Freebooter

The only pirates I know are either from books or movies, and my favourite is Captain Jack Sparrow. Jack Sparrow is a deviant; a weirdo. But we still like him, don't we?

When we come across deviants or weirdos (I'd like to view them as non-conformists) in fictional works, we tend to like them. Sometimes we even adore them. I know I do. My favourites are the psychopaths. (Ted Bundy used to be at the top of my list.) Many of us seem to have an unexplained attraction towards them.

Yet, when we come across a lawless scoundrel in real life, our response is not the same. (Us sending them to Parliament is a completely different story, I guess.) We are reluctant to pardon them. Ahinsaka turned into Angulimala, later attaining Nibbana, but that was in the Buddha's time. Here and now, a murderer will always be labelled a murderer. Once a thief, always a thief. As a community, we don't seem to believe in rehabilitation.

What makes this difference? How can we look for reasons to explain a wrongdoer's actions when they are distant and none of our business, yet be unable to do the same for someone known or connected to us? It remains a mystery.