Sympathy for the Devil

You’ll have to excuse me but every once in a while I go down a dark path.

Some of my bad experiences in life, whether they were caused by friends, co-workers, or women, have given me more sympathy for people on death row than what I used to have.

Not that they are in any way equivalent concepts, but homicidal tendencies are a lot like homosexual ones in that we all have them. It is just a matter of how far the pendulum will swing in our own little specific and personal psyches.

I mean, I’m straight but I can distinguish the difference between Brad Pitt and Al Roker. Nothing against the later man but I can relate to why many women and some men find Brad Pitt very attractive; not that I would ever act on such an impulse in most cases but I can understand it.

I would say that most people do not have the propensity to be cold blooded serial killers. On the other hand, maybe during a given day that old pendulum just needs to get slightly out of balance and we potentially could have real trouble on our hands. Sometimes various compulsions just need a little push.

I’m sure we have all heard news stories where someone was stabbed fifteen times while sitting in traffic. Subsequently we then asked the question, “How could someone do that to another human being?”

Well, let’s suppose an individual young man was having a bad week. He found out his wife was having sex with his business partner. To top things off, on this particular morning while taking a shower, he noticed a cluster of warts on his nut sack.

Not long after that he was sitting in traffic. Some bastard was behind him shouting obscenities and blaring the horn in an earsplitting fashion. These types of scenarios are what can lead to horn blowers becoming mincemeat; not that I would ever act on such an impulse in most cases but I can understand it.

So, the next time we feel like shoving our middle finger in somebody’s face we might want to ask ourselves one simple question:

“What kind of a day is this person having?”