The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)

The Resentful Attitude. As children, these types never felt they
got enough parental love and affection—they were always greedy for
more attention. They carry this sense of dissatisfaction and
disappointment with them throughout their lives. They are never quite
getting the recognition they deserve. They are experts at scanning
people’s faces for signs of possible disrespect or disdain. They see
everything in relation to themselves; if someone has more than they
do, it is a sign of injustice, a personal affront. When they feel this lack
of respect and recognition, they do not explode in anger. They are
generally cautious and like to control their emotions. Instead, the hurt
incubates inside them, the sense of injustice growing stronger as they
reflect on this. They do not easily forget. At some point they will take
their revenge in some shrewdly plotted act of sabotage or passive
aggression.
Because they have a continual feeling of being wronged, they tend
to project this on to the world, seeing oppressors everywhere. In this
way, they often become the leader of those who feel disaffected and
oppressed. If such types get power, they can become quite vicious and
vengeful, finally able to vent their resentments on various victims. In
general, they carry themselves with an air of arrogance; they are above
others even if no one recognizes this. They carry their head a little too
high; they frequently have a slight smirk or look of disdain. As they get

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older, they are prone to pick petty battles, unable to completely contain
their resentments that have accumulated over time. Their bitter
attitude pushes a lot of people away, and so they often end up
congregating with others who have this attitude, as their form of
community.
The Roman emperor Tiberius (42 BC–AD 37) is perhaps the most
classic example of this type. As a child, his tutor noticed something
wrong with the boy. “He is a pitcher molded with blood and bile,” the
tutor once wrote to a friend. The writer Suetonius, who knew Tiberius,
described him as follows: “He carried himself with his head held
proudly high. . . . He was almost always silent, never saying a word
except now and again. . . . And even then he did so with extreme
reluctance, at the same time always making a disdainful gesture with
his fingers.” Emperor Augustus, his stepfather, had to continually
apologize to the Senate for “his displeasing manners, full of
haughtiness.” Tiberius hated his mother—she never loved him enough.
He never felt appreciated by Augustus, or his soldiers, or the Roman
people. When he became emperor, he slowly and methodically took
revenge on those who he felt had slighted him, and such revenge would
be cold and cruel.
As he got older, he became increasingly unpopular. His enemies
were legion. Feeling the hatred of his subjects, he retired to the island
of Capri, where he spent the last eleven years of his reign, almost
completely avoiding Rome. He was known to repeat to others in his
last years, “After me, let fire destroy the earth!” At his death Rome
exploded with celebration, the crowds voicing their feelings with the
famous phrase “Into the Tiber [River] with Tiberius!”
If you notice resentful tendencies within yourself, the best antidote
is to learn to let go of hurts and disappointments in life. It is better to
explode into anger in the moment, even it if it’s irrational, than to stew
on slights that you have probably hallucinated or exaggerated. People
are generally indifferent to your fate, not as antagonistic as you
imagine. Very few of their actions are really directed at you. Stop
seeing everything in personal terms. Respect is something that must be
earned through your achievements, not something given to you simply
for being human. You must break out of the resentful cycle by
becoming more generous toward people and human nature.

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In dealing with such types, you must exercise supreme caution.
Although they might smile and seem pleasant, they are actually
scrutinizing you for any possible insult. You can recognize them by
their history of past battles and sudden breaks with people, as well as
how easily they judge others. You might try to slowly gain their trust
and lower their suspicions; but be aware that the longer you are
around them, the more fuel you will give them for something to resent,
and their response can be quite vicious. Better to avoid this type if
possible.