The ability to be shocked

I have lost my ability to be shocked or repulsed by the news I see every day. Horrific crimes have become daily news. Crimes against women, is increasing at an unprecedented rate and sometimes, I wonder if I am reading yesterday’s newspaper as the news remains the same. The only thing that changes are the name of the victims, their age, the extent of hurt caused to them. We are supposed to be a civilised society. We are different from animals because we are sensitized, humane and compassionate. But the news everyday challenges this theory. Even animals do not hurt their own kind unless provoked. But when I read the news of how helpless infants were sexually assaulted, young girls were kidnapped and murdered, senior citizens were attacked, it makes me wonder. The monsters among us are worst than animals. They are a depraved lot whose frustration and resentment leads to such horrific acts. The violence that they inflict on others without any remorse or fear of consequences is scary. What is worse is that our protectors the police and judicial system seems to be ineffective. There is no terror of law in them. Some of the criminals caught and convicted for a certain case and released due to loopholes in the law and are out on street repeating the crime. I wonder what is that make these criminals the way they are. Are they human at all? How do they hurt little children? Doesn’t the cries of their victim make their hand waver, the shriek of victims pierce their souls, their tormented faces haunt their dreams. How do they look at themselves in the mirror after committing such crimes. How do they live with themselves? If the answer to this is that they are not normal, then they belong in a mental institution not a jail. Lets hope that the monsters we heard about in the fairy tales remain in the stories and not become a permanent reality.