“My friend said to me, “Man, this weather is trippy.” I said to him, “No, man, it’s not the weather that is trippy. Perhaps it is the way we perceive it that is indeed trippy.” Then I thought, “Man, I should have just said, ‘Yeah.’”
—Mitch Hedberg

Life is all about perspective. Our perception of the world is based on the formative experiences and influences that we are subjected to from the moment we are born. And since no one person’s experiences is identical to another’s, every single person has a slightly different way of seeing things. Although some people see the world through rose-colored glasses, for others the tint is much darker.

Maybe the world would be a lot better if we tried harder to understand someone else’s point of view. We would be less quick to judge and hate those we don’t understand if we tried to see the world through their particular shade of sunglasses. We would be more tolerant and understanding of other people’s differences and what we perceive to be their shortcomings. Maybe the great villains of history would come off a little

more sympathetic if we only sought to understand what made them the way they are.

Art is the great communicator. Through someone’s art, we can really understand their voice. In this issue of Litrus we have the opportunity to hear many different voices. We even get to hear from some of the most despised people in history, just in time for the holiday season. This is not to say that the average Litrus contributor is evil or despicable. What I’m talking about is a special feature this month called “Dancing With the Dark.” The Litrus staff was challenged to write monologue or poem from the point of view of a villain. It could be any villain, fictional or real, Disney or demon; the challenge was to write in their voice. We were surprised, amused, and even a little frightened by what came out. We’re very excited to present that to you, along with many fine contributions from the Citrus College Community. We would also like to encourage you readers to take on the voice of a villain and submit it to Litrus magazine. Please send us your flirtations with the dark at citruslit@yahoo.com.

-Aaron White Editor in Chief