While one should ideally bear compassion and empathy for others, even those who may be rotten and vile, sympathy can sometimes go too far. ‘Sympathy for the devil’ is a play on words. It’s not about a literal sentient being that’s the embodiment of all evil. People don’t operate like that. They have their positives and negatives. Those who are generally considered ‘evil’ simply have the negative side outweighing the positive. Another way of looking at this would be the phrase ‘flirting with the dark side.’ It’s a slippery slope when we over-sympathize and find relatability with degeneracy, queer and eldritch characters, hoaxers, frauds, demons, and devils. The same applies to the soft exposure and incremental rationalization of objectively immoral and questionable pursuits, including anti-heroes who can be overly praised.
Occasionally, such sympathy can be a coping mechanism. Perhaps, one was displaced from their home and had to make the best of a particular situation and culture, which forced them to adapt ways and acceptances that were less than flattering to survive. For others, maybe they were outcasts and relate to other outcasts. While relatability can be a deadly double-edged sword due to the undeniable social nature of humans, it isn’t the real issue so long as the person can be self-aware enough to separate their biases for impartiality. It’s also not an issue when we see that an anti-hero or outcast is not actually the true evil one, but perhaps, a misunderstood underdog that needed another chance. However, it must be mentioned that over-enthused relatability to victims can create victimization complexes and, as usual, the victim becomes the oppressor; the jailed becomes the jailer as history has shown.
The real problem is when we go so far that the line between villain and hero; good and evil—is blurred to the point that it becomes a grey zone where anything and everything goes. If there’s no neutral reasoning and discernment of what is good and evil; positive and negative, then madness and degeneracy ensues. Soon, what was once thought of as horrifying and repulsive becomes a normal, everyday event. Suddenly, those who were righteous becomes evil and a bane to progress. Granted, there have been times when this was rightly the case. For example, the self-righteous buffoons at the time of mass slavery believed themselves to be in the right and goaded the gullible that their stance was part of nature or God. After the abolishment of slavery, these overlords became historically despised—and for good reason, too.
Now, to be clear, this is no holier than thou speech, nor a call to start waving pitchforks at anyone or any group. Christian crusaders have historically labelled those who do not practice their faith as witches. They proceeded to hunt, pillage, rape, and murder those outside their membership under the delusion of God’s will. It must be thoroughly and abundantly made clear that no one, regardless of their background, faith, sexuality, preferences, culture, and the like should be disgraced, shamed, excommunicated, slandered or murdered. There is no faith or creed, nor culture and tradition that can remotely be acceptable where bloodshed, hatred, animosity, discrimination, and xenophobia is allowed and encouraged.
Furthermore, all human beings and life as a whole deserve the chance for their freedom and the ability to express themselves, their faith, ideas, culture, and interests without being converted or bothered by others. As long as there is no harm done to others or any form of proselytizing, every individual ought to be able to carry out their lives without prejudice. Investigation and exploration of the darkness of the human psyche can also be a double-edged sword should one proceed without care. One should seek to understand the light and dark elements of existence, but a decisive factor must be reached, lest you fall into the abyss from gazing too long into it.
You see, danger results in the limbo of flirting with the dark side or being caught in the grey zone with no bottom line. It allows too many questionable red flags to get by under skewed moral justification that anything goes. Comprehending dark or demonic figures, misunderstood or outcasted ones, criminals, and degenerates is fine, so long as one doesn’t lose their moral compass for misled, ethically bankrupt sympathy. Studying evil is necessary to be able to defend against and, ultimately, triumph over it versus evasion from fear and weakness. This, however, is different from indulging in evil and entropy for the sake of casual interest, hedonistic intent, relatability, or misled, chaotic dissidence.
Although words have as much power as the intent behind them, they still matter. Terms, terminologies, phrases, memes, and the like have tremendous power over the subconscious. When a person calls themselves a ‘fan of entropy’ or re-affirms their life is ‘rough’ or they are a ‘bitch’ or prides themselves off labels such as ‘being the bad guy’—then you shouldn’t just laugh it off. In reality, humans aren’t as complex as they love to believe. We aren’t built to lie. We’re actually quite terrible at it. One simply has to pay attention. Sift past the surface to bring clarity. Listen to what the person is saying—or not saying at all. Focus on their tone, their body language, the rate of words per minute, and the emotions behind them or lack thereof. People directly tell you who and what they are. All you have to do is observe.
When we are young, it’s fun to be the edge lord. Millennials are especially guilty of this, who also influenced Gen Z to follow suit. Those were grunge times when the holier-than-thou crowd were actually the savage liars; so, surely, the culture of the times was leaning toward praise of the anti-hero. In some cases, this was acceptable. However, the scales always tip and turn. Nothing ever stays the same. Being the anti-hero for the sake of bringing good is a temporary journey. It’s not meant for the anti-hero to remain the anti-hero forever. He or she must become the hero or the villain. Good must eventually triumph over evil, even if there were mistakes or redemption to be had.
Even if one is to view this from a pure skeptical and atheistic perspective, those who are interested in dark themes tend to harbor mental illnesses or underline unhealthy and unresolved conditions and emotional issues. For example, one who classifies themselves as a satanist or witch may gravitate to eerie, alternative, ghastly, occultist-esque, and outcast-like themes. Some satanists don’t necessarily believe in a living Lucifer. Instead, they gravitate to the religion out of pure rebellion. This may be due to disagreements and conflicts with the family and upbringing, which leads to the dissidents rebelling to an extreme. They may be attracted to, romanticize, and rationalize themes of death, entropy, destruction, and chaos. Others may incorporate elements of alternative and eastern spirituality—including meditation, crystals, chakras, energy readings, runes, and more.
Some, out of unconscious angst and spite, especially the notoriously self-unaware rebels, may fashion themselves; their hairstyles, clothing, and general outlook as the antithesis of their upbringing. If they were raised to be a beacon of light and experienced loss and disappointments in their upbringing, then they’d turn toward dark and edgy. If they were raised to be religious, then they'd turn to Atheism and skepticism. Not out of a quest for objective truth and the meaning of life and existence, but out of rebellion as a source of motivation from pain, loss, and disappointment. Of course, not every dissident classifies themselves as a witch or satanist. Others may relate to popular figures in the media, like Tony Montana from Scarface, and create a personified, relatable connection in their consciousness. They’d justify and rationalize clearly wrong actions just for the sake of appeasing their self-defense mechanisms that have gone awry and lack impartiality.
This tends to also be the case with those who get caught up in cults too. Usually, cultists are societal outcasts. Cults are outcasted groups from standard religions or other widely accepted dogmas. Most cults are filled with hypocrites. They believe themselves to not be a cult when actions speak louder than words. Some cult leaders are so obvious—even bearing the typical long beard look that easily screams red flags—and yet, their followers are so desperate for relatability from other outcasts that the Barnum effect and other cognitive biases override very obvious and easily identifiable dangers. The human need for relatability can be truly dangerous. It can trap and self-manipulate a person into believing the most ridiculous and outrageous claims, simply to fit in. The sad part is that this mostly stems from failures and unresolved traumas in the upbringing, which led the dissidents into the arms of other mentally damaged ones, simply for the sake of social and self-acceptance.
Have a heart and engage in compassion for others, but check yourself and identify why and where is your empathy and sympathy coming from. Is it really for others, or is it for yourself? Do you genuinely care about others, or is it to appease your guilty conscience? Are you hiding behind relatability and praising a guru or teacher just to cover your own short-comings and lack thereof? These may be difficult questions, yet they can bring one clarity, reason, and truth. Those who are so caught up and lost in their issues may develop arrogance, denial, and be rather combative against these claims. It’s precisely such behavior that reveals the truth that no amount of denial, manipulation, lying, and deceit can hide.
The fuel and motivation behind what we do ultimately reveals who and what we are. This necessitates a level of self-reflection and heightened awareness that is uncommonly exhibited or attained by the average individual, who is usually raised to be thoughtless, unreflective, damaged, weak and broken. It’s much easier to fight external battles and hide behind denial and manipulation than it is to confront and check yourself. Nevertheless, if one can cleanse themselves from inside and develop healthy, noble and altruistic initiatives that aren’t led by pain and loss; rather, pure, neutral choice, then neither their empathy nor sympathy can be taken and abused. Instead of concealing oneself behind spirituality, mysticism, politics, movements, career, work, and the like, one can stand tall in oneself and cultivate a truly honest core. Whether you like it or not, we reveal who we are. If you're driven by the unhealthy fuels, then eventually, it will be revealed. What's in the dark eventually comes to the light.
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