You are right. I overlooked people with mental illnesses. I wrote this entry from the perspective of a healthy and reasonable ‘average’ person in the street (whatever average is). Thanks for pointing it out.

However, the topic of mental illnesses is another one altogether. Some people might not even know they are afflicted, and even if they do, they might be in denial because of social pressures.

There was one employee in my company who had immense difficulty controlling his emotions, outburst and violent acts. It may be misconstrued that he is a bad violent person. However, the abuser might be a victim of mental illness that overrun his mental controls.
We sent him for therapy instead of sacking him.

When I spoke to him once about his condition, he said the actions of his colleagues can trigger a uncontrollable flood of thoughts and make his rage rocket and overrun his control system. It is hard for normal people to contemplate.

A jealous boyfriend that beats up his girlfriend because she spoke in a friendly manner with another guy – is obviously suffering from a mental illness. This is why it is a mistake for the girl to tolerate this and expect the guy to “change” because he expressed enormous regret later on….he is somehow wired with this violent response and need medical treatment.