Tag: crime

Re: Monster

We are in a period of history where monsters appear around every corner. I like reading the newspaper to my blind 97 year old special mom but lately I’m finding myself censoring the content because the reports trouble her so much. Even mild-mannered folks like me are peppering our conversations with tales of monstrous behaviour. A recent New York Times crossword had a single word clue: Boogeyman. The correct answer was a four letter word: Fear.

There are monsters that reside within us and monsters we fear from without. A powerful new film of the fictional character Frankenstein focuses on The Bride! (his). The director skillfully helped me think of Franky resulting from the cruelty of humanity: A product of society patching together the pieces that create deviant behaviour. Therefore there is no blaming him when he seeks some companionship after 100 years alone. Being a fan of film, I’ve watched many representations of the evil that lies within. One of my regrets is calling my sister, in a moment of rage, a Bad Seed, after the movie of the same name. Who’s the monster now eh?

News media tends to label killers, ‘monsters’. I wonder how that human got to the place where committing murder is a valid option. I don’t believe in Damien-like individuals being born evil. Somewhere along the maturity spectrum the individual has morphed into a manipulator of horrid proportions. Obsession may lie at the root of anti-social behaviours. We’ve given The Donald a chance to be in charge of the world’s most powerful nation. How? He’s not a quietly calculating Norman Bates, yet he is just as creepy, and more deadly. 

As far as I know, there isn’t a DNA marker for evil. Despite all the work from psychologists there isn’t a definitive profile, or stereotypical pattern that would help a civilization unmask a monster, before an awful event. Parents often get blamed for abhorrent behaviour in their children. A mass shooting, by a late-adolescent in British Columbia, created a demand for a political enquiry into how such a thing could happen in peaceful, gun-regulated Canada. Government neglect, miscommunication, internet abuse, an intolerant community, and even Artificially Intelligent programming are being labelled as the monsters of the day in quiet Tumbler Ridge.

People like to watch horror movies to feel a fear reaction. Halloween continues to be a popular North American holiday for children to dress up as monsters (or their do-good adversaries). A current costume favourite for my granddaughter is to dress-up as one of the Kpop Demon Hunters, an update from my niece’s favourite Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My long dead mother used to love greasing her hair back, donning a cape, and placing fake fangs in her mouth, to scare children knocking on our door for treats. I never saw the attraction of fear and pleasure coinciding.

Monsters continue to be an imaginary fascination for young and old alike, so it puzzles me why we are so surprised when real monsters show up at our doorstep.

Re: Theft

Everyone has a tale of theft. Either someone has taken something from you or you have stolen from someone else. We rarely feel comfortable admitting the latter but my oh my, don’t we all like to target the other when we have felt robbed.

I’ve never been a train or bank burglar but as a kid I enjoyed the exploits of bandits like Butch Cassidy, the James Brothers, and Bonnie & Clyde. I was so emotionally kidnapped by tales of that Prince of Thieves, Robin Hood, that I visited Sherwood Forest in England when I was an adult. I could never excuse violent acts but I think there are times when theft can be forgiven, if not justified. Looting is a form of theft that can take place after a natural disaster. Studies in the wake of break-ins after Hurricane Katrina suggested that desperate people were seeking food, medicine or shelter. These were acts of survival not of anarchy. I believe that rioting can be a response to societal theft: When one person or group abdicates their part of the social contract (providing government oversight, a living wage, adequate health care, access to education), then that agreement is henceforth non-binding.

As a child I was tempted many times to lift something in the manner of the Artful Dodger. Once I spied a set of magnets in a clear cellophane pack on a display rack at a local five and dime store. I had learned that year in grade three that a magnet has a mysterious ability to attract. In an impulsive moment I pocketed the package. I couldn’t believe I made it street side without sirens or flashing lights. I rushed home and hid my shoplifted booty in the very back of one of my dresser drawers. There it remained for months, unopened. As an adult who should know better, I took a stapler from a teachers’ workroom at the school I worked at, ostensibly to organize some student marking while at home. I soon rationalized that it was mine. While not a moral dilemma equivalent to that fictional loaf of bread stolen by Jean Valjean in the novel Les Misérables, it’s a source of personal regret notwithstanding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP9fFngHgkQ

We could use some modern ‘rob from the rich/give to the poor’ stories. I keep struggling with the whole concept of ownership. Our life is so short, so why not share. An equitable tax system would help. Wages based on the common wealth of a nation would benefit everyone. The societal balance sheet is tilted in favour of the wealthy. I feel profit is a form of theft. Intellectual property is a scam. I wonder how Banksy feels about copyright laws. Passive income from tax sheltered corporate shares is also theft. We’re being robbed!

I was once mugged while delivering pizzas but I kept my dignity. Never let anyone steal your sense of who you are, your time, your identity, your future or your opportunities. Keep your true and precious self inviolate.