Don’t Be Weak & How It Can Lead to Evil Acts

This article is about weakness, and how being weak can lead to, and has led to evil acts and crimes being committed?

In western societies, we are told that being weak and vulnerable is a good thing. This is particularly aimed at men when it comes to showing emotion. This is because there is a theory about men suppressing their emotions (showing weakness), and the high suicide rates among men. Firstly, there is very little, if any, evidence that supports this theory. This is one of the least credible theories, yet it’s the main one pushed onto us. Feel free to speculate on why that is the case.

I will move on from this because this is not the type of weakness that I’m talking about.

Don’t Be Weak

The sort of weakness that I am talking about is the type that causes people to do what is easiest, rather than doing what is right. It’s the weakness that leads to feelings of resentment which causes them to engage in dark fantasies.

This is a pattern that has been noted by psychologists that study those who commit mass murder, such as the school shooters in America. These kids tend to be outcasts. They are often the target of bullying. This leads to feelings of resentment, causing dark fantasies, and eventually, if things continue, they may act out those fantasies. They adopt a revengeful line of reasoning, and they may think and say things such as “If I can’t have something, nobody can have anything”. This is the ultimate in an envious and resentful attitude.  

These crimes are committed out of weakness, not strength. They give in to their weakness and become monsters. A strong person would be able to endure their pain and perhaps misfortune. A strong person would look for ways to improve themselves, instead of harming others. Weakness leads to hell on Earth. The best revenge is to succeed.

This character balance has been told in stories for thousands of years. Weakness has been a central trait for many evil characters throughout history, and in many works of fiction. It’s weakness that leads to betrayal and an overwhelming desire to seeking impulsive pleasures, seeking status and power. They can’t resist their selfish desires, and they will sell out and sacrifice others to achieve their goals.

This is the sort of person that we can all relate to. In Jungian Psychology, it’s an archetypal character. In Star Wars, it was partly weakness, and his inability to control his emotions that turned Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. In Lord of the Ring, Gollum was too weak to resist the power of the ring, and he did everything, including lying and manipulating, in order to get the ring back.

Dishonesty, manipulation, selfishness are traits that are associated with Evil Characters, including the Devil. When we meet someone that we dislike, we tend to project these traits onto that person. This is to justify the reason for disliking them.

Strength and the ability to endure is what creates courageous individuals and hero characters. Weakness and envy creates monsters and demons.