In the past, I have written about the concept of “evil.” I just read a new article that tries to tackle the question: Is There Such A Thing As Evil — And Is Trump It? The article starts quite sensibly with defining evil.
What is evil, actually? The dictionary definition has it as “profound immorality, wickedness, and depravity, especially when regarded as a supernatural force.”
Trying to define “evil,” by calling it “immorality, wickedness and depravity,” is just saying evil is evil. These words are pretty much synonyms for “evil.” Perhaps evil is a matter of degree. Bad things become “evil” things when they reach a certain level of intensity. If so, can it be measured?
As I have said before, “evil” is subjective. It’s about what upsets us so much we think such a thing shouldn’t even exist in the universe we believe in. Of course, it does exist. So we need to call it something. We call it “evil.”
Throughout the centuries, religious leaders and morality pundits have defined what is good and moral and differentiated it from what is bad. We call those who do bad things “sinners” as a way to suggest these people can improve, clean up their act. We only call them “evil” when we have written them off, given up hope of redemption.
Psychiatry has tried to remove judgement from people who did bad things but calling them “sick.” Now, some psychiatrists are trying to re-insert moral judgment into the psychiatric paradigm. Of course, many people have been chomping at the bit in their eagerness to call psychopaths evil.
Donald Trump did a terrible thing tearing babies out of the arms of their mothers on the ground that the mothers “broke the law” by daring to come to this country without all the right paperwork. Empaths are mortified and Mr. Trump is going to have a hard time living this down. It’s just this kind of thing that arouses the emotions of the electorate like nothing else.
I realized in my heart, I don’t really feel empathy for those kids. Sure I know they went through something horrible. I feel sorry for them — cognitively. Is that possible? To feel cognitive pity? Nevertheless, I was shocked to learn that Melania Trump went to one of the internment camps wearing a coat that boldly proclaimed her indifference to the children’s suffering. The Trumps are many things but hardly ever dull.
Links
- Evil is a Point of View. Yours truly
- Fascination With Evil. Yours truly
- Science and Morality. Yours truly
- Our Very Own Marie Antoinette. Yours truly
CLUSTER B 
Trump is probably best at not being dull. At the saying goes, and he does seem to believe it, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” His greatest talent does seem to be making sure the spotlight shines on no one else. Are you throwing flowers or rotten tomatoes? He really doesn’t care as long as you’re throwing it at him and talking about him. He likes the flowers better (and money even better), but if you throw the tomatoes, somebody will throw shit at you for him, and he enjoys watching a gladiatorial spectacle.
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He’s histrionic.
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Indeed. When he can get others to react histrionically, he feels his own volatility is validated and normalized.
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I read somewhere (I forgot where) that the message on Melania’s jacket was actually a cryptic message to her husband because she hates him. That may be the case. But the timing of when she wore the jacket makes me think it WAS about the kids — or more accurately, a message meant for the “empaths” and resisters who were so horrified by border patrol’s actions against the migrant families. I could have been another “shiny object” to distract attention away from real issues. Whatever it was, the whole thing was weird and fits right into the “reality show presidency” image.
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Today there are going to be 600 mass demonstrations all over the country. I think Trump is dead meat. He won’t recover from this. Let’s just sit back and watch his presidency implode.
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I’m going to one! I’m making a sign right now.
I will write about it later!
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Correct me if I’m wrong – but I suspect this talk of ‘paperwork’ is merely ‘a means to an end’ – a convenient justification. Nothing more.
The true goal is prevention of ingress of anyone who – on a sliding scale; *Aryans* being racially preferable, with shading downward with increasing color – isn’t immediately useful to ‘the powers that be’.
In other words, you can be a common individual if you are *white*, and come from an approved country(e.g. Norway) – but as your skin grows darker in color, you need more wealth and/or education to be ‘permitted’.
Finally, the goal isn’t merely prevention of entry into what is (regarded as) an *Aryan* enclave (by trumpiští); the goal is to also remove/enslave anyone who cannot be properly *synchronized* (Gleichschaltungen) into the new *Fascist* state. This means the expulsion/enslavement of naturalized citizens; and potentially, those who have lived here for generations who do not currently ‘measure up’. (And, of course, extermination of disabled people of all kinds.)
(Pardon me – I need to visit the bathroom. I feel sick)
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