What’s Going on with ‘Bad Guys’?

The good guys. The bad guys.

I grew up believing there were good guys and bad guys. Indeed, many movies and stories supported the idea. But who were these ‘bad’ people? Why were they ‘bad’? What motivated them? Where did these desires come from?

I’ll say this: Mugshots look a lot different when you know the person and story behind the picture. You see the face of someone who was once a six-year-old boy. You know the terrible story of how his dad abused him. You remember that moment on his 18th birthday when his last close support tragically died. And you also are keenly aware of his strengths, dreams, and passions. 

In other words, a mugshot isn’t just a picture; it’s a person.

To be honest, it was hard for me to believe in the concept of ‘bad guys’ after working in a young adult homeless shelter for over a decade. It became glaringly obvious that the people society labeled “bad guys” were people who did not have the support they needed as youth. 

Even still, there were lessons I learned in this young adult homeless shelter beyond the expected takeaways. Youth showed up to the shelter from many different backgrounds. I remember an unexpected youth who was from a prominent family in the community. Why was he here? As it turned out, he had a rigid father with expectations which, if not met, would put this youth’s value in question. This young man was suffering under undue societal pressure not meant for a youth to carry. 

Perhaps this young man would never show up in a mugshot picture, though his pain–if unaddressed–would surely show up in other ways. He too, was a youth who did not have his needs met. 

So, my journey to peacebuilding has included this: When I see negative behavior in the world, I ask, Who was this person as a child? What happened to them? What were they struggling with? And where was a need not met?

To be clear, we are not excusing anyone from behavior that is unlawful, unjust, or hurtful. We must also give loving accountability to one another; this helps a person grow. Likewise, we must protect the vulnerable who could be harmed by another person’s behavior.

And yet: If we find ourselves labeling someone a ‘bad guy’–may we dig deeper and try to understand who exactly this ‘bad guy’ is, and why they’ve fallen into the place they have. And most importantly, what would help them forward?

For me, one of the key aspects of peacebuilding is keeping in mind that what we perceive as a personal failure is often a societal failure. Again, how did this adult–who was once a youth–not have their needs met? 

And as a society, what can we do about it?

Peacebuilding 101

Below, I’ll share what I keep close in mind in my peacebuilding work. There is much to add here, but this has been a helpful base for me.

ONE - We will be most effective if we understand why an ‘enemy’ or ‘bad guy’ is acting the way they are. 

TWO - We will be most effective if we balance accountability and dignity together. 

THREE - To catalyze and encourage personal change, shame is not an effective tool–especially when it comes to helping a person toward long-term, intrinsic change.

FOUR - We must keep in mind we have our own cognitive bias. So, as much as it feels important to challenge others–we too, must have humility to recognize we also need to be challenged.  

FIVE - Finally, when we engage others who act in harmful ways, we must always remember to recognize power dynamics at play. The most vulnerable person is the priority. Engaging those who act in harmful ways must never be at the expense of the most vulnerable.

Peace and justice work empowers the most vulnerable in our society. And that said, we’ll be closer to the society we long for when we choose to dignify everyone–even the people we perceive as ‘bad guys.’ 

This was written by a Peace Catalyst member who has a background working with unhoused young adults and studying peace theology from an Anabaptist university. They are currently working on a book about youth homelessness, peacebuilding, and societal betterment.

If you’re interested in reading more, you can subscribe to their personal newsletter and be notified when the book is released: https://humanitygetsbetter.kit.com/