Desmond Tutu was right when he said there are no evil people, just evil acts; no monsters, just monstrous acts. A probation officer used to say, when certain homies would come up in conversation, “No use trying to help that guy. He’s pure evil.” Such comments merely compelled me to re-double my efforts. Slapping the dismissive label of “evil” on a person has never seemed very sophisticated or reverent of human complexity.
