Last week I met someone that expressed interest in firearms and personal security. Obviously, I really get excited when anyone expresses interest in either of these topics. So I started talking to her about guns and being able to use them. I also talked about whether she should have a gun or not.
I try to introduce people to evil in the world slowly. Most people don’t want to know that the world we live in has evil in it. Jack Spirko gave a great example using the 10% rule. In the military, the 10% rule says that 10% of everyone in the military is going to be a screw up. Jack talked about how 10% of our population is capable of evil. Some of those 10% are the criminals (dirt bags) that make a living by committing crimes. Another small percent are the opportunist that have a real job but would steal if the opportunity presents itself. The last part is those that are held in check by the possible consequences.
I believe that most people are good but this 10% is a number that, if unleashed, society has a hard time controlling. All you have to do is look at any violent riot in history or what happened to New Orleans during hurricane Katrina. The other problem is that these 10% people are in every aspect of society. After Katrina, there were cops convicted of murder for their actions. There have been ministers and teachers that have victimized children. Evil is everywhere and people are capable of evil that is unbelievable.
When I first start talking to someone, I try to introduce it slowly. Last week I asked questions like what are you going to protect yourself against. I got the normal response about home robberies. For some reason, that is the first example people come up with. So I told her that she had to be ready to kill someone if she was going to have a gun for self defense. Most people give me the canned answer of yes, but I don’t think anyone knows until you are there. It’s ingrained in our being to not kill someone else. To do it goes against a human instinct.
I then talk about violence. I tell people they are good people and that no one really wants to kill another person and cause violence, but if you have to defend yourself you have to be more violent then the other person. That generally gets people thinking about violence and what is possible.
For you as my readers, I want to share just how evil people can be. Years ago I was assigned to work with Kuwaiti Commandos on guard duty. It was early in 2003, everyone knew America was going to invade Iraq and my unit was going to be part of it. The Kuwaiti’s asked me about going and I told them the truth. One of the Commandos looked me in the eyes and told me to go and kill every last Iraqi I saw. I told him I think you mean all the soldiers and that I will be doing that. He said no, every last man, woman, and child. I tried to tell him I’m a US Marine, we don’t do that stuff and then he told me his story.
He joined the Kuwaiti Military after Iraq had invaded his country in 1990. Iraqi soldiers had poured into the streets and started killing anyone that they wanted to. He clung to his wife and 2-month-old child as the soldiers pushed them around. One of the Iraqi soldiers took his son from his wife, stomped him to death and then they gang raped his wife. When they were done, they murdered her. He was made to watch it all. Then they took him to a prison where he was tortured for months until the American Military freed him in the Gulf War.
The way he spat out the story with such passion, hate, and hurt along with the many scars on his face and arms, and that his fellow soldiers said it was true made me believe all of it. It made me sick at the time to hear that people could be so evil, but now that I look back on my life, I can see there are people in our own military and society that are easily capable of such atrocities and more.
There is unspeakable evil among us, and we have to confront it when we can. The worst thing we can do is bury our heads and ignore it. I believe all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Stay Safe,
Ben
Terrific post – thank you so much! I think what people forget about evil is that everyone is the hero of their own story, and even people who do monstrously evil things rationalize them in their heads. Hitler thought he was saving the German people. I’d guess those Iraqi soldiers your Kuwaiti commando ran across thought they were taking just retribution on their enemies, or that they were intimidating the enemy into surrender, or some such thing. The 9/11 hijackers thought they were part of a holy war against their most feared enemy. All of these people unquestionably did evil things, but I doubt any of them thought they were evil at the time. I doubt the predators I’ve crossed paths with thought they were behaving in an evil manner, either. I had possessions one of them wanted, and a gun was a good way to get them. Another wanted to hurt me to make himself feel powerful, and so he did terrible things in service of that goal. They didn’t think about the consequences for me, the physical and psychological scars their actions left behind, because that wasn’t part of their mental story about what they were doing. Robbers, rapists, and murderers all justify what they do — if they thought those acts were truly evil, they probably wouldn’t do them. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make the things they do any less evil, nor does it make the trauma any less real for those on the receiving end.
Great post.
I have lived abroad in multiple countries spread around the globe, mostly recently in Liberia, West Africa. 90% of that time was spent in the bush. Talk about an eye opener. Cannibalism is still practiced, as well as any other horror and evil that man’s sick mind can conjure up up to that level.
Like it or not, it is an evil world out there and getting worse by the day. One must learn to protect themselves or risk being a victim.
“One must learn to protect themselves or risk being a victim.” What a great line, I couldn’t agree more. I’m not sure if the world is getting worst or better, I do know it’s changing and would like to challenge everyone to get involved in their community and not except that the world is just going to get worst. Let us, the good people, step up and make a change for the better. Even in the worst places in the world, the good people out number the bad.