Every act of indignity can be traced to a prior indignity, but it’s rarely possible to identify the first link in the chain. So we have to start, not with the first indignity, but with the most recent one, and work backward until we’ve identified as many precursors as possible. Then, we survey the entire sequence, from initial acts of brigandage to indentured servitude to the form indignity takes today—subsistence labor maintained by chronic poverty—and acknowledge the lot, without blame or guilt.
Like in feuds like the Hatfields and McCoys
