RIDE:

RIDE.

HITCHHIKER: I don’t know, man. I’ve done a lot for all the wrong people.

DRIVER: Well: who are you to say that they were wrong?

HITCHHIKER: [Pause.] What do you mean?

DRIVER: I mean: you shouldn’t arbitrate the “wrong” people from the “right” people. If you find yourself having to do a lot for someone, it is all because that person is in need. But you’ll rarely know WHY that is. I mean: yeah. Sometimes the pain is self-inflicted. Then you’d better stay away from that guy, whoever he is, because he might inflict that pain on you as well. And being hurt is no excuse to inflict pain.

HITCHHIKER: Right.

DRIVER: But you mustn’t forget: sometimes when people suffer they have trouble seeing YOUR pain through their own. And if their suffering is self-inflicted, fine: then fuck them. But if they were really taken advantage of, you have to just heal them. Don’t think of yourself. Don’t worry if it hurts. They are not hurting YOU. It’s natural to feel a friend’s pain; that is evidence that Healing is going well. If you put yourself before that, you are part of the Injustice. And then you’d do better to ask yourself: am *I* the right person? Or the wrong one? If I find myself doing these things for someone who’s in need, and they are not enough, maybe I’m just not right for the job.

HITCHHIKER: But what if that person did it to himself?

DRIVER: You’d know if he was guilty, because you would not suffer alone. Those people tend to hurt plenty of people. And they do it all at once. You suffer then because you see an other suffer. It’s not just your own prejudices that are upset. They try to isolate you and make you FEEL that way. No: your very Being is upset, because you have to watch someone you CARE about get hurt. Now THAT’S the worst.

[Pause.]

HITCHHIKER: So if someone hurts me, but he was hurt to begin with…

DRIVER: So long as he was innocent, you have NO Right to complain. If you’re his friend, you bear that burden. It would be the very Height of Arrogance and Narcissism to add insult to his injury by leveling with him and by identifying him with his oppressors. After all: he’s got enough to worry about. You are only taking advantage of him and his sorrow if you offer him the hand of friendship and withdraw it when he shies away from you. Healing takes time, and sometimes it takes solitude. So long as he’s not hurting someone that you love, setting an example you can’t follow, or using his suffering as an excuse – and Healing is not an excuse; it is a reason – then you should be putting him first. If he’s innocent, then…

HITCHHIKER: But how can I KNOW he’s innocent?

DRIVER: You can’t. You can only know if he is guilty. If you don’t know, then presume upon the best.

HITCHHIKER: But what if he’s GUILTY?

DRIVER: Then ensure that you are innocent. Give him the benefit of the doubt. And don’t use his suffering against him. Most probably he has had enough people who’ve tried to do that. He’s not going to be fooled. And you have no excuse to be upset.

[Pause.]

HITCHHIKER: Thank you for the ride.

DRIVER: I could tell you needed it.

Dm.A.A.