I am speaking of the reflex to ask, "Who is doing this to me?"

This question is useful in power-over situations. It forms naturally in those conditioned to victim-perpetrator relationships, as well as those in authoritarian institutions like schools and prisons.

However, when that outlook becomes a habit, one looks for someone in charge as the explanation for every injustice and the key to righting every wrong.

Sometimes the explanation works. Sometimes, identifying and removing the bully, abuser or psychopath solves the problem at hand.

Such is the familiar, almost comforting plot line of the typical Hollywood action movie: good guys versus bad guys, hero versus villain.

When reality conforms to that plot line, life is simple and moral choices are clear.

But when the reality is more complicated, then the fixation on the villain conjures one phantom after another that distracts attention from a broader matrix of causes.