Rogers and Patrick
Cruelty
Rogers and Patrick represent something I have never been able to fully understand.
Pure cruelty.
Throughout history—and still today—human beings have tortured, abused, humiliated, and murdered other human beings. We even experience cruelty around us, and sometimes we see others cheering it on or even celebrating terrible acts.
But nowadays, another form of cruelty has become increasingly visible: social media, where bullying, humiliation, and personal attacks can be observed every day. Behind a screen, people do not have to look into the eyes of the person they are hurting. They do not see their reaction. The other person becomes a profile, a username, an enemy.
Psychology suggests that cruelty becomes easier when empathy is weakened—through distance, anonymity, group pressure, anger, or by convincing ourselves that the other person somehow deserves it. Sometimes others even convince us that hurting someone is the right thing to do. But I believe that purposely hurting another person simply because we dislike their ideas, their status, or who they are is never an excuse.
Something else troubles me today. When a terrible crime happens, we often spend enormous amounts of time trying to understand the criminal. What happened to them? What was their childhood like? What made them do it?
Understanding why people become violent may help prevent future violence, and that is important. But I sometimes have the feeling that it is no longer only about understanding. At times, people seem to identify more with the criminal than with the victim. I have seen many cases where, years later, we still remember the name, childhood, motives, and story of the person who committed the terrible act—while the victim is almost forgotten.
Understanding is not the same as excusing. The murderer may have a story. The bully may have a story. The abuser may have a story. But so does the victim.
That is what frightens me most. When does empathy disappear? How can someone enjoy another person's pain? And how many ordinary people are capable of cruelty when the circumstances make it easier?
I don't have an answer.
Rogers and Patrick are my exploration of that dark part of human nature—the moment when another person's suffering stops mattering.
