See no evil

The world is a dangerous place to live,

not because of the people who are evil,

but because of the people who don't

do anything about it.

Albert Einstein

Whenever something horrible happens, such as Virginia Tech shooting, or Columbine tragedy, or Beltway sniper attacks, we start hearing a lot of the word “evil” thrown around. Sure enough, remembering the horror, it is hard to argue that the perpetrators of these murders were “evil.” Or were they? I keep asking myself. While I have no problem identifying a person or action as “good” or “heroic”, the definition of “evil” has always puzzled me.

Remember Les Miserables by Victor Hugo? Who was the true evil in that story? Was it really inspector Javert, mercilessly pursuing a good man, pathologically obsessed with following the law, and driven to suicide by his own morals? Or was it Monsieur and Madame Thénadier, soulless profiteers picking pockets of dead soldiers? For me, it was always the latter.

Looking at the terrifying and nonsensical videos the Virginia Tech shooter left behind, you are definitely staring in the face of evil. But behind this brutal face, there is a pathetically sick and helpless mind that couldn’t even make a difference between reality and delusions. The person was definitely mentally ill, and for all we know about mental illness, he was born this way. Wait. Can a person be born evil? Can “evil” be an illness?

As I look at the videos of Virginia Tech shooter, other faces pop into mind - a lot less scary, a lot less threatening, and a lot less “evil”, just by looking at them. Hitler, Pol Pot, Hussein, Stalin, and most recent addition to the list – Bin Laden – truly deserve the name of evil; nobody would argue with that. They looked civil most of the time, did not babble nonsensically, just the opposite – they were well spoken and well-educated. Yet, all of them were brutal torturers and mass murderers of a totally sober and sound mind, leaving their bloody footprints on the path of history.

I think we tend to forget that, and the world “evil” is thrown around way too often, blurring its true definition in our minds. “Evil” today may be someone who is simply misguided, deceitful, or in worst cases of dishonesty, someone who we disagree with. We hear the word “evil” said about politicians, celebrities, and even countries. I remember the late president Reagan’s definition “evil empire” in regard to Soviet Union. I grew up in that empire and I never felt that it was evil. Pathetic, oppressive, impoverished, immoral – all of those definitions are true. But I disagree with “evil”.

Now, ironically, it is the USA, that is regarded by many in the world as “evil empire”. And, as ironically, the reason for it, among others, is removal and destruction of Saddam Hussein, mass murderer and true evil. And who are the judges? They are modern day Monsieur Thénadier – Jacques Chirac and his government, filling their pockets with “oil for food” money while Iraqis were slaughtered by the thousands. Also worth mentioning, they are thousands of Muslims, embracing as a war tactic strapping bombs on their children and sending them to blow up themselves and other children.

We use the word “evil” much too often today. And that blurs the real face of evil in our minds. This is ever-important for the true evil – to make sure that when we encounter it we won’t recognize it. And we don’t.

As for Virginia Tech Shooter, or Columbine murderers, or the Beltway “snipers”, the definition does not much matter. It does not change the sympathy that I feel for the people who happened to be in their path, slaughtered by them. It does not change the sympathy I feel for their families. I think these people were mentally ill, and the tragedies could not have realistically been prevented. But other tragedies can be – provided that we recognize the face of a true evil and are honest and brave enough to confront it.