"To violate is the secret of eroticism. On any scale, eroticism is the domain of violence, of violation."
- Georges Bataille
Somewhere in my mind, this quote made a connection with the way a certain group of friends seems to work. They all make fun of one another using shock value to elicit the largest reaction from someone; they violate everyone else's senses of sexual tension, moral taboos, personal naïveté, etc. They enjoy verbally violating one another to a disturbing dergee. Most of the time, it is amusing, and everyone has a great time, although it can be cruel to an extent. When it becomes too cruel, the purpetrators more often than not don't feel bad for saying what has been said. This violence seems to be a cleansing of bad feelings, which were often caused in the first place by remarks the other person has said. Hang-ups that are not addressed in caring conversation or explicit talks are exacerbated by their callous treatment when they do appear, or friends blatantly ignoring the pain of other friends. This is not true friendship, but a society of people who use one another in mutually selfish ways. The only people who get hurt are those who still have a conscience, a heart, or a soul after running the gauntlet a few times. It's not necessarily good that some people can never be hurt, having lost those three things in the process.