The co-pilot
Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed the Germanwing airliner into the French
Alps on March 24, 2015 killing himself and 149 people.
We frequently
assume that a person who performs an irrational, seemingly impulsive act
suffers from mental illness. But we need to distinguish between emotional
‘disorder’ and evil, otherwise we’re in danger of stigmatizing individuals who
acknowledge their conflicts and seek to resolve them.
It’s important
to note that in the vast majority of mentally ill people, emotional problems
mainly affect the sufferer. In extremely rare circumstances do they harm
others, and then not scores of people. By contrast, Lubitz deliberately
calculated mass murder. Voice recordings show that he was at the controls of
the plane, having locked the pilot out of the cockpit and refusing to allow him
re-entry. Lubitz then set the plane on a crash course, deactivating the speed
alarm twice as he flew the jet into the mountains, killing all on board.
An examination
of his computer revealed that Lubitz had researched the topics of suicide and
the mechanics of locking the cockpit door. In summary, he knew exactly what he
was doing.
Although not all
of us do need to address our psychic conflicts, the human condition is a
conflicted one. For example, although we are not necessarily conscious of it,
we constantly balance or juggle our individual needs and wants with those of
others to whom we are responsible.
People with
psychological disorders don’t conspire to harm multiple others but rather to
diminish their psychological distress. Rarely do they harm anyone, except in
the rare circumstance when they feel endangered. Even then, they are more
likely to harm themselves psychologically or physically.
To stigmatize
people who seek support and exploration of psychic conflict places us in danger
of loosing our caring bonds, our humanity. Therefore, to avoid
stigmatization, evil needs to be
explored and differentiated from psychiatric disorder.
Scott Peck, a
psychiatrist and author of the 1978 best seller, The Road Less Traveled, addressed the controversial issue of
evil in his book, People
of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil. Citing examples
of evil that he encountered in his psychiatric practice, Peck defines evil as a
characteristic in those who deny their problems, blame others, and
intentionally harm or destroy the lives of innocent people.
The current aviation
system relies on pilots to report any medical or psychological problems they
may have suffered. Tragically, human history reveals that often, we are the
last to know ourselves. We can’t always rely on a person’s honesty to reveal
problems when doing so jeopardizes his position of power over the lives of many
others. Psychological tests (like
the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) help to diagnose
psychopathic or homicidal tendencies.
Conclusion: Failure
to make the distinction between psychological “disorders” and “evil”
stigmatizes those who seek help for our human conflicts and results in
dehumanizing our society.
The roots of the
destructive tendencies and potential lie beyond labels such as “disorder” and “evil”
It is the quality of our connectedness to others and the ways in which to
nurture bonds of caring (with understanding and empathy, especially in early
developmental years) that ultimately will diminish crime.
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