

I genuinely believe that more empathy is needed in both directions for people to come out of their trenches. Problem is, it"s hard to feel empathy for those who have no empathy in return. It’s a locked position reinforcing itself with every bad interaction. To break out of this we would have to listen and show that we care, while not getting the same things back. It feels bad. Unfair. Again, this goes both ways.
I had a similar bruise from a less-lethal bullet on my butt, and I’ve seen a kid get hit with one in his head, that was scary. This was a long time ago though, but the bullets then were steel core and rubber around it. Not sure if they use different ones in the US.