Sins Like Badges

I know I'm certainly at fault for doing this: you're around a group of people and you all start talking and sharing life experiences. Then, the conversation slowly eases into a competition of who has transgressed the most against the common moral standards of the entire group.

This is not a terrible thing. If you consider that someone who has lived through various experiences knows the pitfalls of certain behavior, then this person's anecdotes of worldly dealings can help the group, at large, agree that damaging behavior has too many drawbacks.

However, there are those who try to one-up everyone, wearing their "sins" like badges, as though that gives them the edge over everyone else in the group.

This is where the two camps, regardless of moral standards, begin to fork on the conversational path. The people who have actually learned from damaging behavior and have become wise through those experiences tend to be quiet and reflective. Those who believe their actions against the established moral code have set them above the group, however, begin to compete as though their behavior has earned them the right of authority over the conversation.

My solution with these people is simply to kick them in the knees until they buckle over, whimpering in pain all the way down.

I didn't say it was a good solution, I just said it was simple. And, believe me, at the right angle of impact, it would work 100% of the time.