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The system protects itself

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By River and Celia in Underland Published about 19 hours ago • 1 min read
Top Story - March 2026
Shark, 2018

Cheats prevail.

Children are taught otherwise, of course.

Teachers share-

Fairy-tales at circle time

About virtue winning through.

But fraudsters and bullies learned early

That the system protects itself

From the inside out.

The perpetrator is protected

While the wounded

Are silenced

Blamed.

By boys raised as heroes

In a society that elevates them

Not for talent or skill

But the privilege

They refuse to acknowledge.

Because they are the only victims.

In the myths.

We hold.

So dear.

social commentary

About the Creator

River and Celia in Underland

Mad-hap shenanigans, scrawlings, art and stuff ;)

Poetry Collection, Is this All We Get?

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Comments (4)

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  • Phoebe Nhyira Kwapong-Anyan 19 minutes ago

    This is so much on point

  • Powerful and relative to all I feel who have been bullied. I'm reading "Split Tooth" by Tanya Tagaq where there is generational bullying in a small Arctic town. I want to cry. Good luck in the challenge!

  • That is so true, those who shout the loudest or bully others are allowed to prevail

  • Sam Spinelliabout 19 hours ago

    Excellent. Short but not lacking. Accurate and honest insights, and a worthwhile social critique. Men, especially straight white ones, are raised to think we owe the world nothing but deserve it all. And then when we hear talk about closing the wage gap, or doing anything to make things more fair and equitable we act like we’ve somehow earned the lead we were given and that anything that levels the field would be unfair to us. Being okay with the status quo is itself a deep ethical failing.

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