I never thought I’d root for a villain so bad till I read a particular book by Nora Roberts. Thinking about it now, I don’t remember what that book was but we were made to be put in the mind of the villain. The villain was made the protagonist. And Because of that, we had to walk with him. Through every psychotic thought he had, through every unhinged plan he executed, we saw it all. It was sickening. And with all of that, I still rooted for him.
Because of the motive.
You know how all of them usually have some sad past or childhood that ruined their psyche, and warped their views on life and reality, became their villain origin story, and ultimately made them the evil they were...
Why is it that we are easy to judge people until we’ve been in their minds? Until we hear them speak and see what prompted them to do what they did? Sure, most of them are founded on a lot of untruths, but if you’re right thinking, you would understand that to these people, the way they think feels right to them.
It is with this thought that the question posed by the Hive Naija Community for this week wasn’t met with disdain by me... To be the hero and save a life at the expense of other lives, or be the villain that will lead to a person realizing his folly and becoming better?
First off, I think the use of the phrase, at the expense of others, would make this quite easy to choose. Because why save one at the expense of many? But that’s not my thought process to choose becoming a villain.
If the actions of this villain coincidentally led to this person turning from a dark path and choosing to be better, it is quite different from if the villain set out to make this person change. That would automatically make the villain, in fact, a hero. Or am I making this way too philosophical?
I think it’s pretty straightforward. If you think yourself to be a bad person, but the motive is to effect some positive change in something or someone, that means you’re not a bad person but a good one.
I will enjoy being a villain in any case because we make terrible decisions as humans. We live lives that are ruled primarily by selfishness, and feel the world has done us a great injustice when something doesn’t go our way. So, if I’m setting out to be that person that teaches someone a lesson that would turn out to be some form of blessing in disguise, wouldn’t I love it? Even if that person would have to be me?
Anyway, the last week has been amazing for me for a lot of reasons. Things are getting clearer. Things are getting better. I’m gaining more understanding of a lot of things, even though things may not be as perfect as I’d need them to be in my life. I’m learning every day to live for each day. Not to worry, but he happy and enjoy the process that comes with just being. So, yeah. I hope everyone is hanging in just fine. And if not, you will... eventually.
Image is mine.
