The diversity of humanity is what makes for interesting interactions. The fact that we all have different cultural and geographical make up brings differences to the table that can make our associations harmonious or even uncomfortable.

Most human beings are able to identify the difference between right and wrong, evil and good and the law serves to set the line of what different societies and peoples find acceptable.

Who we become as adults is normally a result of our childhood experiences and I find it hard to believe any one is born evil. I know many people will disagree with me but please note that while I find it hard to believe anyone is born evil I am in no way discountenancing the truth that there are generally wicked and very evil people among us.

I have met my share of such individuals and I have found it best to see them as special breeds. Actually I call them Lab rats but that seemed a very ridiculous title for the column so I opted for the more politically correct term of special breed. They are lab rats in my view because their makeup is so skewed and warped they need to be cut open, researched and isolated in a laboratory of some sort.

A couple of years ago I served under an individual I found very charismatic and while I was driven by a zeal to work for the greater good; my faith was challenged when I, like many others, began to see past the charm. What we discovered was a Machiavellian character that was so ruthless that the veneer of charm was just a tool to manipulate and ingratiate to the powers that be.

I was particularly irked to discover myself made a scapegoat of a scheme to denigrate and besmirch the memory and legacy of a dearly beloved but deceased mentor.

The fall out was a disillusionment that brought a hierarchy I had previously held up dangerously low and these days I take my time to be sure to give a person respect based on their fairness, kindness and moral fibre rather than to assume a position or post must mean the occupant is  beyond reproach.

I remember describing my lack of anger or bitterness towards the person by saying one can’t be aggrieved when attacked by a Lab rat; such warped creatures whose make up are spiritually and psychologically unhinged should elicit fascination, a bit of repulsion and more importantly pity.

It was funny to find a close friend almost distraught by another Lab rat.
A few months previously I had been the recipient of some unexpected venom and I had just cut off the individual telling mutual friends who tried to brush it under the table that the person in question needed careful study so that people will be sure of the exact contents of their character.

I had noticed this person to be full of bitterness  about life, God, people and family; regularly swinging from one manic depressive episode to the other and I began to be distrustful and distant. I am all for cheering people up and sowing seeds of encouragement but I am very wary of people who never have anything good to say about anybody.

This particular individual seemed to have negative information about everything and everyone and thrived on drama. I have a low threshold of tolerance of people who feed on drama; my experience has been that they will create the drama by any means necessary; be it lies, manipulation and malice. It took some level of control not to say I told you so when the new drama concocted erupted and splattered on quite a few friends.

Just a few months or weeks ago, someone had said no harm had been meant by the venom I had been drenched in and I was comforted when two or three people said they wished they had listened more when I had asserted that the individual in question was dangerous this past week.

When you find a person who gets depressed when others are happy, there is cause for concern, when someone can’t see any good in people that they don’t even know, talk less of those they do, one should be concerned. Where you find an individual who will wilfully manipulate, lie and connive for no other reason than to self aggrandise, we should take a step back. They are lab rats; special breeds, the Hitler’s of this world. They may have a smaller constituency than the leader of the third Reich but they are no less dangerous.

Try as I may, I have
been unable to understand those individuals who dispense hurt without a thought for those at the receiving end.

I am criticised a lot for being reserved and guarded but I find it more prudent to take my time to study the character of a person before I let them in. I don’t agree that being  a Christian means carelessness; it’s like saying its okay to open your door to anyone who knocks without checking.

That’s just asking for trouble; it’s asking to be robbed or killed; it’s asking to be taken advantage of; it’s asking to be at the mercy of a lab rat or special breed as the case may be.