Ah... well in that case i am way off... i was sitting her thinking about it and i was like 'i got my own shit my animal brain wants to do but i ain't gonna do that, i don't see people as prey, so i'm not a predator and so i can't empathize with predators... but do you need to be one to empathize? Maybe they mean sympathize? Can i sympathize with a predator? Not really, the mask is a benefit to both parties... giving in is just a net bad situation... so wtf are they empathizing with? I don't get it...'.
I'm not interested in excusing Haruka's actions, but just to make an effort to lay it out here, as someone who's been in the position of hurting others for selfish reasons while fancying themselves a decent person:
Self-delusion is a powerful thing. Haruka doesn't - or didn't - see herself as a bad person. She has lived herself a normal life, and never paid much mind to any darker hungers she may have had until her husband's absence wore her psyche down to nothing. She knows how to be a good person though - and she knows how to be and sometimes genuinely is a caring person for those she cares about. She counsels and listens to Rin and Molly and is happy for her friends and employees when they're happy, and is glad to be able to do what she can to make them happy without it being transactional. She does have a "selfish" streak - she seems to have a habit of being bad at actively supporting her friends in times of need because she's too wrapped up in her own thoughts, or doesn't think to think about others. This, at least, is something I've been guilty of (so heck maybe I'm wrong about it and am just projecting).
It's notable that when she's going after Kirin, she says "I don't want to take advantage of you", and also makes rudimentary overtures at "checking in" with her, while also saying "you'll like this". Haruka's hunger - the selfish parts of her nature that she always keeps in check as part of being a 'good everyday person' has overwhelmed her, and her usual amounts of consideration aren't nearly enough to slap her in the face with the enormity of what she's doing. She says she'll stop calling Kirin pet names then continues doing it. Meanwhile, her brain IS exercising the usual amount of consideration, even as its being completely washed out by her desires ... so the rest of her brain figures that as long as the checking force is in place, she isn't going over the line and is still being a good person - after all, that's what its supposed to be there for.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of someone is literally exactly what she's doing. It isn't until the heat of the moment has passed, and she's sitting there in front of Sara that her head is clear and she knows EXACTLY what she's done - her desires pull away and her 'normal' perceptions take the reins again and sees it all for what it is. She starts deflecting immediately then, and deflection only happens if you feel guilty. The same happened on a reduced scale with Chika earlier.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that Haruka is someone with no impulse control - and also no perspective. She knew what she wanted was bad, but thought she could mitigate it by technically receiving consent and also showing some sort of consideration while slaking her hunger. She lacked the perspective to realize that that's impossible when consent is not being given enthusiastically and continually.
Again, none of this is to excuse her behavior. Several serial killers fall under the category of "a person with no impulse control". It does demonstrate that the drives and delusions that create this lack of impulse control are very human, however. Is that evil? I suppose its a question of whether she tries this again after failing so, so spectacularly at having her cake of being a good person and predatorially eating it at the same time.
There's another question to be asked, of is it worse if you do or don't know that the horrible thing you're doing is horrible? What if Haruka had Nodoka's mindset about her own actions, similar to when she aired out Futaba's life against her consent? What if Haruka had zero perception that what she did was wrong, couldn't be swayed from thinking that what she did was right, and actively thinks someone's upset reaction to what she did is only cause the other person didn't sufficiently know her motivations? Is it more horrible if the abuse and exploitation you see someone commit is somehow tangible and relatable, or if its alien and seemingly uncaring? Is that evil?
My personal answer is that there's no such thing as evil. Both possibilities are fucking horrible, for different reasons, and they don't need to be 'evil' to be so. But I can eminently understand other perspectives on this, too.
