On Human Beings

[H2O Man]

“We are faced with evil. I feel rather like Augustine did before becoming a Christian when he said, ' I tried to find the source of evil and I got nowhere. But it is also true that I and a few others knew what must be done if not to reduce evil to at least not add to it.' Perhaps we cannot prevent this world from being a world in which children are tortured. But we can reduce the number of children being tortured. And if you believers don't help us, who else in this world can help us do that?”
Albert Camus



Yes, indeed, we are currently faced with evil. As always, I use the term “evil” in the psychological sense as defined by the late Michael Stone and his top student Gary Brucato. Those of you interested in “true crime” in a psychological context may be familiar with their books, or have seen Gary on various podcasts. In that context, it is the crimes that absolutely repulse most people that rate as evil. The butchering of four college students in Idaho a few years back, for example.

Dropping a tomahawk missile on a girls' elementary school fits my idea of evil. It reminds me of when in 1963, members of the KKK planted 19 sticks of dynamite & timing device under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, killing four little girls. Most people find such things repulsive. Only the sickest among us try to excuse such things, or worse, celebrate it.

Human beings, in my opinion, should not celebrate evil. If an individual, group like the KKK, or a military murders innocent people, we should not celebrate. When those responsible for evil are tried, convicted, and incarcerated, we should be relieved, even very happy. Being human for now, I struggle with the recognition that the deaths of a few world “leaders” could result in my celebrating. Much of my thinking is based upon my status as a grandfather, and discussions with my siblings, cousins, and friends who are grandparents. It is not only about our children, as we all relate to the powerful quote above from Camus.

Thus, as a pathetic old man who has participated in the wonders and horrors of life, I think about “evil,” too. It exists only within human beings. Natural disasters are destructive, but not evil. Likewise, the documentary series “Chimp Empire” suggests that sapiens have long participated in violence. This relates to how the organic structure of sapiens leading to down to us have that potential, but chimps are not “evil,” but rather participants in the wonders and horrors of organic life on earth.

Evil, however, is entirely a reality of modern humans. It came about as a concept when our frontal lobes evolved in size, making child birth painful, making the awareness of our future death an unpleasant reality, and most all of the features of the ancient allegory about the “fall from grace” that is generally misunderstood. Indeed, one of the most common sources of evil is when higher learning falls upon lower understanding. That type of concrete thinking is why it is likely that at least one stranger in the grocery store you go to thinks we needed to bomb Iran before they bombed us.

There is the story about Jesus meditating in the desert for 40 days. Those at the lower levels of understanding believe that is limited to an actual desert, rather than grasping a “desert” also has a significant psychological meaning. More, they believe that Jesus was tempted a red being, complete with horns and pitchfork, known as the devil. They are guided by Santa God and Stained Glass Jesus, totally unaware that was a psychological struggle that Jesus had regarding the path he would follow. This reality helps us view Jesus in the context of humanity.

I think the other source of evil starts with the abuse of children, including individual cases in particular. Both DNA and environment combine to create sociopaths, just as blue and yellow creates green. This creates the creeps that butcher college students, dynamite churches, or bomb schools. This can include childhoods that appear “normal,” whatever that is.

I do not pretend to know what “the” answer is. But I know if a little one in the extended family is being abused, we have to confront and deal with it. If a child is being abused in a community, the community must take action. The same in a state, country, or any place on earth. We are in a tough fight – it might even feel like a desert these days – and this requires that we all do our best to reduce the numbers of human beings suffering.

[LoisB]

1. Excellent. Thank you.

[H2O Man]

3. Thank you!

Much appreciated!

[Morbius]

2. We have for generations watched television shows...

...that show the "good" guy killing the "bad" guy and then laughing and drinking with his friends (or working in his basement on a boat). And then we see the killing again next week.

We've been conditioned to believe that when bad things happen to bad people they suddenly become good things. This desensitizes us; as long as we see victims as bad people, they're not victims anymore.

My point is that sociopathy has become normalized, at least here in America. "Good" and "evil" are replaced by "us" and "them" and since we must be good, therefore they must be evil. And it's fine with us to do the nastiest things imaginable, because we "fighting evil."

Just my thoughts on the matter. No idea what to do about it. I think the damage has been done to this generation.

[H2O Man]

5. Great points.

I think that television and more recent technology has absolutely played a role. Despite positive contributions, there has also been negative.

Recently, an old friend that I have not seen or spoken with in fifty years called me. That was great, and we will be getting together this summer. He was calling on a cell phone, a device I have never used. We talked about the positives and negatives of cell phones. I mentioned studies of young teenage females' problems if they have their cell phone taken by a parent for a day. He said he didn't need to read a study, as this was something he experienced when his daughter was 13.

I think we need to the "higher ground" that Dr. King and other prophets spoke of. How we get there as a society escapes me these days.

[FHRRK1]

32. IMO, households (expectations) have been greatly influenced by TV

Look back at the hits in the 50s and 60s.

The Honeymooners were set in a low income apartment. Lucy and Ricky lived in an upscale small apt. Rob and Laura in a suburban two bedroom. Hell, the Beaver lived in a modest house and his mother wore pearls daily.

Contrast those with hit shows in the 80’s forward, tons of upscale mansions or McMansions. The working class families became the exception, usually due to the lead characters personality.

[spanone]

4. K&R

We are an odd species

[H2O Man]

7. Thanks!

When I start bending my younger son's ear to rant about this, he says, "Old man, keep in mind what Rust said in season one of True Detective. We are an evolutionary mistake, that needs to be wiped out."

[malaise]

6. We sure are faced with evil

Thanks bro
Rec

[H2O Man]

8. Thank you!

I will admit that I thought the felon was too cowardly to attack Iran. I was wrong. Now I'm reminded of cowardly brats I knew growing up, who would pick a fight and expect others to fight for him.

[malaise]

9. Yep

and he’ll soon throw someone under the bus

[H2O Man]

10. Right.

I've already heard him say he was taking the advice of Marco, Jared and half-Witkoff. Everyone who has been associated with him is eventually turned upon. Someone has to take the blame for his errors.

[HighFired49]

18. If he had to personally attack Iran without some payback, it never would have happened.

As long as he could send others who meant nothing to him, to do it for him, it was no problem. I also have an idea that Netanyahu probably promised him a great deal for going after Iran, like maybe a big piece of Gaza where he could build his gaudy hotels and golf courses. Why else attack Iran since he had "obliterated" their sites last year, probably also at Israel's request? Always ask, "what's the grift" when he's involved.

[Saoirse9]

11. I suppose evil is subjective

Because in his feeble mind, trump is the only reliable judge of what is right and wrong.

To him, anyone who disagrees with him, or wants to stop him from doing evil things, is the actual evil doer.

Good people are the ones who agree with him. Bad people are the ones who say he is evil.

Whatever is currently expedient to his mood and satisfying to his ego, is the good thing.

So. He has taught us that true evil can easily coexist with deep stupidity. Because admit it, he is no evil genius. He contradicts himself, often in the same sentence. His lies are obvious and stupid to us, but because he sees himself and everyone who agrees with him as the good guys, he sees his lies as the only truth that matters.

He’s incapable of seeing reality because reality to him, is whatever he is thinking at the moment whether it is actually happening or not.

There’s really no fighting against a man who is so deeply stupid he believes his own lies. There is absolutely no reasoning with people who still admire him despite his blatant evil actions.

Faced with the reality of the evil that is trump all we can really do is practice radical kindness. We can keep ourselves safe and look after the children who will suffer the most because of the evil policies of this administration.

But if that fucker dies suddenly and painfully I will celebrate so hard it will take me weeks to recover. Sorry. If his death is horrific I will celebrate even more. I will dance on his grave, and delight in a world without him. I will buy all my trumper relatives black armbands that say the evil fucker is dead at last.

I want him to die on national TV in a horrific and painful way and if he does I will play the video over and over and cheer every single time.

That’s all I have to say about that.

[H2O Man]

22. I agree and disagree.

I think that as a sociopath, he is aware that others subscribe to the concept of evil in a religious sense. Unlike Bush the Elder and his son W, who were not religious but used it for political purposes and liked religious folks that voted for them, this guy is different. Despite the photo-op where he held an upside down bible in front of a burning church, he not only is a "non-believer," but he views those who are in contempt, and he resents religion because it suggests that it's wrong when he does wrong.

His entire adult life provides examples of his delighting in doing wrong things. Getting away with violating the law. Being close pals with a Jeffrey Epstein. Harming women in various ways. Being cruel, such as mocking a handicapped journalist or calling women who stand up to him "nasty" or stupid. Calling for the January 6 uprising. Stealing documents and hiding them on officials tasked with bringing them back where they belong. Pitting the DOJ on his political enemies. His association with mob lawyer Roy Cohn. And on and on.

I can think of no person he respects, rather than simply finds useful at the time. But he will toss the most loyal among them under the bus when it suits his needs at the moment, as Michael Cohen learned the hard way. It is an error to assume he has the ability to think in the same way as most people, or that he experiences life in the same manner that most people do.

[yellow dahlia]

12. Thank you for your thoughts. You draw attention to the questions that need asking.

I now use the word evil often. I used to think it was an overused word that became trite in that overuse. I used to use it sparingly.

But now - it has found a stronghold in our world.

I am not willing to feel comfortable in this state of societal evolution in which we find ourselves.

I look toward civility, wherever we can find it. I may not live long enough to see us return to a semblance of a civilized civilization, but I will do what I can to take us on that path.

[H2O Man]

23. Thank you.

At times it seems like all of the evil of the past is seeping up from the ground and confronting our society.

[yellow dahlia]

30. Indeed - like a miasma.

[spike jones]

13. I think that was the time from a high mountain top the devil showed and promised Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth.

The only way anyone could see all the kingdoms from a high point is if the earth was flat. So there you have it right in the bible, the earth is flat.

[H2O Man]

24. Great point.

If time is a flat circle, it would only make sense that the earth is, too.

[AZProgressive]

14. I agree

A lot of what has been done in Gaza by Israel with US weapons is also happening in Iran by both US & Israel attacks though not sure which strike has done by which country but they are also attacking medical personnel which is a war crime but has been done a lot in the Israeli assault on Gaza.

My point is even though Bush lied and attacked Iraq under false pretenses they at-least pretended to follow international law as far as rules of engagement and combat specifically. In the book Directorate S by Steve Coll under the Obama administration a single hospital in Afghanistan was bombed which faced a lot of controversy but under these new ways wars are being fought starting with Israel and continuing with Trump & Hegseth I would call a lot of their military actions "evil" but they definitely violate international and humanitarian law. Very similar to Russia in the early stages of their invasion of Ukraine.

[H2O Man]

25. Right.

There is gross violence in Lebanon resulting in severe humanitarian consequences, too. Along with the on-going theft of land and homes in the West Bank.

I think that Netanyahu poses the greatest threat to peace in Israel. And, of course, the convicted felon/sex offendeer to the United States.

[Mblaze]

15. Get thee behind me, Donald.

[H2O Man]

26. Sometimes

when an old associate calls me, he begins the conversation by noting that we are coming closer to when the felon finally croaks.

[littlemissmartypants]

16. Thanks so much, H2O ...

Last edited Mon Mar 16, 2026, 11:52 PM - Edit history (1)

I have one question. Why did you choose sociopath instead of psychopath? I have wrestled with the word choice myself.

Thanks again.
❤️

He's a psychopath in psychosis and the world's in a heap of trouble.

— (@2diamondeyes.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T02:50:01.260Z

He's a psychopath in psychosis and the world's in a heap of trouble.

[H2O Man]

28. Good question!

Let's start with that chart, which is based largely upon Dr. Hare's checklist. His 1993 "Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of Psychopaths Among Us" is essential reading. I was trained by his top student, J. Reid Meloy, who a few decades ago was recognized as the leading expert in this field in the USA, often serving as an expert witness in court cases. (The last I heard, after 9/11, he began working with military intelligence.)

You may recall that in the first of the three interviews I did with Dr. Bandy Lee for DU in 2020 -- it may have posted in February that year -- I asked her about applying the terms psychopath, sociopath, and malignant narcissist to the then president. Being old, I am long retired, and insurance companies' influence has changed the "official" diagnoses in the DSM for billing purposes. I had some good DU discussions with a forensic psychologist at the time.

However, in an attempt to avoid being obnoxiously long winded, let's consider each term. Psychopath's root implies the brain, sociopath implies environment, and malignant narcissist is Erich Fromm's name for these types of people. Obviously, there is a range -- not all of them are murderers, of course. It is a spectrum of features, and thus not everyone of them would score the exact same on Dr. Hare's checklist.

(I apologize if this is disjointed, as I have had a series of phone calls while attempting to respond here. As an old man who at times finds himself asking, "Why did I come into this room?" it can post the risk of rambling when trying to write.)

In the old days, other than in court ordered cases, one could only charge for three visits with type of person in the office. As there really isn't a "cure" beyond some reaching a plateau around the age of 50, incarceration, or death, insurance companies were not interested in paying for long-term treatment that doesn't work. Thus the DSM adjustment to make sociopathy an extension of anti-social personality disorder. However, most actual ASPD people have an honor code -- not the same as society's, of course -- including, for example, when mafia members would opt for long incarceration over ratting out their associates. In that code, being a rat could earn one concrete shoes larger than Marco's. Sociopaths do not have codes of honor, and this president has a long history of behavior that illustrates that.

Now, brain scans do indicate differences in important regions of the brain. These tend to be scans of the worst of the worst, rather than sociopathic bankers, investors, lawyers, or politicians. These differences are very important. But again, there is a spectrum. DNA plays a role beyond brain structure. I'll use the example of Manson, who had a raging case of short man disease as a result of being a runt. So he had a runt strain of DNA, so to speak, that in the environments he inhabited played a significant role in his criminal history.

I have good friends who are younger and in the field, that use "psychopath" in terms of the worst of the worst, and "sociopath" for someone with either less features on Hare's checklist or less violent or threatening behaviors. I have no problem with that. One friend who used to post here frequently noted that psychopaths have "dead eyes," which were uncomfortable. I've encountered that. But being old, stubborn, and Irish (DNA & environment), I still prefer "sociopath" because it includes both sides of the coin and the features found on that spectrum. I hope this makes some sense!

Those around my age tend to hold that DNA/heredity and environment are two sides of the same coin.

[littlemissmartypants]

34. Thanks so much for your reply! I'm so glad that I asked. Lots to ponder. 🤓❤️

[flashman13]

17. Well written H2O Man.

[H2O Man]

29. Thanks!

[wnylib]

19. I have long believed that we could eliminate a lot of evil in the world

if we, as a society and as neighbors and relatives intervene when we see child abuse.

But those interventions do little good unless the agencies and individuals working there receive the priorities in funding and supervision that they need. I saw first hand how the system fails children when I was a volunteer for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.

Another thing that society could do to diminish evil is to provide quality physical and mental health care for every individual and family. Substance addiction, depression, or other physical/psychological problems in adults can lead to neglect of children.

But our priorities are screwed up. Existing programs accomplish too little due to lack of funding, lack of enough qualified staff, and lack of oversight for the programs.

We reap what we sow.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

20. Being tortured

Does not make them a sadistic psychopath.

Psychopaths and narcissists are the biggest threat to life on Earth.

I think the disproven theory of you get abused you become an abuser.

I think psychopaths and narcissists are a danger to us all.


Psychopaths are born that way
And narcissists develop it as soon as 2 years old.

I think they are physically different in the brain.

They are born that way

[Martin Eden]

21. War isn't a video game. It's up close, personal, horrific, tragic.

H2O Man, you've often predicated your posts with some relevant classic rock. "Some Mother's Son" by The Kinks touches upon the grief of a mother whose son did not come home from war.

https://m.

Some mother's son lies in a field
Someone has killed some mother's son today
Head blown up by some soldier's gun
While all the mothers stand and wait
Some mother's son ain't coming home today
Some mothers son ain't got no brain

Two soldiers fighting in a trench
One soldier glances up to see the sun
And dreams of games he played when he was young
And then his friend calls out his name
It stops his dream and as he turns his head
A second later he is dead

Some mother's son lies in a field
Back home they put his picture in a frame
But all dead soldiers look the same
While all the parents stand and wait
To meet their children coming home from school
Some mother's son is lying dead

Somewhere someone is crying
Someone is trying to be so brave
But still the world keeps turning
The world of children has gone away

Some mother's son lies in a field
But in his mother's eyes he looks the same
As on the day he went away

They put his picture on the wall
And with a thousand picture frames
Some mothers memory remains

[Whip-poor-will]

27. Grandmom's advice

We, have since the beginning of time building and trying to become a better race and a fit world to live in and in our churches and schools and homes we have taught and preached faith, hope and charity and right along with these beautiful flowers we have allowed these poisonous weeds to grow. Jealousy, Greed and Selfishness these are the weeds that have caused all our troubles up until the present time. They have caused war , they have caused our present banking failures, they have caused our depression in the world and all our troubles in our homes and no country in the world can stand if built upon these foundations.
True enough you will say we have faith, hope and charity, we mean good for all Peoples but if you allow the weeds of Greed ,Jealousy ,Selfishness to thrive along with faith ,hope and charity the weeds are going to hold faith, hope and charity back and in some places kill faith hope and charity entirely.
Can you picture to your self a person, a family, a village ,a town, a state a country that has entirely wiped out greed, jealousy and selfishness ? Can you visualize a world without these three monsters then let us try to start now to pull these weeds out in ourselves. Let us start a weeding out club, that will as time goes on spread all over the world. Each member will have to wipe out all selfishness ,all jealousy and all greediness and that will be a big battle for each one of us starting with the baby down to the grave but my, what a battle if it is ever won ,my what a victory for every person, every home, every country [in] the whole world.
When these three monsters are killed there will be no more wars, no more starvation, no more unemployment, no more need of prisons, no more need of navies and armies to kill. We may have navies and armies to beautify the world. And our banks will be run on the live and let live plan.
Take greed,selfishness and jealousy out of each one of us and out of the world and there will be no more trouble because these are the root of all evil. And as long as they are in people and in business and in the world we will have war, depressions, starvation and murder and crime of all kinds.
So let us wake up and start our society or club or what ever you want to call it. No matter what you’re called our creed is you can become a member but you first have to begin on yourself and wipe out any jealousy, greed and selfishness. When you have passed that test and can live up to it, well you and I and all others that can do it have overcome the greatest devouring monster in us and in the world today.

Catherine B 6-1-1933
This is a letter from my Grandmom, I found 30 years after she passed note the date

[cynical_idealist]

31. humans need to evolve so the worst of us is as good as the best of us now.

dreaming...

[usonian]

33. Good people lift others up.

Others project their fears, weaknesses and failures onto others, and try to cut them down.

I don't believe that people are "stamped" but they adopt the general attitude of (western) society of privilege (expressed as inequality) and blame. Always someone else to blame besides yourself. It's kind of wired in.

But one doesn't have to accept it. One can grow, but people get locked into a "persona" or story and don't turn the page.

One can always find the light or jewel that was always inside.

Or not.

That projection sadly can take on monstrous proportions.
That's why we defend the weak "the least among us" rather than take advantage of them.