Can People Be Evil?
This morning when I walked into the grocery store a few minutes after 7 a.m. there was a Tulsa policeman just inside the door.
I had shopped last week but they didn’t have toilet paper then. They did today. And I can always use yogurt and fresh fruit.
Most everyone had on masks today. The seniors seem to be more diligent about wearing masks, which is why that is my preferred time to shop. During senior hour.
I had a thought on the drive home. What if someone took a video of people in the store this morning but didn’t add any commentary? Didn’t explain what’s going on?
What would we think about people wearing masks in the grocery store and arrows on the floor and plexiglass at the checkout? About having a policeman, not even a security guard, standing inside watching everyone come and go?
It would be like the Twilight Zone.
As I walked out of the store I told the policeman that I was glad he was there. That it made me feel safer. He said “Well, I appreciate that.”
This is a smaller store than the other Reasor stores in Tulsa.
Most of the people who work in this store are seniors. I imagine they feel safer with him there as well.
After that tragedy in Michigan last week where the security guard was shot for telling someone they needed to have a mask on inside the store, it must have put everyone on edge. As if everyone isn’t on edge to start with.
The 43 year old security guard was just doing his job at a Family Dollar store in Flint, Michigan. He had refused to let a customer’s 45 year old daughter inside the store because she wasn’t wearing a mask.
Apparently the daughter’s mother then started yelling at the security guard and spit at him. He told her to leave the store.
Surveillance camera footage showed that the daughter got in her car and drove off, but came back in about 20 minutes.
Her husband and son were with her this time and her husband apparently began yelling at the security guard about disrespecting the women in his family. Then he pulled out a gun and shot the security guard in the head.
Police discovered the security guard “unconscious and bleeding from his head” at the scene. He was later pronounced dead at a local medical center.
That security guard was married with 8 children.
Months ago if someone had told me that a man was killed over a mask, I would have said the people involved were crazy.
But now, these days, I have kind of amended that. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s something more menacing. Like evil. I hate to think that about people.
Do you believe that people can be evil?
Hi, I have thought for a long time that, yes a person can be evil. This current state of affairs in the world validstes my belief. So sad.
I just recently discovered your blog, via Pinterest, and want to compliment you on the valuable information, as well as, the beautiful photos.
Grace and blessings to you.
America is changing before our eyes. I don’t recognize us anymore–carrying weapons into a state capitol, Presidents telling his supporters to “knock them out and I’ll pay your legal bills,” increased numbers of child & domestic abuse, hit and run drivers and mass shootings. Some call it ‘toxic masculiniity’ – I call it evil.
the Go Fund Me page has already collected over $195,000.00 for the security guard’s family, thank goodness for good people who are helping!
I believe there are sociopathic people with evil tendencies. They have no conscience or empathy and no remorse for their ill deeds. Most don’t act on evil thoughts, but when they do it’s beyond disturbing.
I can’t even! That is just about the saddest story I’ve heard during all this craziness. How could someone get that riled up over someone trying to , not only make others safer, but his family as well? How? That poor man’s family-eight kids that now don’t have a dad. The man who did the shooting will go to jail and unfortunately some slick lawyer will probably get him off because he was crazy from the stress and feared for his familiy’s safety or some such hogwash. Thank you, Brenda, for bringing this to attention as an active reminder that we are living in crazy times and to go forth with due diligences. Deb
I believe people are, can, and will be evil because it’s in our nature since the beginning of creation. Hence our need for the savior and his birth. I don’t like knowing that either but I’ve slowly adjusted my life to making sure I don’t involved with the obvious ones and trying to pray for the ones I can’t. Keep looking up and loving your fur babies. I love reading your writings. I’m on the spectrum also and your writing encourages me a lot.
Sadly,it’s just another example of all the violence and chaos that has taken over and frankly I’m not surprised we don’t hear more of this.
Everyone is on edge,to many without jobs unable to make contact with unemployment to get benefits etc.
I come from a law enforcement family but the security guard really should have let it go,certainly wasn’t worth losing his life over what was most likely a part time job….R.I.P.,officer.
Thank god handguns are illegal in Canada (tho criminals do have them, imported aka smuggled in from the US). And this week our Prime Minister of Canada just ordered into law that all assault rifles were banned. The thought of someone walking around with a handgun (which appears to be a normal occurrence in the States) is just unfathomable. People just get to angry now adays and then have the impulse to pull out a gun.
I do believe some people are evil. it also comes down to that some people have no regard for life. It is a sad situation. So sorry about the security guard losing his life.
Marilyn
Yes, my grandmother knew a family that she said had evil in their eyes. Apparently, she was right as one brother shot the other because he wanted his wife.
When you look back at history…yes, there are evil people…and unfortunately, as in history, many of these evil controlled others, resulting in even more evil ones…such as occured in Germany during WW2…and no I am not anti-German (Hitler was not German anyway…) It is a strange thing where sometimes events in history allow people to gain power and cause so much grief to the world. It scares me that we are indeed into some kind of strange time again. Also, we have to admit that many with mental illness are running around too. I also blame the powers that be, and the ones who control the grocery store policies. If you really want to keep things calm…you do your best to keep things FAIR…people denied hope often do crazy things who might not otherwise. This toilet paper debacle is beyond belief. It should be run like it is online…whenever you are next in line, you receive the product…instead of the line starting over each day. We have not yet bought any TP in stores. We simply are not able to get there at dawn and also not in any shape to stand in a line for hours. BOTH ARE UNACCEPTABLE and fixable. So the stores are also to blame really. And also that there is no other place to put the mentally ill these days except in prison. I have a friend with a daughter who is downright dangerous and I worry that one day I will learn her daughter killed her…times like these drive the crazy ones even more crazy too!! But though the police are sympathetic to my friend and her husband, there is no way to lock that daughter up unless she kills someone I guess. VERY SAD!!
Can people be evil? The first time I ever heard someone call another person evil it shocked me because with my Christian upbringing, Satan and his work were all I’d ever thought of as being evil, we mortals are all children of God. This is something that so perplexes me because I can’t answer it, can’t make sense of it in my own head. Do you have to be totally bad with no redeeming qualities whatsoever to be evil? If you are evil, were you born that way? If you do both good and horrible things, are you a good person who sometimes does evil things, or an evil person who sometimes does good things? I’m glad it’s not up to me to judge, and I’m leaving it up to God to sort out the bad apples. I do think that there’s a level of rage in so many people, along with a sense of entitlement that makes them totally lose control of their senses when they’re faced with any kind of authority, any tiny thing that takes away their “rights” to do whatever they please. We see it on the highways, we see people killing each other over trivial things and it’s very frightening, but I tend to believe that these are not the worst of times. Although I wasn’t there I think this is the way it’s been since the birth of man. The son of Adam and Eve killed his brother and humans have been killing one another ever since, so I’m going to continue living in my happy bubble and love the part of our universe that is good.
These masks are creating so many issues. People are on edge and we had enough issues without them. Add to the mix evil and nasty people and we have a really huge problem. I for one, don’t think it’s wise to tell someone else that they need to wear one. No thanks, I’ll stay away from that and I won’t be too thrilled to be in any store that has any armed person that will be enforcing mask wearing because to me that’s a powder keg waiting to go off. There is no science saying masks work against this or any virus, people know that and feel their rights are being infringed upon. The sooner we can do away with them the better. I don’t like talking about them or evil people. I just want to see your beautiful flowers and hear about your fur babies!
As I stated above, I try to avoid talking about all this. But it just tied in to my shopping experience today. The masks are more for the person who isn’t wearing it than the person wearing it. It’s, to me, a sign of respect showing others that you want them to stay healthy and that you will take all the precautions to keep them that way. Yes, it’s a powder keg in many places. But the world is probably never going back to how it was. We will have to adapt to a new world.
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
We are in a very, very hard hit area. The numbers are staggering and yet the arguments I’ve seen about masks and staying in are unbelievable. It’s not about which side people are on, but the way in which they choose to express themselves that rattles me. I don’t recognize some of the people making the remarks. I have chosen to stay “offline” for a bit because of it. I decided to hop back on today…we’ll see how long that lasts. Be well.
Considerate
Evil has always been here.
Wearing a mask is part of being consider to others. This makes it easy to see who does not care. I have noticed this lack of respect from younger people who were in groups and not wearing masks when I was buying groceries last week. My decision is to stay home except for groceries until everyone respects this virus.
I heard about the security guard on the news yesterday. So tragic. And yes, I believe people can be evil.
Here in Illinois, it is now a law (as of May 1st) that you have to wear a mask in any store or public place where there’s going to be a lot of people. (Think walking in Chicago, for example.)
Many don’t pay attention to “the law” anymore it seems.
Yes, people can absolutely be evil, and some are nothing but pure evil. They are in a human body, but they are not human beings as we normally think of other human beings. Only man can be truly evil. Animals act out of instinct to survive and to protect. Humans are the only beings on earth that can act out of deliberate cruelty and hate and – evil. I won’t ever forget a photo I saw from one of the alleged “protests” in Michigan recently. A long-haired thick-muscled man with a mustache was within a inch or less of a police officer’s masked face as he stood guard in the State Capitol of Michigan. The unmasked man had his mouth open and was yelling and no doubt sending his spittle all over the face and body of the police officer. What sane person DOES something like that? They are evil. They are devils.
Oh I know that photo well! It has come up in my head many times. That man looked bizarre and how on earth did those officers not help but react to such disrespect. They’re better than I am, because I think I would have lost it.
We had another awful incident here in Holly, Michigan. A man was told to wear a mask by the cashier in Dollar Tree. He proceeded to wipe his face and nose onher shirt and told her, “ I’ll use this for a mask.” My son is a manager in a Kroger’s. Employees have been told by the CEO that they cannot approach anyone or enforce the mask rule. Our governor has passed a law that all customers must wear masks in grocery stores and public places. But it appears that belligerent, rude and men spirited people think they are above the law here.
Yes, people can be evil. It is not a medieval concept. I went to school with a boy that everyone was afraid of. Even the jocks who were big and burly. I didn’t know at the time why we were all afraid of him. We could see that the tough guys were afraid of him and that fear trickled down to the rest of us. Years later when we were in high school he murdered a little girl on her way home from school. There was film footage of his arrest in the news that night and he was laughing. When he was found guilty he laughed too. The weird thing is that one time, a few years before, he asked me if I would loan him some money for the bus. I quickly handed over the money and told him that he didn’t have to pay me back. Then I prayed that he wouldn’t sit next to me. That prayer went unanswered. While he sat next to me he was very polite and made nice conversation about school. A couple of weeks later he had to chase me down at school so that he could pay me back. He thanked me effusively for the loan. It was so strange. I hope that he doesn’t walk among us right now.
There is evil in the world, but more often it is stupidity and ego. Some people grow up stupid and ignorant and do not seem to understand science and then there are those who think they have the right to do anything they want. In a way that is evil.
I was raised in Flint and moved away in 64 and it saddens me to hear this. It wasn’t that kind of city back then. I feel for this man’s family. Having reported in the LA Cty Superior Court system for many years I believe there are very evil people.
Your patio is so alive with the spring flowers and color. You are simply amazing. Thank you for the great tips. Gardening is not my forte. And we are having heat again this week so hard in the plants.
Hello all!
Sadly, I think there is such a thing as evil. I don’t believe one is born that way, but can become evil. A psychopath has no guilt or remorse, so performing an evil act if of no concern.
I visit CLH daily, and it is a respite, especially during these times. Brenda, your garden is beautiful! And, I had gone all neutral in my living room, but because of your new boho decor, I have put my colorful pillow covers on – it’s a start and much more cheery!
I’m glad you are being so safe. I live in a very conservative are and people here are not cautious at all – no masks, coming up close to talk, etc. I become very worried.
Stay safe all, and as trite as it sounds ‘we are all in this together’.
Peggy
I am trying not to focus much on the coronavirus because I know people are tired of hearing terrible news while they’re so afraid. But this just tied in with my morning shopping.
We lived in Northern Michigan for 20 years. And raised our son and daughter there. It was a very safe area and still is. We lived in Michigan because my husbands company transferred him there.
I can tell you that Flint Michigan is a very dangerous area and always has been. Thank goodness we lived far from that area.
Now we live in Amish Country Ohio and it’s so pretty here and a very clean area.
There are evil people, odd people, people that are angry, people that feel like they have to prove something. I read the story about the security guard a few days ago but I did not realize that the woman went home and brought her husband back. We can blame covid, or the times but this sort of stuff happened well before we were asked to stay home.
Take care, be safe
Yes people can be evil! So sad what this world has become ! Brenda, what is the name of the flowers in the first picture? I have those in my garden and my mother-in-law called then teacups! Could they be called Primrose?
Verbena
Thank you
My 70 something year old neighbor of 25 years has told me his mother said to mark her words something like this was going to occur. Where there would be food shortages and neighbors having to rely on homestead like living and defending themselves against their neighbors. I never thought he was a crazy person but hoped and prayed this could never be. I shop once every 3 weeks at 7 a.m. Yesterday the store did have t.p. and paper towels but no pizza, 1/2 gallons of ice cream, frozen potatoes, frozen family packs of meat an the only frozen veggies was okra. The earth is getting a well deserved break. And I am increasingly concerned about the amount of chemicals we are being bombarded with. Hopefully we can reset, realize and prioritize what is important. We are blessed to live a peaceful life with our simple joys. Your flowers are beautiful and Charlie and Ivy are your entertainment! Enjoy your day.
I believe ANYTHING right now…stay safe. I won’t be going anywhere that I don’t go now for ages….
Yes, I know there are evil ones. I know one in particular and I would call her a sociopath.
Yes, evil has increased in our world. A friend’s son was shot point blank in the abdomen, the shooter did so because he had to shoot someone before he could be admitted to a gang. A young boy around 14 shot another young boy just to see what it was like to kill someone. I could go on with many more but that is not what I like to focus on. Your garden is looking lovely, I know that it brings you much joy.
Yes! We spent 4+ years reeling from evil.
I very much agree.
I haven’t
You mean 3 and a half right? He is still in office.
I hope you and the others that have responded to your comment are not equating the murderer of that police officer with President Obama OR President Trump. These men aren’t evil because you don’t agree with their politics. I didn’t vote for one of them, but the other certainly isn’t evil. You, Katie and Julie should take it down a notch.
Yes. People can be evil. There is absolutely no other way to describe what happened to the security guard in Michigan. Evil. I am so glad that you have a police officer at your store. Stay safe.
Yes, the one sad thing I’m discovering is the alarming amount of evil and stupid persons in this world.
I do believe that there are some people who are evil and there are some without consciences. I guess we have to believe, too, in all the people who are good and kind. We’ve witnessed a great many heroic acts these past few months. Prayers for that officer’s family. How very sad.
Brenda, your garden is beautiful and must be such a source of peace to you! Cold here in Massachusetts, only in the 50’s, and too early yet to plant.
Short answer is “yes.” Cunning, plotting and sneaky, if you have something or someone they want. Evil presents itself in many forms. Someone you meet can set of alarms in your head and being. I have met people that I get the eerie feeling that I need to get away from them and have no further contact. Sometimes they continue to want to have a friendship with you. I always found an excuse as to why I couldn’t do or go where they invited me. Intuition is a good thing. Pay attention to it.
Wow that is horrible about the security officer. What is wrong with people. It is pure evil. No regard for life. Wow now this guy and probably his family members will be going to prison. The guy for murder and all his family members for accessory to murder being participants. What a waste of all their lives. So sad for the family of the security guard. Enjoy the peace of your sweet patio and flowers today. We are cold and rainy here. 75 over the weekend and now in the low 40’s this week. So crazy! I want to start planting but will have to wait for this weather to get nicer and stay nice. This is way below normal for us. Have a good week.
Kris
I most certainly believe people can be evil and filled with the devil. That is a real tragedy and a senseless act. Here in Indianapolis a young police officer was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call. This young woman had a child who will not have her mother growing up. This sort of behavior is not new to human nature, unfortunately. On a lighter note, give your fur babies a cuddle from me. They are certainly precious
Unfortunately, I do believe there are evil people. What happened is just reprehensible. It makes me sad that we have to worry about being shot when we are out shopping or doing our jobs. xo Laura
Yes, I do believe some people are evil. Not “be” evil, but “are” evil.
I hate to say this but some people are evil and the world has gone nuts. You have a great day and your flowers are beautiful.
Once evil showed up in the garden of eded theonce evil showed up in the garden it’s been possible for anyone to act in an evil way. Just like in eden no one was forced þo do bad they Deliberately Choose to act on wrong thinking.Today things are no different we all have choices to make good or bad it’s entirely up to each person.Anyone can have a bad day,thought,desire.Wise people surprise the bad an Choose to do good.