My problem with the "revenge bad" thing is more about the preaching and all the healing shit. Successfully getting revenge can also be very healing. It's probably worse for your mental health to run away with your tail between your legs (prentending that you are taking the high road) than it is to make some immoral choices to have your revenge.
My personal take on revenge is always about the cost towards achieving it. If you have nothing to lose, then you are not going to care about consequences and you are okay with going scorched earth. But if you have something to lose, then you have to ask yourself if revenge is worth it.
Many people think the "Living well is the best revenge" thing is a bunch of bs. But I tend to look at it from a utilitarian rather than a moralistic point of view. If your life is amazing, it is easier to move on because why would you risk your amazing life to punish people who weren't even successful at keeping you down?
My problem with this game is that there should probably be more of a spectrum of choices and endings instead of just Scorched Earth bad ending and the forgive everyone and heal ending (it's not a good ending if you are being pathetic and a doormat just to feel morally superior about taking the high road)
Well said. I agree that Revenge can be healing. I also believe that accepting the joke on you in high school can be painful, but it did not define his actions as adult in terms of career and running for President. MC got his ego bruised, and was laugh at. His female friend had it far worse. And you said the did not run away. Yes they did run away already, as they could go aim for elite university but choose some second rate University. "Living well is the best revenge" is out of their personal interest and availability, apparently. Somehow their political aimed Elitist friends decided they want to choose same College. Obviously, this is not happening in US or UK. Must be some east Europe Mafia state country.
I am strong believer in "Living well is the best revenge, because of 2 reasons. You are not sum of some bad experience and you do not get defined by your past, nor do you let it define you and your future. By accepting and moving on, you win over the limitations placed on you by this people. By letting the events change you and seek revenge you become them. Your actions do not belong to you anymore. You quickly become more extreme then they are and take away more then you lost, while as you said, you never get to the point where you can truly loose something you have build or make on your own, beside some close relationship that came out of trauma, all while you Scorched Earth everything you touch, friends or foe. And you do not even see, that it's not working or being worth it. Too bad MC.