But you ' re trying to set the parameters of normal , which is frankly the absolute worst word you can use to describe what you ' re trying to describe . It ' s the reason that serial killers and rapists go free for so longbecause by living within the physical trappings of normal people , their friends , family , and neighbors do not suspect them until it ' s too late . It ' s why victims of domestic violence don ' t speak outand many times , when they do , they go unbelievedbecause everything looks normal to outsiders . This is why Alan Moore ' s The Killing Joke is so potent . The Joker asserts that anyone in Gotham is one bad day away from becoming him . Now , we can argue about whether or not the Joker in any of his manifestations is normal , but in a world where Superman and Aquaman are titular characters , a mere murderous lunatic with no actual supernatural capability actually falls far closer to us in terms of normal than many people would find comfortable if they thought about it for more than 5 minutes . Fact is , the day before Roof did what he did , he would have fit in your definition of normal . If that doesn ' t bug you , you need to work on your definition of normal , or rather , its antithesis , or scrap it entirely . This isn ' t to say you ' re wrong about Roof ' s upbringing or mentality being fucked up , but you ' re drawing a polar comparison between fucked up and your idea of normal like those two things can ' t coexist in one community or one person , and worse , you ' re using anecdotal evidence to support that claim which means you aren ' t even impersonal about it . Regardless of your final stance on Roof ' s actions , your path to getting there is going to allow several flawed judgements to taint your perception of the world .