Are monsters made or born?
A few months ago, I learned that a former schoolmate of mine was accused of something horrible, shocking. Without going into details, lets just say if he’s convicted of what he’s accused of, it would be the kind of crime that makes newspaper readers shake their head about the monster that could commit such acts. While I wasn’t extremely close to him, we did occasionally hang out, and even once went camping together. There’s something creepy about having been that close to a monster, the morbid fascination of driving by a car wreck.
Back then, would I have conceived of my schoolmate being capable of this? No, maybe capable of violence in a fit of rage (actually, certainly capable of that), but not capable of something so truly evil. There is a gap there, some indescribable mental leap between the sane and the not sane. The more I ponder that gap, the more confused I get. There is a trite saying that “there but for the grace of god go I”, but it is manifestly not true in this case- I don’t think even the most depraved version of myself conceivable would ever do something this monstrous.
I suppose the religious would call this evil, simply the work of a demon. I can’t quite believe that, and I keep trying to understand how such a thing could be, what chain of events could make a man so evil. One would like to think that my schoolmate that another choice than being a monster, that free will exists. But to believe that is to believe that any (admittedly violent) person can choose to do unspeakable evil, which is a bitter pill to swallow indeed.
Back then, would I have conceived of my schoolmate being capable of this? No, maybe capable of violence in a fit of rage (actually, certainly capable of that), but not capable of something so truly evil. There is a gap there, some indescribable mental leap between the sane and the not sane. The more I ponder that gap, the more confused I get. There is a trite saying that “there but for the grace of god go I”, but it is manifestly not true in this case- I don’t think even the most depraved version of myself conceivable would ever do something this monstrous.
I suppose the religious would call this evil, simply the work of a demon. I can’t quite believe that, and I keep trying to understand how such a thing could be, what chain of events could make a man so evil. One would like to think that my schoolmate that another choice than being a monster, that free will exists. But to believe that is to believe that any (admittedly violent) person can choose to do unspeakable evil, which is a bitter pill to swallow indeed.
