How You Can Become the Religious Persecutor Without Realizing It
Brian Sankarsingh thinks about becoming a villian
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"You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain" Harvey Dent
It's easy to think that if you've suffered for your beliefs, you'd never turn around and do the same to someone else. But history and personal experience suggests otherwise. Being persecuted doesn’t make you immune to becoming a persecutor. In some cases, it increases the risk.
You may carry deep wounds from past injustice. That pain can harden into a sense of righteousness. You know how it feels to be silenced, excluded, or punished. That memory can push you to protect your beliefs with extra force. And sometimes, that force spills over.
You might justify shutting others down because your group was once silenced. You might think it’s different because your cause is “right” or “true.” But if you're trying to control or punish someone else for believing differently, you're doing what was once done to you.
History offers a vivid example in Emperor Nero’s persecution of Christians. In 64 CE, after a massive fire destroyed much of Rome, Nero blamed the Christians—an already unpopular and misunderstood group. He used them as scapegoats. The punishment was brutal. Christians were tortured, burned alive, and fed to wild animals. Nero framed it as a defense of Roman values, but it was raw persecution.
Later, as Christianity grew and gained power, some Christian leaders did the same to others. They punished pagans, Jews, heretics—people with different views. The persecuted had become the persecutors. Not all did, but enough to make it part of the historical record. What started as a movement for peace and mercy often turned into one that controlled belief through fear. In fact the neo-Christians in America are even having conversations about how empathy is actually sinful.
This pattern shows up repeatedly:
A group gains freedom after years of repression.
It builds strength, structure, and influence.
Then it starts guarding that influence by excluding or shaming outsiders.
The switch can be subtle. You may not call it persecution. You may call it protecting truth, preserving values, or maintaining unity. But the effect is the same—someone gets pushed out, punished, or made to feel unsafe because of their beliefs.
There’s also the fear factor. If you’ve been hurt before, you might react strongly to anything that looks like a threat. Even small differences can feel dangerous. That fear can make you clamp down on others just to feel safe.
So how do you avoid becoming the persecutor?
Stay aware. Ask yourself:
Am I listening to people who disagree with me?
Am I making space for others to believe differently?
Am I treating them the way I wish I had been treated?
Your past gives you a powerful perspective. It can help you build bridges, not walls. But only if you keep your eyes open and your guard down. You don’t have to repeat the cycle. You can break it.
PRAY Pray that you never live so long That you become the thing you hate most Pray that you never go so wrong That you feel you’re beyond reproach Pray that the people who are with you Never see what you have become Pray that as your sins accrue Your heart doesn’t go numb Pray that your conscience awakens That your heart is opened once more Pray that your faith is unbroken And you don’t become something you abhor Pray that the “monsters” you fight Don’t turn around and fight back Pray that your “heavenly birthright” Can keep you on track Pray that you live what you say you believe Pray that you’ll find absolution Pray that you are never deceived Or have others pray for your destruction
Bio: Brian Sankarsingh is a poetic firebrand, a sharp, thoughtful storyteller who walks the crossroads where Caribbean folklore, social justice, and the human condition collide. He is a truth-seeker who questions political tribes, challenges lazy platitudes, and writes with a deep pulse of empathy, always pushing for nuance whether you're exploring grief, cultural identity, or the monsters that haunt cane fields and hearts alike. He blends advocacy and art seamlessly. He is part historian, part philosopher, part bard, driven by a hunger to illuminate overlooked stories and empower marginalized voices.
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