Have you had a personal, specific experience with Evil?

[leftofthedial]

If so, what was it?

[hang a left]

1. I have experienced true evil with an ex-husband.

Don't want to go into specifics. But yes, more evil than I would have ever expected would be capable of one human being.

[leftofthedial]

3. I think we tend to anthropomorphize many things, but not Evil

we tend to ascribe Evil to some supernatural force.

I'm sorry you had such a painful experience, but it sounds like it was all too human, rather than "demonic"

[hang a left]

4. I will have to disagree...

I do not lend evil to some type of supernatural force.

There is plenty of evil to go around that is earth bound. I have experienced it first hand.

[leftofthedial]

25. you're not disagreeing with me. I also believe evil is all too natural.

My comment about the supernatural was just an observation that it seems to me fairly common that people tend to describe evil in unnatural terms.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. If you mean a 'supernatural' evil, you should have made that clear in the OP

My answer happens to be 'no' anyway, but I think a lot of people might say they've experienced 'Evil' without thinking it 'demonic'.

[leftofthedial]

23. I'm not saying "Evil" is demonic.

I said I think many people in our culture tend to ascribe "Evil" to supernatural or theological causes rather than natural causes.

The OP leaves the issue ambiguous intentionally.

Personally, I believe that the circumstances we describe as "Evil" are always the result of natural causes.

I find it interesting (and reassuring) that most here seem to agree.

Still, the point of the OP was to ascertain the existence--not necessarily the nature--of evil.

[Divernan]

19. The definitions of "evil" make no reference to demonic or supernatural elements.

From Oxford English Reference Dictionary, 2nd ed.:

(1) morally bad; wicked
(2) harmful or intending to harm, especially intentionally or characteristically
(3) disagreeable or unpleasant

So, while YOU may ascribe "Evil to some supernatural force", this is not the norm.

I don't believe in any supernatural forces, but I have met and observed one person whom I consider evil. This brilliant and charming person (2 Ph.D.s) who from childhood on was a very skilled thief and liar,and a narcissist, and as an adult a thief, an alcoholic, a sadistic and subtle psychological abuser of animals and children, and a drug addict (speed). People could have those qualities and be considered mentally ill, without beling labeled evil, perhaps. What led me to see this person as evil was the pride and pleasure this person took in hurting and manipulating others.

Think, The Bad Seed, in real life. Think W blowing up frogs with firecrackers. Think W laughing at, mimicking and otherwise mocking a woman who had begged him to commute her death sentence. Think of all the torture done in the name of political power, and the fact that people who torture actually come to enjoy what they're doing.

Humans all, not supernatural forces.

[leftofthedial]

24. I agree that evil is caused by natural circumstances.

I personally do not ascribe "Evil" to the supernatural. (I mention nothing like that in the OP. I just have observed that many people seem to do that.)

I also agree that king george is evil and apparently has been for most of his life.

[Truthiness Inspector]

15. Evil? Not mentally ill? You slay me.

LOL.

[Divernan]

20. A rose by any other name.

Mental illness and evil (see definition above) are not mutually exclusive concepts. One might posit, sir or madam, that mental illness is the sine qua non of evil.

(LOL - thought I would write in the style of The Magistrate)

[Bluebear]

2. I believe in science, not "evil". nt

[leftofthedial]

31. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.

I also believe "evil" has natural causes.

[Lasher]

5. I just sent in my income tax forms

Man that was pretty evil having to do that again this year. :(

[hang a left]

6. lol

nominated for a duzy ;-)

[Lasher]

7. Glad you got a chuckle

Saw upthread about the trouble with your ex. Sorry. :-(

But hopefully you've turned the page. Enjoy every day if you can. :-)

[DCKit]

8. Hoo Boy! It's people, not some Boogeyman.

K St. Attorneys - Many of the guys in private practice don't even wash their hands after taking a dump (well, either that, or they're snorting a LOT of coke) and FAR too many of them spend their days treating people like shit just so they're in practice for court. A few years in that environment and you'll realize that all the jokes are based in fact and convert to Christianity in hopes that there is, in fact, a special Hell just for them.

Certain Government Contractors - If they could put everyone on salary and work them 80hrs a week, they would... in a heartbeat. My personal experience involved a company where nobody could achieve better than average on a job review, so raises were few and FAAAAAR between. Oh, and I got over not having a life pretty damn quick too. It's not a career if you never, ever leave the plantation Massa.

Anyone who (ab)uses a minor or full degree in psychology to torture other people.

Anyone who intentionally twists other people's words to cause unnecessary conflict. No, that is NOT a form of communication Asshat.

Anyone who goes to restaurants to torture the staff, get free food or get someone fired. You people SUCK. You should also be more careful. Some of the people who wait on you are finishing advanced degrees and may be your boss sooner than you might think. Additionally, unlike anyone in the current administration, they remember EVERYTHING.

Anyone who uses a position of authority or power to harm, manipulate or denigrate the weak or helpless. You know who you are, and how did you pass the psychological exam?

Self-professed Christians who believe the Ten Commandments apply only to others. WTF do they care? They have reserved seating and a gate pass.

I could go on and on and on. But enough about my week : )

[hang a left]

10. get it all out brother! nt

[leftofthedial]

32. sounds like an evil week

[krispos42]

9. No, I never met Cheney

I checked... I still have my soul.

:rofl:

[AuntPatsy]

29. thanks for the smile.

[leftofthedial]

33. unka dick is undeniably evil

perhaps the most evil individual on the planet today.

but he is the face and the personification of a much larger, even more evil, force.

[marions ghost]

58. I have to agree

the evil forces behind the current administration know no bounds. Dick and Co. are THEIR servants, not the other way around. We desperately need better institutional protections against them.

I think it's OK to use the word 'evil' to describe sadists, sociopaths, ruthless exploiters of others--
who appear to be functional in society.

I have encountered these people on a personal level as well. They are lost, in that no forces for "good" can ever have an influence on them, not in this lifetime anyway. They will go to their graves as evildoers, and nobody anywhere, will truly mourn. People like this do not have friends, they only attract cold-blooded exploiters like themselves.

We have to recognise the dangers of giving such people the benefit of the doubt. America is learning that the hard way. More are seeing that we have enabled a rather large band of monsters to hijack the government.

[leftofthedial]

68. nothing infuriates me more than the insistence of most on the "left"

to continue treating these monsters as human

[marions ghost]

71. well y'know

it's hard to be judgmental when your basic philosophy is "live & let live." But I think we DO need to get smarter about the existence of a type of person who, in a position of power, can destroy us--who can ruthlessly USE our tendency to practice tolerance --against us. I am sick and tired of that kind of exploitation. We are battling it in our own government now.

We need to stop giving these people the benefit of the doubt and trust our own judgment BEFORE the worst happens. We need to be able to accept that some humans really are monsters, twisted and damaged humans. You can't just wish it away--these people wreak havoc. And the insidious thing is that they can fool a lot of people--eg. how Chimpy managed to come off as a regular guy for so long.

Those on the left are often afraid to "otherize" people. Understandably--it's how we get all this anti-Muslim sentiment going on, for example. But we need not go so far in the opposite direction. There has to be a balance. We have to have protections against such abusers, and Liberals have to put up some
solid defenses against them. We're learning...the hard way tho.

[Alexander]

11. I don't think one can experience evil.

I think only acts and maybe some words can be evil. But you can't run into evil in a back alley. It's more of an adjective.

[hang a left]

14. When someone attempts to completely destroy you with the things

you love most. And will go to any lengths (beyond what you could imagine), that is pure evil.

Lucky for you, you have never experienced it. I hope that you won't.

[Truthiness Inspector]

16. I disagree

Evil is not an adjective to begin with, it's a noun. Evil happens and it exists.

[Alexander]

17. But as for evil actions....evil is an adjective there.

It's a noun in the dictionary because it's a concept, yes, but in my opinion, I can't encounter a concept.

I can't encounter "good" either, but I can encounter good people, or people doing good things, or whatever.

The way you define it, it makes me think of this:



Then again, I've heard seeing the look on a killer's face while he's committing the act is pure evil. Not having seen that, I wouldn't know. Maybe that's along the lines of what you're talking about.

[Evilismdestroyer07]

12. Hell yea I have

When I destroyed it...

[leftofthedial]

13. LOL

:rofl:

[elehhhhna]

21. Yes. A boss, actually.

She was evil because she was mentally ill, though. Does that even count? The BA is evil and pervasive, but I've luckily had no personal experience with them.


Oops. James Baker III leered at me once several years ago. THAT was chilling.

[Hubert Flottz]

22. Evil stole my vote in 2000 and again in 2004!

And now the own America.

[leftofthedial]

35. THAT

is 100% true

[Marnieworld]

26. I don't believe in the concept of evil

I believe in broken brains, pathetically confused or altered humans, tragic creations from nature and/or nuture but I don't believe in evil. There are just some very dark colors in the spectrum of the human existence.

[jollyreaper2112]

34. broken brains?

To me a broken brain would be the guy on the subway screaming to himself about spiders. What would you say of someone like Ken Lay, possessing a callous disregard for the welfare of his fellow man? Would you say he's just a highly functional broken brain? When someone has a choice in their actions, that's when I think you can start using the word "evil." And I also think the most troubling and worrisome evil people aren't the ones who come across like slavering axe murderers but the ones who seem affable, like someone you could be friends with. Hell, maybe most parts of their lives would stand up under scrutiny with a lovely wife, great kids, community service, helping his friends, and then you find out he raped and murdered a girl 20 years ago.

[leftofthedial]

39. is that just semantics?

Isn't a "very dark" act evil?

[Marnieworld]

49. not necessarily

Suicide can be a dark act but not evil. I try and look at human beings in the bigger picture, almost detached. We are like dogs. If you have ever been to a puppy store where you could interact with them you'd know that all dogs start out the same. Rottweilers and Pit Bulls sweetly lick your hand like a Maltese. It's what happens to them after that affects them. Some people have innate tendencies that can be exacerbated by circumstances. I hate George Bush but I have compassion for the little boy he was when his little sister died and everyone went on like she didn't exist. Can you imagine being a confused grieving child and having Barbara Bush be your refuge for comfort? We are all tapestrys of our genetic make-up and experiences. Some combinations manifest in horrible ways from very complex reasons. I think by simplifying things and people into broad categories like good and evil offers some comfort but it's not necessarily illuminating.

[leftofthedial]

70. I'm not saying evil is inexplicable or has no causes

I tend to think of "evil" as the extreme "dark acts" end of the behavior spectrum

there is no debating with or mediating "evil"

it is pathology

furthermore, there is individual or "micro" evil--serial killers, mass murderers, sociopaths

and there is collective or "macro" evil--capitalism and other amoral, anti-human institutions

[bryant69]

27. Come on - I post here nearly everyday.

I admit there are people who are probably more evil than me, but I'm doing my best.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[porphyrian]

28. Whose definition of evil are we supposed to use for this? - n/t

[leftofthedial]

37. your own

[porphyrian]

42. That's the problem - I don't generally think in those terms.

The boogeyman that scares me isn't so much the rare one who dedicates their existence to doing bad things, but the all-too-prevalent impersonal destruction of "good" things and people that we have been trained to simply accept or ignore.

[leftofthedial]

48. I think evil and negligent individuals in our country

have been responsible for imposing on us an institutional evil that methodically devalues humanity

[porphyrian]

50. I think we pretty much agree on that.

Our disagreements are generally related to which parts of the institution are irreparably corrupted.

[treestar]

30. Yes

One of my relatives has an evil ex-husband - the way he treats their kids and many other things make me think he is evil, not just mentally disturbed. He may not have killed anyone, but he would if he thought he needed to and was sure he could get away with it.

I also think this of judges who use their position as something more than merely judging the law - when they act as if getting that trust for the public means they get to rule over the public - it sounds simple, but the evil that follows is great.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

36. Yes. I was in the Marine Crotch for 4 years.

Where the focus is on killing people. I'd call that pretty evil.

[leftofthedial]

40. that is a pervasively evil artifact of humankind

the need to, and the institutionalized need to, kill.

[slackmaster]

38. Yes, in the form of a very disturbed, very sick woman

And two or three others who were just messed up. But yes, I have seen the face of true evil.

[Rosemary2205]

41. yes, when I was first paralyzed.

My former employer "fired" me the day after the accident, contacted the insurance company and dropped our coverage -- this was while I was still in a coma and my husband was only semi-conscious for weeks. The employer and the insurance company both then refused to deal with my mother on the phone to arrange for COBRA. Fortunately she decided to call a personal injury lawyer who knew what to do to get it straightened out.


BTW, yes it was the drunk driver's auto coverage that was ultimately responsible, but GA law says your health coverage has to pay and then go find the other insurance to work out who pays what.


IMHO this is nothing but pure evil. It was not a snafu. It was a deliberate attempt by my employer to save the premium costs.

[leftofthedial]

44. I've had evil employers too

capitalism breeds them

[NightWatcher]

43. I worked for a time for the most evil company on the planet

I did some truly nasty shit. I will spend the rest of my life trying to regain positive karma to offset the negative karma that I earned.

That is why I am forever now an Agent of Righteous Karma.

[guitar man]

45. When I was in high school

I got to attend a Reagan speech,about 10 rows back, that's as close as I've been to evil :evilgrin:

[Horse with no Name]

46. I have a friend who has an evil husband

He is twisted. When he gets angry at her--he makes her go to the garage away from the kids where he sodomizes her until she bleeds.
Trust me, we all have told her to get some counseling and leave him. She just won't. She is scared to death of him.

[leftofthedial]

66. yeesh

where do these people come from?

[MedleyMisty]

47. I have been sexually abused

I have cowered while my brother (diagnosed bipolar, but I wonder if schizophrenic fits him better) waved around a pistol and yelled at all of us.

My mother once tried to choke me when I didn't feel like studying for the spelling bee in sixth grade.

So yeah, all in all I've had a pretty easy life, I admit. I was terribly scared of my brother and once panicked when I thought I saw his car, but overall....no, I have not seen evil. I have seen misguided and imperfect humans, but not evil.

But I do know that it exists. I've just been lucky enough to never have anyone in my life who truly lacked empathy.

I once did some reading and came up with a theory about good and evil. I'm trying to find the blog entries, but lunch is over and I need to leave. Anyway, from what I can remember I think it was basically that good was a positive projection of the self into creation and evil was a negative projection of the self into destruction.

[wicket]

51. Yes - child molester

n/t

[dysfunctional press]

52. evil is an adjective, not a noun.

except to the mentally deficient.(i.e. religoids)

[InvisibleTouch]

53. I don't like the word "evil" in and of itself...

...though I have on rare occasions used it as the closest approximation for what I was trying to describe. I don't like the word because to my mind it does denote some kind of supernatural definition. "Evil" as a concept goes back to some ultimate source, some deliberate "intelligence," i.e. the proverbial "Satan," some cosmic struggle between opposing forces that dates back to the dawn of time. And this simply doesn't exist.

But are there people who are completely without conscience, without one shred of empathy, completely wrapped up in their own greed and desires, and willing to destroy lives without blinking an eye or losing a night's sleep? Absolutely. And they are both born and made. Those that are "made" might in some circumstances be redeemable. Those that are "born" are beyond any kind of redemption. And they are completely clinically sane, in most cases. The only reason more of them don't turn into mass murderers is that they do have a sense of self-preservation, and don't want the trouble this would bring to their own lives. They go on exercising their petty power in other ways.

So yes, if you use the term "evil" as a metaphor, I've seen it and I know it's out there, but it's completely human and comes from no outside source. I wish there were a better word for it.

[King Coal]

54. I meant to post this here. I've been shot at and had to shoot back.

I'd call that a run in with evil.

[The Stranger]

55. Richard Perle.

[maveric]

56. 10/1979. I shook hands with George H W Bu$h. In Salem NH.

He was gearing up for the NH primary and did a walk-through at the plant I was working at. I just had an erry feeling about him. His handshake was weak, cold and clammy. EEWWW!!

[meldroc]

57. I have experienced people like this. I consider it to be the results of mental illness.

Specifically, I'm talking about your classic psychopath. People like this are wired wrong - the part of the brain that empathizes with others, and causes one to feel bad when they see others suffering around them is broken. About 4% of the population is like this. Remember that school bully back in junior high? He's most likely a psychopath. Most shrinks would suggest that people like this usually end up in jail. No. That's just the guys who have other comorbid illnesses, such as ADHD, OCD, or bipolar disorder, or were just plain stupid enough to get caught. You'll see many of these guys in every day life. They frequently get ambitious, so you'll see them as managers, or authority figures such as police officers. Yes, you'll see them in corporate boardrooms, and in the halls of power in the DC Beltway.

No conscience whatsoever, so they're not constrained like normal human beings that strive to stop harm to others. These guys revel in it.

Remember, 4% of the population is like this.

[WinkyDink]

59. George Bush drove past me once.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

60. everyday when i encounter poverty in such a wealthy country i am reminded that evil exists

when gay marriage didnt pass due to bigotry, that was the face of evil.

when poor people dont have basic needs met, thats evil.

we as a society contribute to evil.

[noonwitch]

61. I work in Children's Services, so, yes

The prostitution of children is about as evil of an act a person can commit, next to murder. In some ways, the one pimping the child is worse than those abusing her-the one pimping is usually a parent.

[Annces]

62. Not personally

but I have heard about it from people I have known. I also see it in TV and movies, and for me it has a very bad influence and I turn it off when I begin to feel it is too much. I see reality even in make-believe, so sick behavior in movies makes me feel sick too. Also pain is pain, whether an animal is feeling it or a human being.

[mondo joe]

63. Evil is a useless word. It's what we call things we give up on trying to understand.

Evil can't be empirically identified or quantified. There is no concensus of what it even is, or what might be included categorically. And most of all, it gives you nothing to do in response to its existence, even when you claim it's there.

[leftofthedial]

67. but have you ever encountered whatever it is you can't quantify

in any other way except to call it "evil"?

[mondo joe]

69. No. I guess because I don't believe in it, or find it useful.

There are things that are loathsome, things I oppose, things that are unethical. But I don't know what EVIL is, so I can't call anything EVIL.

[LeftishBrit]

64. I don't believe in 'evil' in a supernatural sense...

and I am fortunate enough never to have been seriously attacked or threatened physically.

However, I did have to cope for some years with someone in a professional situation, who obviously enjoyed causing other individuals distress and blocking their careers, sometimes even in situations where doing this impeded him in achieving his own goals; and who seemed to pick particularly on those who were already vulnerable in some way. Is that evil - or just nasty? Depends how you define evil, I suppose.

[kwassa]

65. A former boss. Sociopath.

The only time I walked away from a job without having anything else lined up. The man was vicious and ruthless. For my mental health and sanity, I left.

The sister of an ex, a brilliant woman with no human conscience. If she had any real power, she would have killed thousands.

A number of others that I had only brief encounters with. Evil exists.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

72. I met George W Bush

That should qualify me for an advance evil experience. :rofl: