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Bad Empathy: why we should be wary of ‘be kind’ narratives on evil
No, I don’t think we need to be ‘more understanding’ of rapists
A man got very upset in my comments recently when I said we needed to come down harder on misogynists who engage in terrorism against women and girls. He accused me of having ‘no empathy’ towards failed men who had become ‘frustrated enough’ to commit abuse or violence against women. Another told me that I should be aware that ‘no one was better than anyone else’ when I was criticising them.
Here’s the thing, lads: I absolutely, categorically, know I am better than a serial killer attacking sex workers, a sadistic paedophile, someone who abducted and tortured a little girl in the woods, or someone who shoots up a sorority. I don’t need your moral relativism, devil’s advocate, I’m sure you’re not perfect either, or narratives on ‘but what has he been through’? Because, fundamentally, some things are just universally evil. Some things, we all know, irrespective of our trauma, to be evil. And, it logically follows, that to commit those undeniable acts of evil, you have to choose to be evil.
There is not a single non-psychotic man alive who does not know that torturing, murdering, mass-slaughtering, and raping women and children is morally wrong. To insinuate otherwise is rubbish…
