I dislike the word toxic. So popular yet so unfair. It reduces anyone to a single dimension. A label that trashes a human in one go. Dislike someone? Call him or her toxic and win every argument instantly. Humans have misbehaved socially for as long as one can remember yet it was never so easy to judge them. Those misbehaviors are undoubtedly wrong and society needs more education to get rid of them, but the toxic label leaves no room for any learning or insight. It is the easy way, which fits very well our throw-away society. Trash it and get a new one, without spending any thought on the impact this label may have. While nobody needs to bear with someone who has not learnt to respect others, society breaks more and more the less compassionate we become. Compassion is to toxic behavior the same than recycling is to toxic substances. Everyone deserves at least a chance for recycling. And the toxic label is the exact opposite of that.

A place saved from being forever toxic: the core of Reactor Block 6 at Greifswald