"The only cure for contempt is counter-contempt"

Contempt, a deep sense of disdain or disregard for another, often arises from a belief in one’s own superiority or in the perceived inferiority of others. H. L. Mencken’s assertion that "The only cure for contempt is counter-contempt" challenges ideals of reconciliation or patient understanding when faced with scorn. At its core, the statement reflects a rather cynical perspective on human relations: contempt breeds only more contempt, and attempts at kindness or rational persuasion are doomed to fail against entrenched disdain.

Mencken, always skeptical of human nature’s more idealistic aspirations, suggests that contempt cannot be dispelled by humility, forgiveness, or education. Rather, responding in kind, rejecting those who scorn you, meeting their derision with your own, serves, ironically, as a kind of equalizer. When met with counter-contempt, the power dynamic shifts. The original contemptuous party no longer occupies a position of superiority; their disregard is reflected back, stripping their attitudes of uniqueness and, perhaps, even some of their sting.

Such a cycle, however, does not necessarily lead to resolution, harmony, or growth. Instead, it may simply reinforce boundaries, harden animosities, and create mutual exclusion. Mencken’s view hints at the bleakness of social relations when mutual understanding is set aside in favor of prideful resistance. Yet, his point also acknowledges a psychological reality: persistent contempt often cannot be reformed by appeals to empathy. For those who wield disdain as a weapon, seeing it returned denies them satisfaction and deflates their sense of dominance.

In social and political arenas, this approach can manifest in waves of mocking, satire, or outright dismissal, tools Mencken himself wielded with relish against what he saw as mediocrity or hypocrisy. Despite its pessimism, the statement exposes the stubbornness of contempt, questioning whether reconciliation is always possible, or even desirable, when faced with unyielding scorn.