Evil

Evil is a consequence of injury. The big person did not start off evil. Their difficult sides were not hard wired from the start. They grew towards malice on account of some form of wound waiting to be discovered. It is work of extraordinary patience and humanity it is the work of love-to go in search of what these wounds might be. To search is morally frightening, because we too easily imagine that it might require us to wind up thinking well of behavior we know is abhorrent: it doesn't at all, we can remain appalled while simultaneously tracing a path back to the true catalytic factors. The work can also be practically frightening because we imagine that it might require us to leave someone at liberty to cause us or others more pain: but again, we can keep the wrong doer safely behind very high bars, even as we sensitively explore the origins of their violations. Once the full stories of our trespassers become known, our perspective may swiftly rework itself.