The beast within

Beneath the thin veneer of civility that surrounds us in our lives lies the primitive beast that is humanity. As we hustle and bustle with our jobs and family we rarely realize that our intelligent nature is balanced by our animal instincts. For some these instincts can be too much and they are driven to act out and are branded, if caught, as criminals. Don’t be fooled however. These tendencies, those urges are within us all, waiting for an opportunity or circumstance to show themselves.

Some of us go through life without unmasking the beast except through socially normal behaviors; anger outbursts, a fight, violence expressed through sports, sex, envy, hatred. All these are reflections of the animal within us, lurking, waiting. There are others among us who unleash the beast, who enjoy its power and sometimes get away with it. Some are never caught. They surround us. We may never know who they are. Visit a family courtroom one day and you’ll see a small sample. Looking in the mirror can for some, reveal another.

Take for example the predators that prey on the weak, the young, the old, and the gullible. The obvious suspects come to mind – thieves, rapists, sexual predators, and murderers. Those are the labels we give certain members of society. What about a while collar criminal? How about the man (or woman) who steals office supplies, jacks up his expenses, works to deny a colleague a promotion, psychologically abuses his staff, his wife, his kids. Drinks and drives. Uses drugs. Cheats on his wife. These are more socially acceptable actions of the same people we label as – thieves, rapists, sexual predators, murderers. We’re all guilty, to greater or lesser degrees. Some, however, go to extremes.

On the Butler Report today we read about child prostitution that is rampant in Afghanistan (see Child Sex trade thrives in Afghanistan). That country is not alone in the sexual abuse of children – every country has men who indulge in this “practice.” We see examples in our local news every week. Thailand however is a sexual abuse “tourist destination” where men from all walks of life go to live out their fantasies at the expense of the innocence and lives of young, young children.

We read then about the modern phenomena of a living and breathing slave trade that goes on around us, a trade that we are oblivious to - one that is very real (see The modern slave trade is thriving). It happens right around us. Recently farm workers in South Florida were found to be working without pay – that is slavery. It is a continuation of what, until not too long ago was a legal slave trade. It goes further.

I watched a young soldier aged 22 on television last week who was a Scout Sniper in Afghanistan. He had done two tours in the Middle East and was very good at what he did. He was, he realized “the hand of G-d,” capable and able to reach out and snuff out a life when ordered. Sometimes he would watch his subject for days before killing them. What has begun as an adventure became a nightmare. He had the eyes of an old man and had lost his emotions. He had killed "a hundred or so.” Why? Because it was his job, he was ordered to do so. He was a boy from a solid middle class family. The Marines has unleashed the animal within.

That’s what our army and police forces do to protect us. They have to. They train their men and women to recognize and manage the animal within themselves. They bring forth and harness their killer instinct. I am not disparaging our soldiers or law enforcement. Far from it. That killer instinct is within us all. Don’t think so? Try this.

You come home one night. On entering the kitchen you find two men viciously beating your partner, who's screaming, tied to a chair. There’s a gun or a knife or hammer on the table within reach. What would you do? Most would pick it up and kill the attackers. An extreme example that illustrates my point.

We see lesser examples of this at the ball game with crowds roaring with approval on a hard tackle, or a spill of blood on the hockey rink. Many revel in a violent movie. Violent video games are popular because of the violence. There are times when we are so angry that we swear we’d kill someone. Given an extra push or a slightly different circumstance, we just might. Sometimes that’s the only difference between the guy in prison and us.

Next time you’re walking through the mall, take a moment to realize that you're not only surrounded by happy shoppers, you’re surrounded by prowling animals. And you are a beast among them.