If a child/teen is a jerk towards others, they can still tell if someone is evil right?

[MelodyRye]

When my supervisor was a kid (ages 10-14 years old), he and his best friend were jerks towards other classmates and people's pets. This is what they used to do:

- Shoplifting at stores

- Egging houses

- Cheat on some exams

- Tease and nicknamed some classmates

- Covered people's pets with mud, say boo or throw tiny little rocks

 

Another kid decides to befriend them and join in. They found him cool in the first couple months until he started with twisted things such as asking why people cry at funerals, showing them several articles of Mary Bell (the 11 year-old child killer) or claiming he did meaner things, that what they did is nothing. One day the kid brought rat poison. He wanted to use that on someone's pet and had a smile on his face. They stopped talking to him ever since. Even at that age, they both thought that was going too far and so evil.

Kids and teens by nature are immature and can be mean but even so, at that age...you can still tell if something goes beyond the limit right, beyond the ''kids and teens can be mean'' thing? If something is seriously going too far?

[MelodyRye]

My supervisor and his friend were just 11 year-olds at the time, the same age as that kid and found that very disturbing and pure evil. They both refused to hang out with that kid afterwards. Even at that age, they thought that kid was going too far.

[LivingWaterPlease]

We were taught shoplifting and cheating on exams were both evil so I considered them to be so when I was 11. Egging houses wasn't something that I was taught to make a judgement on as I'd never heard of it at the age of 11. Destroying property that belonged to others is a natural "no no" when you've been reared to respect others.

Yes, there are degrees of evil, it seems to me. But, I would not have hung out with your boss when I was 11 while he did those things. It's all in how you've been taught to behave. Sadly, many are not being taught how to respect others these days and our society reflects that.

[Wiseman2]

Adults with antisocial personality disorder typically show symptoms of conduct disorder before the age of 15. Signs and symptoms of conduct disorder include serious, persistent behavior problems, such as:

Aggression toward people and animals

Destruction of property

Deceitfulness

Theft

Serious violation of rules.

[d0nnivain]

Immaturity is not the same thing as being evil or having a true anti-social personality.  There are some lines that can't be crossed & even mixed up immature children can see them.  

What is your Q?  

Why are you & your boss talking about how the boss behaved as a child?  

[SumGuy]

Your boss was a sociopath, or bully at best, (maybe still is a sociopath just learned to hide it and get his control jollies in other more acceptable and deniable ways) and he attracted a psychopath.  No surprise. 

I doubt they ostracized this new friend out of empathy for his victims and more out of concerns of being caught, i.e., that was too far to get away with.  It is your boss's tormenting pets for kicks that is a real sign for sociopaths and indicates a lack of empathy; it is not normal teenage behavior.

[spiderowl]

I would say that throwing stones at any living creature that is not a threat is going too far, but it sounds like they correctly picked up that the new kid was psychopathic.

I would not want to be a friend to anyone who hurt wildlife willingly, but that's just me.  I don't like bullies either.

What your supervisor used to get up to says a lot about him/her.  It is worth bearing that in mind.  My instinct is that people who have a cruel/bullying streak do not usually change fundamentally.

[spiderowl]

On 4/1/2021 at 6:15 PM, SumGuy said:

Your boss was a sociopath, or bully at best, (maybe still is a sociopath just learned to hide it and get his control jollies in other more acceptable and deniable ways) and he attracted a psychopath.  No surprise. 

I doubt they ostracized this new friend out of empathy for his victims and more out of concerns of being caught, i.e., that was too far to get away with.  It is your boss's tormenting pets for kicks that is a real sign for sociopaths and indicates a lack of empathy; it is not normal teenage behavior.

SumGuy sums it up beautifully here ...