What in a childs upbringing/environment/influences leads to this???
I was a boy of about 14 when the wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone. My grandfather was a rancher in the area. I recall that he said to me, Boy, wait and youll see its only matter of time until the wolves range out of the park. When they do ranchers will start losing calves and shepherds will start losing lambs. This will not happen because the wolves are maltreated or because they lacked for anything as they were growing from pups. Soon thereafter, boy, ranchers will start killing wolves. This will happen because it is in the nature of the wolf to kill the lamb and the calf.
I remember protesting his thinking because the wolves were endangered and we could put up fences and such. After I voiced this to my grandfather he smiled and told me the following.
You cant talk the wolf out of being a wolf.
I understood his point but as a boy I thought he was wrong. All these years later, Ive been a soldier for many of them and Ive seen the terrible things that people do to each other firsthand. Ive grown to understand that sometimes people act out of fear or momentary rage. Some people though, are like those wolves. Its what they are, and you cant talk them out of being wolves.
I don't know if the above is any answer but every time I see something like this, or read about that kidnapping in Cleveland, or a school shooting, or any of the myriad horrors that fly across the newsfeed every day I think about my grandfather's thoughts on those wolves. Some people are evil. Not in a cartoonish, twirling the mustache kind of way, but in real lack of human compassion and empathy kind of way. Whatever sort of wiring they were supposed to come equipped with seems not to have been shipped with the final product. I' not sure that one can fix what is simply missing.
In any event another innocent person has been killed and three monsters await justice. I hope for God's mercy and healing to the families of all involved.
Mark