Breaking the evil's loop
There are moments when people behave as if they are under a spell—bewitched, possessed, or caught in a mental shift that drives them to act in a deterministic way. This kind of behavior, which isn't necessarily negative, can become a vicious cycle that traps a person in a loop of harmful actions, one from which they cannot escape by their own free will, especially when influenced by negative circumstances.
This reminds me of an experience I had during my mandatory military service aboard an aircraft carrier in 1993. Living with a group of young people in such close quarters, we faced constant interpersonal challenges that needed to be resolved, as there was no escape when we were offshore. In our living area, there were three cramped rooms, each with bunk beds on either side and six lockers. The space was claustrophobic, and neither the bedrooms nor the narrow corridors could accommodate two people walking side by side; we had to move in single file, at least until reaching the main corridor. Just next to these quarters was a small common area with a sofa, a table, and a TV.
One day, two colleagues, Paul and John, got into an argument about a portable radio. I don’t recall the exact reason for their disagreement, and truthfully, I didn’t understand it at the time. But both were determined to defend their position, no matter the cost. Neither could see that their argument was going nowhere. They were locked in an endless cycle of conflict, unable to break free.
Their heated exchange was disturbing the others in the common room, and I was one of them. As the argument dragged on with no end in sight, our friend Steve stood up, walked over to the radio, and lifted it with the clear intention of throwing it to the floor to break it. At that moment, everything seemed to happen in a blur. Paul and John quickly intervened, stopping Steve from breaking the radio, but Steve was furious and still intent on destroying it. In the end, he didn’t break the radio. Paul and John pleaded with him, and after a tense negotiation, Steve reluctantly agreed to let it go, expressing how foolish and ridiculous their fight had been.
In the end, it took a third person—Steve—to break the loop of anger and absurdity. And what’s worse, it took an extreme action—destroying the radio—to stop them, because words alone couldn’t intervene in their spiral.
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But this "loop of evil" can be far more destructive than a simple argument. In this memory, it only affected two people and the immediate environment around them. But what happens if such a loop is exploited by those in power? The "evil loop" is a fundamental weakness of human nature, and like any weakness, it can be manipulated with disastrous results. Through toxic rhetoric, populism, post-truths, and lies, powerful figures can stoke anger and hatred, creating division between groups, populations, or even entire societies.
I’m pausing here because it’s difficult to provide examples without oversimplifying complex issues. But I often find myself wishing that, in those critical moments when harmful cycles are taking hold, there could be someone like Steve—someone who could intervene and break the loop, just as he did in 1993.
Antoni Font 06/04/2023, Aberdeen.