The death of a bully

[CloggedDonkey]

no, you're perfectly normal. we see millions of lives go before us every time we hear the news. do you cry at all of them? are you extremely saddened by all of them? no, and most people aren't. you don't know them, you're not connected with all of them. you should feel something about his passing, like how you are concerned about how you feel nothing, but besides that, no, you're normal.

and for some reason, this sprang to mind:

Spoiler

 

[IrirshTerrorist]

Hi, Escapist.

I just found out not 10 minutes ago, that apparently my very own, personal high school bully, was shot and killed a few days ago. This is a guy, that most of us saw as highly unlikeable, and he continued to make my life hell ages after we both graduated.
I honestly believe, that if I met him on the street today, I would hear the same taunts from him, as five years ago. At least that was honestly the case when I saw him last. And that's not that long ago.

Most of my old classmates has shown sadness by his passing. Some are even attending the funeral. None of us really liked him, yet, I suppose it's common decency, and instinct, to be sad in a situation like this. Or, is it?

Am I wrong, for not feeling anything? Even now, I can't produce a single positive thought on the guy. I'm a bit shocked, yes, but that's mostly in regards to a murder occuring in my little town.

What do you guys think? Am I a horrible human being, for feeling so indifferent to his death?
And what about you guys? I think most of us has had our very own bully, and some of us might not even be rid of them yet. How are you supposed to react, and how would you react?



NOTE: I'm sorry for the lack of big, existential discussion value here, but I know that if I do tell someone at home, just how I feel (or don't feel), I will get that "horrible person" reaction.

He dehumanized himself to you by being a monster Bullies are troubled people who make monsters of themselves to avoid the pain of being who they really are.
Due to this dehumanization in your subconscious (this is how your subconscious protects you from the fact that another human could be cruel to you) when you learned of his death you didn't react to it as you would to the death of another person, you reacted as you would to the death of something inhuman and unpleasant.
Or at least thats my basic understanding of how this kind of thing might work.