Monsters

It is ironic when happy, cheerful people talk about things as morbid as murder. Walking into my nine am journalism class I did not expect to have a lecture on lynching, but it really got me thinking. Of course this is not a new topic. Like other students, at least I hope, I have been exposed to lynching and the horrors of racism, but this was different. Today I saw a connection between mobs watching people die to my daily experiences with people watching others suffer. It is almost belittles something as important in historical context as lynching by comparing it to emotional suffering in everyday life but throughout class all I could think about was the recent blog I wrote, The Two L's Love and Lonliness. Like the questions I posed in that blog, "How could you sit by and not comfort someone in need," I was asking similar questions in class. Over and over, I thought to myself, how could these mobs think watching someone die is something to be proud of? Lynching mobs and even bystanders during the 60's civil rights movement, how could these people not have a nagging voice in their head saying, "This is wrong. You have to do something?"
What comes to mind is the innocent bystander theory in pyschology. Everyone in a crowd thinks someone else will intervene, so they don't have to. Using this theory in this context does nothing though. A pyschological phenomenon that does apply is conditioning. It is enlightening to recognize that people in history are the products of their age, just as we are. The time period, place and cultural norm, of the era one grows up in influences one's thoughts and behaviors tremendously. Knowing that though does not change the appalling feeling one feels when learning about the atrocities in history. Acknowledging that the environment affects everyone still does not excuse one of the horrors they commit. Doing that is like saying it is okay for a murderer to continue on a killing spree because he or she was abused during childhood. The abuse provides a deep psychological motive for how the person became a murderer but in no way does society just let a murderer go free because of past experiences. Understanding someone's past or even the historical cultural context of an era exposes the humanity in the criminal making it harder to place the label of monster.
Personally, I find myself creating a monster out of someone who has hurt me because it is easier to place blame. When someone or something becomes human, it is harder to not empathizes or sympathizes with the person. Compassion is one of my biggest strengths, but often because it is such a huge part of who I am, it hurts me. When I allow myself to empathize with someone who have hurt me, I release this person from blame and continue to associate with them, which only leads to more mistakes on their part and hurt on mine. I am not saying I am an innocent in this at all. What I am trying to say is that looking into someone's past allows you to understand why they are the person they are. My best friend likes to think that nobody has flaws. These so called flaws are what makes that person's personality. She believes as humans we make mistakes, no one should be condemned for the seemingly "bad" part of their personality. After all we are all products of our past. As Stephen King said, "Monsters are real and ghosts are real too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win." We all have those moments when we are not the best we can be. 
As with anything there are exceptions to the rule, when the crime or action is as heinous as say Hitler's reasoning for the Holocaust, but I guess that just means you have to take it case by case. When it is in a historical context it is easier to label and not try to understand than with everyday occurences. My pledge though is always before reaching for hate, try to understand someone, including their past. Because of this pledge I have with myself, it makes it hard for me to understand how someone can watch another human being suffer. So before you look to judge, think about how this quote applies to yourself and therefore can apply to anyone else:"I am who I am because of who I was; I am the sum of my experiences."