Introduction: On unavoidable things

It's been said that the only two sure things in life are death and taxes.

Yet there are many other sure things, as well—too many to be listed in a single sitting.

Two are pain and suffering.  Of feeling humans, there has never been anyone who has not felt physical or emotional pain.  Even in the case of unfeeling humans, pain and suffering has been a surefire thing to experience knowing their loved ones will no longer have new experiences.

If pain and suffering are just as sure as death and taxes, then there can only be two classes of things that cause pain and suffering: one caused by accidents, and one caused by evil.  This brings us to another sure thing: morality.  Ever since civilizations have lived independently, there have been both good and evil people.

Now, realizing this, I have chosen the 50 most reprehensible people to ever walk the planet.  They range in date of flourish from ancient Rome to the present day.  They have acted unspeakably, committing atrocities ranging from tyranny and torture to human experimentation and genocide.  Some are living, and some are dead.  Some made their subjects subservient while others caught the attention of rival nations. (Peculiar it is that they could apply to Stalin and Hitler, respectively.)

Almost all are men, and the vast majority are political and military leaders.  Women have historically had fewer rights and less power than men.  There is but one serial killer, herself a woman, for they do not have as much power as rulers and are thus incapable of causing as many deaths.  As well, some serial killers—like Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer—have evaded identity.

I'd been working on this project since the first day of spring 2008. So as you can imagine, it underwent much revision.  It was originally planned as a book, consisted of 100 people, and was ranked rather than alphabetized.  It was going to be titled The Evil 100, not hoping to improve on a book with that same title but nevertheless having the subtitle A Ranking of the Most Evil Men and Women in History.

I arrived at the list's present state firstly through several choices on the second half of the 100 whose ghastly actions were recorded from mostly biased sources.  The three key ones were:

• Edward II of England (or "Longshanks"), the villain of the film Braveheart, where he was portrayed by Patrick McGoohan as a cold-hearted tyrant.  Yet I decided to look for further research, and when I looked the film and Edward up on Wikipedia, I saw that he had been fictionalized, nor could I find many charges on which to include him based on true history.
• Catherine the Great, listed in a book titled The Most Evil Women in History.  By some she is condemned for her indifference to rising Russian poverty, and yet by others she is praised for her military brilliance.
• Shaka Zulu, listed in The Most Evil Dictators in History but, again, not someone I could find much substantial evidence against.

Then there are other rulers such as Xerxes, Justinian, and Julius Caesar, who were listed in a book about major tyrants, but I found that they were somewhat less guilty compared to someone like Genghis Khan.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney single-handedly killed the rank factor.  As a representative of the rise of cruel extremism in the government, he was originally listed at no. 9.  But things that have happened or at least been brought to the table since he was in power—mainly the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which would have permitted the government to shut down whatever websites they pleased—made me consider a higher placement, possibly the top five.  I should add that this was ahead of Hitler, who would usually rank first.  Indecision as to an exact rank led to the end of a ranked list.

Our enduring fascination with evil is a curious thing.  In my political system, it seems like supporters of both Republicans and Democrats desire a greater focus on evil than good.  This seems morbid to me, but perhaps it is the same psychology that makes awful reviews of movies more fun to read than glowing ones.

Have no fear of depression, for this blog will be followed by a sequel, one twice as long, about people who were actually "good."  But for now, let the list of the wicked and cruel begin…