Mount Karma

Two nights ago, I had a long talk with one of the best fag hags a homo could ever know. We lean on each other in good times, and just a little bit harder in bad times. However a conversation should start between us, it always seems to make us feel a little better when we hang up.

This particular conversation had an interesting twist. First, she asked me if I believed in karma. Then, a sudden gush of fresh, straight-up truth flowed from her lips. She is frustrated and angry that the man that wronged her seems to never get what's coming to him. Everything always goes his way, and he never ever seems to have anything go wrong. She stopped just short of wishing wrong upon him.

Now, I've had my share of men that did not-so-good things... and the pain was so unbearable at times. I was often frustrated in the same way, in that the person inflicting the damage always seemed to land on his feet. So, in this respect, I can totally relate to her. But, as for the question of whether the Black Man Next Door believes in karma, the answer is still yes -- but after pondering about 'karma', I now have a different outlook on how it actually works.

I don't think that just by doing one bad thing that one equally bad thing will automatically happen in return. Let's face it. You can do all the good in the world and still have something bad happen to you. In contrast, you can slit the throats of every child, rape every man and woman, and drive a truck bomb into a building -- and STILL win the lottery.

So, my view on karma is this. I think of it much like a volcano. Different volcanoes take varying amounts of pressure and time to erupt, much like karma. Some volcanoes ooze, others blow their tops in violent eruptions.... randomly and unpredictably. Good or bad karma can erupt into one gargantuan explosion of positive or negative events. Or, it may ooze out a multitude of smaller positive/negative events over a longer period of time. So, theoretically, a person's Mt. Karma could still be oozing good karma from things they did years ago, which explains why they got a promotion the very next morning after they hurled a Molotov Cocktail through your front window.

But what my treasured fag hag ultimately came to accept is that eventually, like volcanoes -- it's not a matter of if... it's a matter of when. Eventually, her tormentor's Mt. Karma will erupt - and for her sake, I hope she's not near it when that happens.