Note: I am NOT justifying the actions of those like Maxwell and Epstein. Keep this in mind.
I understand having no sympathy for those who make a living off of the exploitation of hundreds if not thousands of people, but what about those who only offended once and feel enormous remorse?
I only bring this up because I once saw on Quora someone asking what should be done about pedophiles. One young man responded stating he felt great distress at the other responses, which basically boiled down to:
“Pedophiles need help to not offend, but those that do deserve the woodchipper”.
That last part hurt him, because he had once committed CSA. Only once, long ago, for which he immediately turned himself in, against someone who ultimately forgave him years later, even though she was quite young at the time of the crime. And he was greatly fearful of these other responses because they indicated that nobody could even fathom sympathy/empathy for ANYONE who committed CSA, no matter the circumstances. He made no excuses for what he did, he only wished people would recognize that not all cases of CSA are equally deserving of such punishment. There’s a difference between people like Albert Fish or Tsutomu Miyazaki, and people like himself who fucked up once and swore never again.
For the record, I wish Epstein didn’t die and I hope Maxwell doesn’t either. I want her to reform, to do her time and never harm another innocent person again. I was watching The War Against Humanity on YouTube, and someone in the comments criticized Spartacus (the host) for condemning both Axis and Allied war crimes/crimes against humanity, stating the Allies’ crimes were justified because they were fighting the Nazis. Spartacus shut them down, saying that if we have no sympathy even for those who commit horrible crimes, we’re effectively dehumanizing them, which is the first step towards the very same atrocities perpetrated by the Axis. Dehumanizing the Axis is what led to the Allies committing war crimes back. And I fear in dehumanizing those like Maxwell and Nassar, we’d encourage people to start dehumanizing ALL CSA committers, including that young man…
A lack of sympathy, even towards the worst of us, is precisely what enables the ongoing War Against Humanity.
I sympathize with you and the victims of modern slavery, but I also sympathize with the perpetrators too. What circumstances led them to this? They seem alien, almost demonic/monstrous to us, but truth is that they’re just as human as you or me. Only by having empathy can we try to understand these people, their motives, and only then can we prevent their activities before they begin.
Apologies for the long, controversial post! And thank you for your words earlier.