I was talking to him quite a bit earlier today. He seems to jump back and forth between agreeing with me that he needs to be better at controlling his behavior, and saying people provoked him first and he needs to react by defending himself. He did tell me that it's incredibly hard for him to just ignore comments and let things go, etc, which I already knew. He said that he can do it for a while until he feels like he just can't anymore. It definitely seems like a compulsive thing. Not saying that it can't be controlled, just saying that it's harder for him to do so than it is for the average person.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh