It’s not a nice thing to know your fellow man (and woman) are capable of such stark levels of cruelty towards each other and other sentient creatures. I have read a few news stories lately which reminded me of a feeling I carried for much of my life, a bewilderment I guess that people who walked and talked like me, could do such awful things. I read about lots of grisly things when i was young and growing up, but two incidents stayed with me in particular, both within a couple of years of each other. I was 12 when James Bulger was killed, and was more than horrified by this terrible atrocity. It was perpetrated by kids, only a year or two younger than myself and I was shocked being honest. I didn’t know it could happen like that, I thought us kids were the ones who had to be frightened of adults, not other kids. It changed my view somewhat of my peers at the time. My mother was equally horrified and it was no accident I had read all the serial killer books in our house, they were hers. But I didn’t know of another tale of the past, another equally shocking event. Mary Bell. If you haven’t heard of her, look her up, but the thoughts should not be with her, they should be with her two young victims and their families. She has been released with a new identity just as with the 1993 killers. Odd isn’t it, that we would go to such lengths to give new lives to the coldest and disturbed in our society, and then let them back out to ‘integrate’.

The other incident in the news, was Fred West. It was shocking, and there have been others as you well know, but those two within a short time hit home that we aren’t all like each other, and people’s motives can be very dark and twisted indeed.

There have been many recent stories that have reminded me of the cold heart some humans have (or lack of heart completely), but two got me thinking again about the senselessness of it all. A poor boy murdered by his parents and dumped in a river. A young man almost starved to death after being locked away in an attic by his parents. Such a personal level of cruelty, up close and very personal, family in fact. So is it really so hard to believe that if people can be that cruel to family and ‘loved ones’, they could be equally so to others. What are they capable of towards strangers?

And what of the ones who were like those children, but maybe never got caught, had some self-control or restraint, and then grew up to be the adult version of that. The ones who perhaps understood that you can still torture people and ruin them without ending their life, but just by making it miserable. And when they see you are distressed and harmed (emotionally or physically), it makes them happy as that is their purpose. I do suspect that those are the type of people now in charge of the behaviour unit and the government, and that those type of people have infiltrated most levels of society where you have a middle-man service. I touched upon that briefly in my article It Looked Sinister, because I had already realised we are being dictated to by some very cold and heartless people. And they usually want to have power over people, in some capacity. So, I will always look at those who make their way into positions of power, whether it be law enforcement and justice, teaching, medicine, entertainment, business and any other walk of like where they ‘need’ to be around people. And it’s a tough one, because alongside those people are the complete opposite, the ones who do care, and want to help and make sure others flourish and bring a bit of good into others’ lives. So, what do we do? They look the same, wear the same uniform and say the same things – how do we know? And that is the big one isn’t it – how do we know who is a good person and who is a bad person? We don’t, because it’s not that simple. Good and bad is a bit of simplification of what goes on internally and emotionally, so to paint it a simple thing is misleading to the thought process I feel needs to be engaged for it.

Let’s look at it in a more basic and helpful way. Not whether they are good or bad, but does this person mean me harm? And that could be any harm, physical, emotional, financial, whatever is it. Take away the good and bad, as they can confuse the problem. How many times have people got away with things because they ‘seem like a good person’ or appeared to be as such. Or someone was damned because they were a ‘bad person’ to either you or someone else. Notable, but ultimately irrelevant. Because we all know that someone can be an arse to someone else, but not to us, so we shouldn’t judge people on that, but we do. Sometimes people make lots of excuses for wrongdoing because they were a ‘good person’ and they get away with it, and just so, people are judged harshly whatever they do, because they have been judged to be a ‘bad person’.

We should really be assessing whether someone means us harm and what they are motivated by. And re-assessing it again, and again, and again as necessary. Because people change, as do their motives and intentions and sometimes circumstances, and the moment you realise their intention has changed to a harmful one or one of hinderance towards you, it must be addressed. Acceptance can save people an awful lot of hassle in their life, just accepting it is what it is. That doesn’t mean you have to be demoralised by it, in fact it can be quite the opposite and motivating for you to move forward. We are the change we are looking for…

(c) K Wicks