As I was thinking, I decided that there is a fundamental difference between people who are serial killers and people who are not. Sounds like a duh statement, I know. But, many environmental factors, and possibly some genetic ones, led to Gordon Northcott's actions, factors that most people, thank goodness, are never dealt. The dreaded comparison I drew last night is more between people in general and the accused from the LAPD. The whole time I was watching the trial of the LAPD in this movie, I kept flashing back to the trial of Hanna Schmitz in The Reader. They both are trials of normal people who overstep the boundaries of humanity due to their narrow focus on keeping their jobs. Only, in the former, the defendant is portrayed as evil, while in the latter, the defendant is portrayed as good. You can argue as to the differing severity of their crimes, but in the end, they both crossed that invisible line that protects us as a civilized society.
People like to think they are above this, but it happens all the time to varying degrees. You know that person who always says yes when you ask to borrow money? Or when you need someone to watch the kids? Or when you need a ride somewhere? Or just when you need a drink or a backrub? So, you continue to ask, even when you know it inconveniences them. Something you wouldn't do to anyone else, because it would be rude, but you continually do it to this one person, because you know they will take it and not say anything. Same thing. You are taking advantage of someone for your own needs, without concern for theirs. And, it's not because you are a bad person, but because you have no one telling you not to. Like me. I am notorious for being late to work. I know it's wrong, but I can't seem to keep myself from doing it. Until my boss calls me out on it. Then you can bet I'll be early every day. If we don't have someone consistently watching over us, so to speak, we tend to lean toward selfishness. It reminds me of Obama's recent speech to Congress, and how he mentioned that the introduction of public health carriers will bring about a sort of indirect regulation over the private companies to keep them from driving up prices and treating customers poorly, which, as Obama stated, is not because they are bad people, but because they are focused on keeping their job. Just like the LAPD. Just like Hanna Schmitz.
We are all made of the same cloth, and we all have the same dark tendencies within us, whether it's coming in late to work or convincing an innocent woman she is crazy or being an accomplice in the deaths of innocent people. The lesson: to acknowledge this tendency and learn to control it, which boils down to the age-old saying that pretty much everything comes down to- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
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