The Uses of Monsters

Aghast, we cover our faces, confused and unable to choose between expressions of disgust and nervous laughter. What a surprise . . . who could have imagined . . . such horror. There is a moment of black epiphany at the revelation of a particularly heinous crime -- a moment that is both oracular and inexpressible. Statistics and forensic minutiae will eventually move in to cloud our vision. And the incessant patter of news updates will inevitably numb us, pushing onward the boundaries of our tolerance for atrocity. But in the beginning, as we make out the shape of the crime,...

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