Evil vs. Just Mentally Ill May 2007
***Update:
Anna emailed us and had identified herself in this journal entry. Oddly, she was actually somewhat offended that I did not use her real name. Her only other complaint about the entry was that her boyfriend was described as unemployed. Apparently, she is not offended by being described as either evil or mentally ill, but is only concerned with her boyfriend's employment status. I think that her reaction bolsters my severely mentally ill position.***
Peter and I were recently discussing a member of his family, 'Anna.' Anna says and does horrible things to nearly everyone in the family. This has been going on for years and fortunately we are no longer enemy number one. I feel great sympathy and empathy for the current victims of her venom, but I am very relieved that the last nasty contact we had was almost 6 months ago....a record for the past 12 years.
My theory on Anna is that she is severely mentally ill. Many people in the family believe this and apparently one brave family member actually told her to her face that she needed to seek help. My belief is that Anna would act differently if she knew how to do better. Who in their right mind would alienate their entire family and have no friends? Her only close relationship is with an unemployed hanger-on who will vanish as soon as the cash runs out. It is really a sad situation all the way around. I do not believe mental illness excuses her behavior, but it explains it.
Peter believes that Anna is evil because she continues to choose the wrong path and intentionally hurts people with her words and actions. Since she is evil, there is no hope without a drastic change which is impossible because she continues to choose to be evil.
While I acknowledge that there are some evil people I believe that most people would live better if they knew how. If Anna knew how to be happy, she would act differently. Unfortunately her values are seriously misaligned and her life focus has been money. I think at this point she has gone too far down that path to be helped, or to help herself. I think she is not evil because if her actions are viewed through the prism of money is God, then almost everything she does makes some kind of twisted sense.
I will bow to Peter's argument on one point though. I think it is evil to value money as God. I just do not think Anna knows that valuing money over all else is evil. So I do not really know where that leaves us, or rather Anna....evil or just mentally ill?
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