orwelling our language.

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