Below is an opinion piece written by a site visitor who asked us of he/she could share his/her thoughts about the bullies on our blog. We want our readers to know that if they have something they want to share and wish to write an opinion piece, they are welcome to do so and submit it to Athena via Contact Us for approval.
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Is Being Evil a Handicap? (An Opinion Piece)
By Anonymous
Is being evil a handicap? This is a question that I would like to pose to readers of this excellent blog, for they are dealing with evil every day as they battle the internet trolls who strive to steal their peace, their livelihoods, and their happiness. After all, what else do you call such life-sucking vampires but pure Evil? Evil strives to hurt and to harm. Evil does not have good intentions. Evil seeks to destroy. But, admittedly (and unfortunately), evil also has a power all its own. It exists, and there are people who have always been drawn to it throughout history. There are people who grow stronger from the pain they inflict, who enjoy and thrive on it. There are people who hide behind masks of sanity who are, in reality, cold-hearted through and through. We all know such people when we encounter them, because of how they make us feel, even if they look and behave normally to the outside world. We know them because of the destruction they leave in their wake. In days gone by, these people would’ve been ostracized by their community for their behavior. Now many of them hide, undetected, behind computer screens, typing away in the flickering light, hunched in the dark, their insanity raging behind “well-written” one-star reviews and scathing attacks designed to destroy author’s careers. They make vitriolic personal posts intended to strike at the core of another human being’s heart; they attack all that is near and dear to another person; they stalk, harass, belittle, name-call, and gather like-minded bullies to destroy whomever is their next target. They do not care about the real people they harm, or the families hurt by their attacks. They don’t see the aftermath of their behavior, nor do they care. They hide behind “free speech.” They hide behind anonymous IP addresses. They hide behind fake Amazon accounts. But their intention is the same: to harm and destroy.
Intention is everything. Every sane human being has the capability to look inside oneself and ask what his / her intention is behind every choice, decision, and action. Every sane human being has the capacity to feel compassion. Every sane human being has the capability to amend the error of his / her ways after realizing he / she has made wrong choices.
Insane people cannot. Evil people WILL not.
Combine an insane person, such as one of the bullies STGRB frequently profiles who is no different from the typical frothing, eye-rolling, obscenity-screaming bag lady one sees on the street, and an evil one, such as a hate-filled, bent-on-destruction bully, and you have an entity all its own. A frightening, destructive one. The best way to deal with that type of person is to recognize what you are dealing with and head the other way when you see him / her coming your way. That is why this blog provides such a good service with the bright light it shines on such individuals: the layperson is now able to recognize the evil, often faceless bully on the internet, and utilize self-protection.
Which brings me back to the topic at hand: Is being evil a handicap in its own right?
For proud handicapped persons such as one of our other bullies (often featured on STGRB), they might say it is, and a badge of honor at that. After all, this particular bully is often seen around the web using her handicap to bully others. I’ve seen her on too many blogs boasting about her handicap, using it to garner sympathy, and then using it as a whipping stick to shut down people who disagree with her. When a disagreement gets heated (usually after this bully becomes vicious and starts attacking and name-calling), she will ultimately resort to pulling out her “handicap card” to shut people up: “I’m handicapped and you’re an ableist insulting me and you don’t know what you’re talking about, so shut the eff up” (paraphrasing here). It usually works because most people are respectful and have some degree of compassion, unlike this bully herself. In my opinion, this bully is a dual-handicap person, someone who exhibits a lack of compassion as one of her challenges. I have never once seen her apologize or take responsibility for any of her harmful actions on the internet. In fact, the more publicity she gets, the more she brags about her “strong” personality. Yeah, right. Her hateful one, is more like it. For all the people who have encountered her terrible attacks, her relentless pursuit of destruction, her rage-filled fixation on anyone she feels has wronged her, her organized lynch mobs against innocent people, and her drunk-with-power online identity, you know what I’m talking about. She is ruthless, and proud of it. And she appears to be completely devoid of conscience about her actions. That, in my opinion, is the true definition of Evil.
These bullies will likely say this blog is discriminating against them with this post. They will say this blog is ableist and hates handicapped people. This is not true. This blog post is my opinion, as a simple contributor. Simple as that. And from what I know of STGRB, this blog despises evil people and the destruction they leave in their wake. This blog champions the victims of soulless predators and evil-doers who seek to harm people’s lives, dreams, and livelihoods. This blog doesn’t hide from the truth, or from shining a light on cruel people bent on destruction, even if such people sit in a wheelchair or are psychologically unbalanced. Bully #1’s physical handicap or Bully #2’s self-professed mental instability do not, in of themselves, harm others (in fact, they could be a source of great learning and inspiration for us all, if those two people had any sense at all). But their handicap of evil DOES harm others, and that is why they have ended up on this site. Basically, from how I can see it, STGRB is an equal-opportunity bully offender, and should be proud of it. The site does not discriminate, clearly. 
In conclusion, I once again ask the question: Is being evil a handicap?
I would say it is. It prevents an individual from being a decent, kind person. It prevents a human being from reaching their full positive potential here on earth. I am sure being evilly handicapped denies the person from experiencing true happiness. It would be sad, terribly sad, if it weren’t so harmful to everyone around them . . . and deliberately so.
Psychopathy (or sociopathy), by most psychiatric definitions, is the only true measurement of real evil out there. It is, quite simply, defined as a lack of conscience. And that lack of conscience is demonstrated in many ways, often hidden. So how do we fully recognize it, we ask? Well, it’s pretty clear: it is the INTENT TO CAUSE HARM WITH NO CONSCIENCE ABOUT THE DESTRUCTIVE RESULT OF ONE’S OWN ACTIONS, whether it’s trying to destroy a writer’s career with fake one-star reviews, or murdering someone in cold blood. And not having a soul—or heart—is probably the biggest handicap a human being can have.
