And even where what I might term “clinical evil” is concerned–let us take as a concrete example the hockey coach who raped Theo Fleury 150 times–there is a process of trying to complete a broken self. This coach was broken. He would otherwise not have done those things. What was done to Theo was likely done to him, in a cycle of meanness which no doubt goes back far, and which can and does restart spontaneously everywhere people feel afflicted, afraid, and in pain.
Obviously, I reserve the right to judge anyone for any reason. But I also recognize that this is often not a helpful thing to do. Sometimes there are better questions than “is this right or wrong?”. An example might be “what don’t we understand about this yet?”
Or: if we were to accept this as normative behavior, what would the social consequences be, in the short, medium and long term? Europe needs to be asking this question. Even without absolutes, practical considerations–quality of life considerations–can easily and should be put into public and policy discussions. A question there: If every third woman is getting raped in ten years, can this be called good by any standard whatever? Is this fair to women? Is this supportive of women’s rights? Is this defensible in any way other than through mass deceit and censorship? [no: the answer is no]
Few thoughts. I am floating in an odd place. I often feel unanchored, but this must be good, because where I WAS anchored sucked.