Earlier this month, a fellow Odyssey writer published an article entitled "People Are Evil." While writer Sarah Knox made some points about the recent shooting in Orlando and the Brock Turner rape case, claiming that some people are "just plain evil." While many may think that people are born evil, I don't find this to be the case. I think a huge factor of "evil people" is something many people seem to forget about: nature or nurture.

Nature or nurture is a common question asked when a toddler misbehaves, a dog bites a child, or even a mass shooting occurs. I believe that nurture rather than nature is the common cause of any accident or tragedy, no matter how big or small it may be. As an example, many people, even those who are fond of dogs, are against pit bulls because of their so called "violent nature." Just because there have been some incidents where a pit bull has snapped and attacked a child does not mean that all pit bulls are violent and attack anything and everything that moves. Pit bulls are violent due to being bred and then subjected to mills or poor conditions where they are trained to fight violently against other pit bulls. The same goes for people- I truly believe that people are good at heart.

Now, you may call me naive or hypocritical, as I can sometimes be quite pessimistic; however, I think that some people are not raised right. Some people are raised in violent, harsh, nasty, cruel conditions. Some people grow up feeling that they're unloved. Some people are beaten or starved. Some people are mocked or even physically harmed for their sexuality or who they choose to love. Any of these factors could contribute to someone resulting to violence in order to either stand up for themselves or to feel better. While this does not make things right by any stretch of the imagination, do they know any differently? Some people just think violence is always the answer- it's how they were raised. Some may think that family life is supposed to be harsh- it's how they were raised. It all comes full circle-back to nature or nurture.

I'm not saying that Brock Turner was raised to rape an innocent woman and I'm not saying that the gunman who shot all of those innocent people at the Pulse nightclub should be patted on the back. All those who have done wrong should be punished for their actions; however, I do believe that some people were just raised differently. Not all people are evil, and I don't believe someone is born that way. Rather, I believe the conditions they are subjected to as they progress through life makes up who they ultimately decide to become, whether that's someone as holy as a priest or as corrupt as a twisted gunman.