re⋅cid⋅i⋅vism /rɪˈsɪdəˌvɪzəm [ri-sid-uh-viz-uhm] –noun
1.
repeated or habitual relapse, as into crime.
2.
Psychiatry. the chronic tendency toward repetition of criminal or antisocial behavior patterns.
Decades have gone by, all the while we keep looking at that mirror. Snow White's step mother asked, 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is fairest of them all?' Desperate to beautiful, she preened the savagery that came from the all-consuming obsession.
The mirror never lies. It always tells you what you want to hear. We ask it to tell us that we are ugly, too fat, scarred, mutilated, not worth loving. We commit this crime each and every day. We tend to the needs of the mirror, ensuring that it is clean enough to reflect our sins. We look for evidence of imperfection. We hate, we loathe, we constantly remind ourselves of the repulsive nature of our souls.
We wonder why children are sad. We don't understand why little girls don't want to grow up. We cry when children tell us that they are not worth loving. The answers should be clear.
It is a cyclical crime; its recurring nature realised too late - when the damage has been done.