In my early teens I lived in Hong Kong and my downstairs neighbors were the Philippine consul general and his family. Their son, Xavier, was a friend; we rode the school bus together and walked up that long, steep hill companionably at the end of each day. I ate dinner with them many times over the course of four years. One day their cousin was in town and joined us for dinner. She was delightful, I sort of wished she was my grandmother: pretty, charming, a wonderful raconteur. And kind.
She also had fabulous shoes. In fact, it turns out, she was notorious for her shoes.
Hannah Arendt was correct about the banality of evil. It is not always obvious when close at hand. Likability, I have learned, often has little to do with goodness.
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Date: 2007-05-18 02:05 pm (UTC)She also had fabulous shoes. In fact, it turns out, she was notorious for her shoes.
Hannah Arendt was correct about the banality of evil. It is not always obvious when close at hand. Likability, I have learned, often has little to do with goodness.