: Re: Dangers of being sympathetic to the killer I wrote a piece of flash fiction as a mental exercise. I happened to listen to Glen Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade,” and happened to watch an

@Bethany377

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If the villain is crazy, then you could get the audience to agree with him by presenting exclusively the information that his crazy mind is processing. In the same way that a crazy person can't really "decide not to be crazy," (because the truth is not available to them), if you phrase things in the right way and conceal enough of the details, the audience will have no option but to accept that they're reading the story of a hero.

For example,

Tonight is the night. Decades of oppression have built tensions to a breaking point. While tragic, this night is necessary. I never asked to be caught in the crossfire, but I've been forced to fight a war I didn't start. I don't want this duty, but my people need me to carry it out for them: to do what they are not strong enough to do. History will decide how to remember me, but tonight, I decide history.

Because all of the details have been left out, this could be anyone from a school shooter to General George Washington. Vague platitudes about justice can be used to justify virtually anything. Just as a court has to hear the specifics of a case to make a judgement, your audience won't be able to judge anything if all they hear is mushy manifesto dialogue about how somebody wants to change the world. For all they know, the protagonist could be preparing to launch an Internet startup.

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