The Seattle Post-Intelligencer opened a recent article with these words:
"It would come as a surprise to the six Seattle women he's been convicted of attacking, or the family of another he's accused of killing, but Curtis Thompson is a victim. At least according to him."
A surprise? Really?
Maybe you think that others also think like us. A bad guy is a bad guy, right? (Check out reader responses to this article at the P-I's Soundoff.) But even if you could clearly label certain people perpetrators, can you expect them to agree with and own those roles? Really, most perps don't consider themselves Dr. Evils. Rather, they see themselves as regular guys who just can't get a break, who always get the short end of the stick, who are abandoned by family and friends and society. They are simply not getting their due. They feel entitled to take what should rightfully be theirs. If that sometimes involves a tad of intimidation or even a bit of violence, oh well.
Maybe "surprise" wasn't the best word choice. Maybe the article's author should have used the phrase "slap in the face" instead. Most perps don't consider their actions wrong, but their targets and the larger society feels damaged, and the denial of wrong-doing offensive.
The fact that so many perps claim that they are the real victims should no longer be surprising. To anyone.
Read the article here: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/401457_thompson26.html