Last night I watched a portion of Contrapoints latest video. (The run time if feature length at 90 minutes so I will be watching it in bits and pieces.) She had a very on-point and insightful observation which I will paraphrase from memory here, ‘If you don’t recognize the humanity in monsters (referring to people who do monstrous things creatures from fantastic horror tales) then you won’t be able to see the monster in you.’
This is a viewpoint that I have long held as critically important but phrased nearly perfectly. people do monstrous things but they are and remain people. Often, they are damaged by their conditions, deluded in their worldview, but they are still us. From the mass exterminators of the Nazi and Communist regimes to community bigots and bullies they are all still human and if we insist that they are ‘monster’ then we are insisting that they are not like us and we not only absolve ourselves of our own monstrous deeds we create the foundation to justify them and future ones.
In literature there’s the adage that the villain is the hero of their own story and this is very true for reality. The insurrectionists that stormed the nation’s capital and murdered a police officer in a quest to subvert our election and impose an anti-democratic rule upon everyone were heroes in their own eyes. Recognizing their humanity in no way absolves them of their crimes, nor their leaders whom I feel are far less deluded but far more certain in their ‘righteousness.’ Their leaders so confident of their ‘enemies’ monstrous intent and deeds are blind to their own. Convinced that they are right and refusing any possibility that they are wrong forces them onto a path that leads to this sort of violence. If you are right and your ‘enemy’ will stop at nothing to do their ‘vile’ deeds it would be inconceivable to do anything less than everything to win. Their certainty creates the conditions for horrendous actions.
And it can do the same for those of us resisting. Doubt is a good thing, questioning if you are right, is a good thing, always probing yourself and judging yourself is a good thing and you must never stop.
