Maybe You’re a Villain Too

What If We’re Not That Different After All?

There’s a big madam out there, somewhere in the higher echelons of society. She’s privileged, and she knows it. She may not have come from money, but she’s clawed her way to the top and she’s staying there.

If “above the law” were a person, she embodies it. Her circle includes the high and mighty: the makers and keepers of the law. They gather at exclusive meetings and social functions, and she wields her influence ruthlessly, trampling anyone beneath her with impunity.

Once, a young man dared to call her out for not fully paying him for his services. She had him arrested, tortured, and then made him pay bail, twice the amount she owed him, just to regain his freedom. No one talks about it openly, fearing they’ll suffer the same fate.

You dislike her and others like her. “I could never be like that,” you say.

But maybe you’re exactly like her.

Remember that time at the community meeting you presided over? An uneducated man tried to share his opinion, and you silenced him, only to applaud a more educated person who said the same thing. Do you remember?

Or when you slapped a bus conductor for accidentally stepping on your foot? He tried to apologise, but you told him to get his “stinking self” out of your way. Do you remember?

What about the figures you padded at the office to get a little extra for yourself?

Do you remember that?

The truth is, many of us aren’t so different from the leaders we criticise. It’s easy to point fingers. But when you look in the mirror, you might find that your reflection isn’t so different.

Maybe you’re the villain too.

Just maybe.