Have you met a evil person during your life?

[Alan McDougall]

I have thought long and hard about whether or not I have had the misfortune of interacting in a negative way, during my life, with in my opinion, was a truly evil depraved, bad immoral person?

My answer sadly is yes, but in reality in all the 70 plus years I have been on this earth, only one person, a young man , was in my opinion truly evil! (He tried to murder me with a knife!)

The question , therefore begs, have any of the other distinguished forum members, had the misfortune during their lives, to have had to interact with a really evil person?

I look forward to your replies?

Edited June 17, 2014 by Alan McDougall

[JJ50]

I have met quite a number of so called 'saved' Christians who were extremely nasty people!

[Mikko-kun]

I dont know.... I truly dont. I've read all the stories and stuff about psychopaths, read as much as I could stomach... not the idea of psychopaths but the idea that people think they are beyond cure and just like that.

I've been threatened with a knife too, and met some bully types. But in more than one occasion I've been in danger of becoming/acting like one, pouring your crap on other people because you dont know any different. To people with who you have daily interactions with.

Just saying I've been on that side of the coin too, when you're pushed to a corner and dont see a way out even though there are always ones, I've come to see the world as of actions and consequences. The mental barriers which tell us which things to avoid doing are just that, barriers... some of them you could cross, if you have to choose between two barriers. Getting your priorities straight seems more practical than trying to preserve the barriers intact, and I can forgive anyone who breaks lesser barriers for altruistic and hopefully not-shortsighted causes. Altruism is one thing, not-shortsighted altruism another.

After being oblivious about eating so much factory farm meat I can't really regard myself or anyone else who does that all-good. And those of us who contend to living a good life themselves but has that good life or a part of it sustained from the harsher lives of others. Everything will eventually balance itself out, it's just a matter of how.

Nasty... sure, I doubt there's one person on earth who couldn't be/act nasty. But how high in the ladder of altruism can anyone climb is what determines their "goodness, holiness" and such on my book. If and how far they can see and act beyond their own nose. No matter what the action they must take.

I dont think anyone's truly evil, but most or quite a lot of us "are not there yet", not so high in the ladder. Some more some less.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Mikko-kun

[Crabby Kitten]

My ex boyfriend was truly and totally evil.

[Purplos]

I have an abusive ex-husband, but I wouldn't call him truly evil, even though he was a horrible person.

I was temporarily friends with someone whom I came to know had the ability to do truly evil things.... like continuous news coverage kind of evil things. He was mentally ill, so I wouldn't call him evil either. If I were a religious person, I can definitely see that I would consider him touched by "Evil" or such.

It all comes down to how you define evil. I have a problem calling mentally ill people evil because it's simply not their fault how they act a lot of the time. If people have reality within their grasp and still choose to do evil things... well, okay then.

[Border Collie]

No.

[Taun]

I've met quite a few people I've considered to be "butt heads"... but I can't really think of any person I've ever met who I would say is "evil"...

[freetoroam]

Have not met any face to face, but have read about some in the true crime books and have seen on few on the news, so we know they are out there. Some are even running countries!

[karmakazi]

I have thought long and hard about whether or not I have had the misfortune of interacting in a negative way, during my life, with in my opinion, was a truly evil depraved, bad immoral person?

My answer sadly is yes, but in reality in all the 70 plus years I have been on this earth, only one person, a young man , was in my opinion truly evil! (He tried to murder me with a knife!)

The question , therefore begs, have any of the other distinguished forum members, had the misfortune during their lives, to have had to interact with a really evil person?

I look forward to your replies?

I don't know if I'd call any of them evil, but I have known some terribly conflicted and violent people. My best friend's ex had a gun to her head at one point and he was verbally abusive, and addicted to nearly every vice imaginable. But, I did get to know him and through that I could see that inside he was basically a really scared child that drank, did drugs, cheated, abused, etc as a way of distracting himself from the guilt he felt over similar past actions. In the end I felt really bad for him because his "evilness" was only a defense mechanism for emotions he couldn't handle.

[Thelaw1]

Depends on the definition of evil. It is evil to kill without justification (i.e. self defense). If you say evil is an action brought about due to malice, then yes, I have met some evil people. I have met people who had enjoyment from inflicting pain on other individuals. I was never the target but from the outside and looking at it objectively, the person that was targeted did not deserve the malice action. I had to intervene and stop the attack.

Another thing that I believe personally is evil, is when people sit back and watch a wrongdoer inflicting pain on other people. That is evil as well. Apathy is probably the worst form of evil.

A good example of apathy being a horrific response to a situation is in the case of the Holocaust. The Germany people and the nations of the world sat back and allowed for Hitler to openly discriminate in the worst of ways against those he saw as inferior. Granted, most of the world did not really know the EXTENT of the harm Hitler caused until the very end of the war, but the world knew of the EXISTENCE of discrimination and sat back and did nothing.

Never again.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Thelaw1

[Perceptivum]

The question , therefore begs, have any of the other distinguished forum members, had the misfortune during their lives, to have had to interact with a really evil person?

Exquisite question and really got me thinking about it. No, I've never met a person you could ‘label’ as evil. Interesting.

[Taun]

The problem is, that - like many things - the term "Evil" is almost never defined... What I might consider 'evil' is what someone else might consider 'malicious' (i.e. "acting with Malice")

but not quite up to their definition of "evil"...

To be quite honest about it... I'm not certain what my defintion of actual "evil" is...

What is your definition of "Evil"?

[Thelaw1]

The problem is, that - like many things - the term "Evil" is almost never defined... What I might consider 'evil' is what someone else might consider 'malicious' (i.e. "acting with Malice")

but not quite up to their definition of "evil"...

To be quite honest about it... I'm not certain what my defintion of actual "evil" is...

What is your definition of "Evil"?

Acting with malice is a good starting point. Apathy as I have stated, is another. Being indifferent to someone's suffering is akin to malice, not to the intent, but the end result. If you WANT or DESIRE to cause pain to someone, that is evil because it is malicious. If you do not CARE that someone gets injured or hurt, then that can also be defined as evil because you do not care if they end up hurt.

[karmakazi]

The problem is, that - like many things - the term "Evil" is almost never defined... What I might consider 'evil' is what someone else might consider 'malicious' (i.e. "acting with Malice")

but not quite up to their definition of "evil"...

To be quite honest about it... I'm not certain what my defintion of actual "evil" is...

What is your definition of "Evil"?

From a dictionary standpoint:

e-vil: profoundly immoral and malevolent

I would consider an "evil person" in that they have little to no regard for other people's lives or happiness and likely take pleasure in causing harm to others whether physically, financially or emotionally.

Edited June 17, 2014 by karmakazi

[Sakari]

no

[Grandpa Greenman]

I have met people with mental illness and very dangerous, I wouldn't call them so much as evil as I would insane. I think evil is really insanity.

[GoldenWolf]

I've met the evilest.

[Arbenol]

I've worked for many years with people who have committed all manner of appalling crimes against their fellow humans. In all that time I've met very few that could be considered evil. Even the most odious of characters have some redeeming features.

But, as human beings, we tend to judge and label people by the worst things they have done. We can demonise them and think of them as sub-human animals as a defence against having to consider them as being the same species as us.

I think truly evil people (however you may wish to define that) are extremely rare. Evil deeds, on the other hand, are unfortunately much more common.

[coolguy]

Yeah I kinda know somebody he killed this guy that use to hang out with my friends and me. The killer and the guy who was killed where kinda friends.the guy was killed because he rated out the killer to the cops.

[Alan McDougall]

Have not met any face to face, but have read about some in the true crime books and have seen on few on the news, so we know they are out there. Some are even running countries!

Yes the past also had many, Hitler. Stalin, and many more.

But does a good definition of a really evil person exist!

[Alan McDougall]

Yeah I kinda know somebody he killed this guy that use to hang out with my friends and me. The killer and the guy who was killed where kinda friends.the guy was killed because he rated out the killer to the cops.

This guy was not really evil!

[JJ50]

Yes the past also had many, Hitler. Stalin, and many more.

But does a good definition of a really evil person exist!

No human is as evil as the depiction of the Biblical deity, imo!

[White Crane Feather]

Well..... When I was nine . My moms psyco boyfriend was breaking down our little apartments door. I was forced to jump out of the window ( roughly three storys) , and the ledge caught my foot and spun me so I landed flat In deep construction mud probably saving broken limbs . It shocked my body but I was fine.

Then a year latter the d*** **** picked me up by my neck, but my older brother saw what was happening a tackled the ****er.

Yeah. I believe in evil people. Those so obsorbed with themselves there can be nothing else logical.

[XenoFish]

I know evil people and through experience it's all about possessing power over others. Those they deem weaker or lesser than them. It's the reason I'm willing to fight to protect others.

[Grandpa Greenman]

^^^^^ dang, Xeno, that picture is mighty evil.... Evil clowns... Run.......