Blogorhea - binge blogging while I can

And another one (can you tell I'm on my own tonight?); wanted to share with you how I was reminded of how cruel humans can be, even as children. Coming home from uni earlier this week, I was walking to my bike when I came upon the following scenario: a little dark-haired girl of maybe three years was crouched on the edge of a grass patch next to the train tracks, whimpering in apparent terror. Fifty yards away, her older sister (I assume) of maybe six or seven was standing by the fence that separates the grass from the rails, holding a bright yellow ball (presumably the little girl's) over the top of the fence and repeatedly motioning as if she were going to drop it onto the tracks beyond where it would have been irretrievably out of reach for both girls. The smaller girl (who looked stunningly like pictures of my beloved C at that age) was pleading with her older sister not to do what she was feigning to, while the older girl was taunting her. After about half a minute (in which I watched, dumb-struck), the older girl tired of the game a little. Her younger sister picked herself up off the grass, ran over and, after much pleading, was given the ball back (I think the older sister had noticed me glaring at her by then) and the two walked off, the older sister still bullying the younger one and teasingly attempting to take the ball away again and again. The older girl was clearly stronger and quicker than her little sister and was obviously finding satisfaction in making the her younger sister's life painful. I tell you - my heart went out to that younger girl so much - my first instinct was to go and giving the older one a right good shouting-at for being so mean. I'm still not sure whether or not I'm glad I didn't do so. Anyway, it highlighted so vividly to me how cruelty is inherent in human behaviour from the earliest stages of life. I'm sure the older sister is lovely and every bit as worthy of tender affection as her younger sibling seemed to me at the time - that's the sad bit somehow. We all seem to have this in-built capability to act evilly, regardless of who we are most of the time. Hackneyed sayings about dog-eat-dog and the like spring to mind by the dozen, of course... In a sense, I'm almost amused at the extremeness of my own reaction to the observed. I mean, mocking each other is something kids will do all the time (as will grown-ups, I suppose) and certainly, there could have been worse things than losing a small plastic ball. Nevertheless, I was completely overwhelmed with sympathy for the younger girl and flaming anger at the older one. Funny how small things can affect you sometimes...