The Evil in us all?

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

And so - worn out discussing the important matters of the day (like where to stand) and with my course still basically unplayable and looking set to stay that way over the weekend - I need something a bit lighter.

All of us a capable of evil and inhumanity, and we must remain aware of that fact.

If you agree with the above then we may all be inherently evil as we are all inherently good - and we may just be an 'arms length' away from 'the other side' and perhaps we are not simply but for the grace of God, the turn of a card or simply fortunate to not be so susceptible to the human conditions or afflictions that can trigger such acts. Should then that understanding not inform our view of how we treat and deal with those who carry out acts of what are colloquially referred to as 'evil'. Are they perhaps just the unfortunate amongst us who actually require (not deserve) our compassion on some level as much as our revulsion and retribution.

 

[bluewolf]

You do know that this is going to turn into a political discussion regarding Liberal vs Conservative attitudes don't you?

Nature vs Nurture, Is a person a product of their surroundings, Should we punish or rehabilitate????? Difficult questions to answer..

Should be a good discussion..:thup:

 

[Foxholer]

Short life expectancy here - even (or maybe especially) for a January thread!

I see Rangers are romping away in Scottish League One1

 

[Duckster]

Are we talking about Evil as in atrocities done by man-kind, or Really Evil as in leaving the toilet seat up in a house full of women?

 

[chrisd]

I don't understand the phrase "the grace of God"?

 

[mikee247]

A nice gentle, easy going, non controversial topic to be going on with then. Are you having trouble filling your days SWILH? I hope the weather changes soon!

Hang em high I say or at least throw the key! All people are aware of what's right and wrong in modern society so Im not sure any have the right to a more compassionate outcome due to their circumstances... being mentally ill might be worth consideration in some cases and via faultless proof. Anything pre meditated is a given for the maximum sentence.

More consideration may be needed in a remote or 3rd world environment perhaps..... if education and civil way of lives is vastly lacking. I am hoping thats on topic....

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I don't understand the phrase "the grace of God"?

ach @Chris you understand the sentiment of the phrase perfectly well even if you don't go with the God bit. And in any case what is 'evil' if it has not been defined in the context of a human spiritual (I will hesitate to refer to religious) good and bad.

 

[bladeplayer]

I suppose , no i agree we are all capable of evil as much as the next ,

"Should then that understanding not inform our view of how we treat and deal with those who carry out acts of what are colloquially referred to as 'evil'. Are they perhaps just the unfortunate amongst us who actually require (not deserve) our compassion on some level as much as our revulsion and retribution."

This is a good bit . and saying yes that they require ( & maybe even deserve in some cases ) our compassion is easier to say if you havent been a victim of their or anyone elses evil .. i dont think there is a blanket answer , if someone commits an evil act once off and shows genuine remorse they deserve any help they require & we as a society should be required to have it in place for them ..
but if they re-offend or dont show remorse then they are not unfortunate they are just as you say evil .. they are entitled to nothing except the full force of the law .. you can lead a horse to water but if he doesnt want to drink it , dont bother bringin him

 

[Ethan]

I thought from the thread title this might be another take on the 'where do you stand on the tee' debate.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

You do know that this is going to turn into a political discussion regarding Liberal vs Conservative attitudes don't you?

Nature vs Nurture, Is a person a product of their surroundings, Should we punish or rehabilitate????? Difficult questions to answer..

Should be a good discussion..:thup:

The assertion is that all of us a capable of evil and inhumanity, and we must remain aware of that fact.

No nature or nurture in that statement. N&N may well affect whether or not we carry out evil acts. But the assertion is that we are ALL capable - not just those we might classify as BAD people. Even GOOD people in certain circumstances might carry out an evil or inhumanity.

 

[Hacker Khan]

I can be quite evil, but I blame it on my background. My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.

 

[User20205]

I can be quite evil, but I blame it on my background. My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.

ahhh Dr Evil, I presume :thup:

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I suppose , no i agree we are all capable of evil as much as the next ,



This is a good bit . and saying yes that they require ( & maybe even deserve in some cases ) our compassion is easier to say if you havent been a victim of their or anyone elses evil .. i dont think there is a blanket answer , if someone commits an evil act once off and shows genuine remorse they deserve any help they require & we as a society should be required to have it in place for them ..
but if they re-offend or dont show remorse then they are not unfortunate they are just as you say evil .. they are entitled to nothing except the full force of the law .. you can lead a horse to water but if he doesnt want to drink it , dont bother bringin him

Thoughtful - thankyou. Yes - I can certainly see the difference you draw between one-offs and re-offenders. So just on that, is a 'one-off' repeat (let's just say two) murderer who was not apprehended after the first act but then shows contrition and genuine remorse deserving of some compassion? Or do we just lock him up and throw away the key - or hang him.

 

[Khamelion]

Very true we all must have an element of 'evil' in us, you don't have to go any further than the bloke who set fire to his house and killed his kids. One could contrive that he was doing it for a good purpose in that they wanted a larger house, but also, but because it went wrong, then the public perception is he is/was an evil person. But that written any normal person with a decent amount of common sense, would not have set fire to their house, so for him to think of committing the act of arson and then carrying it out, in this instance is an evil act.

The Collins Concise Dictionary states Evil as:-

1. Morally wrong or bad; wicked
2. Causing harm or injury
3. Marked or accompanied by misfortune; an evil fate
4. (of temper, or disposition, etc) chracterised by anger or spite
5. infamous: an evil reputation
6. offensive or unpleasant; an evil smell

But are we all inherently evil, yes, I suppose we all are, whether as individuals we admit or not. Now whether as individuals we choose to exhibit any evil, would depend on whether an individual has morals or not. As an example, a lad I used to work with didn't go to hospital to see his wife while she gave birth to their child, he instead chose to be with another women and have sex with her, is that have evil act or a deeply wrong moralistic one?

If you have no moral compass and do not give a toss about anything, then that could be construed as evil. If you don't give a toss, would you shout fore as your ball heads towards someone or a crowd? Would you apologize if it hit them?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Very true we all must have an element of 'evil' in us, you don't have to go any further than the bloke who set fire to his house and killed his kids. One could contrive that he was doing it for a good purpose in that they wanted a larger house, but also, but because it went wrong, then the public perception is he is/was an evil person. But that written any normal person with a decent amount of common sense, would not have set fire to their house, so for him to think of committing the act of arson and then carrying it out, in this instance is an evil act.

He was a pathetic, devious, calculating (or not), callous fool who did a very stupid thing - was the act actually evil though? In the same way you might ask whether the men and women operating the 'release' lever/switches of the gas chambers were actually evil?

 

[SaintHacker]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezxwm-HEx84

 

[Khamelion]

He was a pathetic, devious, calculating (or not), callous fool who did a very stupid thing - was the act actually evil though? In the same way you might ask whether the men and women operating the 'release' lever/switches of the gas chambers were actually evil?

I think the difference between the two are that; The man who set fire to his house did so from making a conscious decision himself, he knew it was wrong, yet he still committed the act. Those however who push the button or pull the lever that executes someone, do so as an act that is their job, they may get some form of gratification from it, but as to whether they are evil I'm not so sure.

I think it would be hard not to feel some sort of gratification if you were the person that executed a convicted killer, knowing that person would never kill again, maybe that gratification could be construed as evil, but then the person pushing the button maybe able to completely disassociate themselves from their job.

 

[London mike 61]

Here is my contribution to this thread ; the sky is blue and it has stopped raining which means that soon I can get out and play golf wether there is evil in the world or not. :thup:

 

[Khamelion]

Here is my contribution to this thread ; the sky is blue and it has stopped raining which means that soon I can get out and play golf wether there is evil in the world or not. :thup:

Yes but would you think there were evil forces at work, if you were all set to play and were about to walk out the front door and it started to lash it down again?

 

[London mike 61]

Yes but would you think there were evil forces at work, if you were all set to play and were about to walk out the front door and it started to lash it down again?

Only if some silly so and so was holding a garden hose trying to soak me