SERIAL KILLERS WAITING AT THE PEARLY GATES
or why the conventional concepts of good and evil don't work
     by The Lizard King

"It is almost systematically impossible to constitute a natural moral law.
Nature has no principles. She furnishes us with no reason to believe that 
human life is to be respected. Nature, in her indifference, makes no
distinction between good and evil."
-Anatole France

	In common, conventional law, there are very set definitions as 
to what is good and what is evil. What is right and what is wrong. But if
you were to taken anything that conventional standards decided as a 
given, then you would most likely not be reading this to begin with. So 
what is it that defines good and bad?
	In a hypothetical situation, let's say I'm a homicidal maniac. Not
at all an unlikely scenario. Anyhow, as a homicidal maniac I kill people.
I slaughter mindlessly. And when society looks at me, it doesn't see a 
misunderstood individual. It sees evil. When it looks at Bundy, Manson, 
Rameriez, and Gacy, it sees nothing but pure, unadulterated evil. And 
personally, so do I. But in the mindset of this hypothetical killer, there 
is nothing evil about it. There might not be anything good about it, but 
there is certainly nothing worth being thrown in prison or being eternally 
damned. It's just a hobby. 
	So have I done anything really wrong? Not really. To the standards 
set in my mind, I haven't really done anything more harmful than if I had 
taken up collecting stamps (which in my mind, is more psychotic than killing.
Obviously a hobby of the bored). So far, I haven't done anything wrong.
	But do I deserve to be punished? Unfortunately, yes. Society has 
determined that killing people isn't right and that I knew that. 
And therefore, even though I haven't been bad, I must be punished.
	Pretty warped, isn't it? Society punished someone who sees nothing 
wrong in their actions for the wrongs of another standard. And as I write 
this, I realize that this argument won't solve anything. I would never support
letting off Jeffery Dhamer because he wasn't quite aware that raping the 
cadavers of decapitated children was a bad thing to be doing in his free 
time. This isn't a change I'd like to implement. I'm just pointing out yet 
another paradox in this lovely world of ours.
	Anyhow, I am going to the chair for my so-called sins. Now, although 
this part is debatable, the person pulling the switch is not doing anything 
wrong in the eyes of conventional society. However, to me, this man is a 
murderer. He's putting a lethal number of volts into my system for no reason. 
And in my mind, that person should be punished and is worthy of eternal 
damnation. 
	Lovely isn't it?
	Now maybe, if the universe be so merciful, what I consider eternal 
damnation is really what the switch pulling individual would consider heaven
and what he considers eternal damnation is heaven to me. 
	And then again, maybe not. 
	We'll just have to keep on killing each other until we find out for 
sure.