Sunday Superposition #31

The faces of evil; balm for the soul

Quantum superposition. Credit: Grok

Sunday Superposition is a premium perk for paid subscribers, a monthly collection of spiritual themes and links to stuff I find interesting.

The faces of evil

Warning: This post covers a disturbing topic (no images). If you’re very sensitive, you might want to skip it.

A while back, I commented on social media about how broken up I was over the P'Nut the squirrel thing. Two wild animals that were rescued as babies and had become beloved pets were seized and killed by officials for reasons that did not seem very compelling. It was sad, and it was angering, and many people recognized what happened as the face of petty, officious evil.

What I rarely comment on is the sort of vicious, supernatural evil that is present in our world. Partly, because I avoid seeing or hearing about it as much as possible, but also because if I engaged with this topic on a regular basis I feel like it would destroy me.

Earlier this week, I saw something I wish I had never seen. It was a few seconds of video of a woman being burned alive on the NYC subway. Someone saw a homeless woman sleeping on the train, casually walked over, and lit her on fire. She was engulfed in flames within seconds. The video started playing as I was scrolling, and by then it was too late to unsee it.

I strongly recommend that you DO NOT look for the video. Do not let your curiosity get the better of you. Unless you are a psychopath, you will be very disturbed by it. Here is a safe-for-viewing news article if you want to know more about what happened.

The sheer evil of such an act is beyond comprehension to any normal person. This was not an act of self-defense, passion, revenge, or war. These two people did not know each other and had not interacted with each other prior to the incident. The victim was asleep when she was attacked. The perpetrator lit her on fire for no apparent reason and then sat on a bench and watched her burn. He even fanned the flames while the whole event was being recorded by onlookers. More on that in a moment.