The Evil in us all?

[drawboy]

Evil, hmmmn. It depends on whether the act you have carried out is justifiable to you at the time you commit the act, Note the justifiable to you. It will certainly not be justifiable to the law or indeed society in general but few show scant regard for that. A person may kill another individual or group of people. The law calls this murder and reviles it and you will be punished. A soldier fires a mortar that kills 50 enemy soldiers and that soldier gets a medal because an MP gives the soldier permission to carry out mass murder. In the eyes of religion both have committed a crime against humanity. Is the soldier evil in the same way a murderer is?

 

[chrisd]

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.

I really don't believe you - hairy scrote at 14 ...... Very unlikely!

 

[NWJocko]

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

Agreed

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.

Not entirely sure your list is exhaustive. The "education" we receive as children (like where to stand on tees if I were to be flippant.... ) and the grounding given helps to form your moral compass and also (hopefully) gives that person the ability to choose between "good" and "evil". I accept the point that, perhaps, there may be certain medical/mental issues that mean people, even after a string moral upbringing, are unable to stop themselves from acting on "evil" urges.

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.

I think bladeplayer makes a good point in that your thinking on this can be skewed through personal involvement or not. My family was unfortunate to be caught up in the Dunblane massacre all those years ago and we lost a young family member. Are you suggesting that we should have felt compassion towards the perpetrator? Note, I'm not accusing you of this, just trying to understand if this is the point you are trying to make.

 

[stevie_r]

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.

So what is best for getting coffee off my wife's iPad?

 

[stevie_r]

I really don't believe you - hairy scrote at 14 ...... Very unlikely!

My sister did oo:

 

[Khamelion]

Is the soldier evil in the same way a murderer is?

No, a soldier is doing a job their countries government has asked them to do, they are trying to kill other soldiers who are out to kill them, they openly commit the act or killing an enemy combatant knowing that if they didn't there is every chance they will be killed.

A murderer kills someone who does not want to kill the murderer.

Now I chose to explain the murderer example in the way I did, as I was going to put, "A murderer kills someone who does not want to be killed." I'm fairly certain that a soldier does not want to be killed either, but as a soldier, they choose to put themselves in harms way, a murderers victim does not choose that.

 

[chrisd]

My sister did oo:

I know :whoo:

 

[bladeplayer]

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.

Tough one , it would have to be assertained [sp] was the remorse for the actual crime or because he/she got caught .. if someone rocked up of their own accord saying i did 2 murders but i wana change .. IMO they would have to be given the benefit of the doubt ...[again this is easy for me to say when it was not someone belonging to me that got killed] ...

Very few people on this earth have not made mistakes , evil to me is enjoying hurting people or enjoying doing wrong .. there maybe a sickness causing the evil but TO ME it is still evil

 

[Khamelion]

So who is evil here:-

There's a car out of control heading down hill, no brakes, it's heading towards a family or three, mam, dad and baby in a pram, at the last minute the drunk driver manages to swerve the car and carry on down the road, it's more by good luck than good judgement.

There's a car out of control heading down hill, no brakes, it's heading towards a family or three, mam, dad and baby in a pram, at the last minute the driver manages to swerve the car hitting the dad killing him instantly, the mam and baby survive.

 

[bladeplayer]

So who is evil here:-

There's a car out of control heading down hill, no brakes, it's heading towards a family or three, mam, dad and baby in a pram, at the last minute the drunk driver manages to swerve the car and carry on down the road, it's more by good luck than good judgement.

There's a car out of control heading down hill, no brakes, it's heading towards a family or three, mam, dad and baby in a pram, at the last minute the driver manages to swerve the car hitting the dad killing him instantly, the mam and baby survive.

Is that not what the op was kinda getting at .. the first "probably" wont be seen as evil as by the grace of God [just a term Chris}nobody got hurt .. so he stayed the arms length from being evil as per the OP

I dont get the second one as im not sure if you intentionally didn't have the driver drunk or not .. if he wasn't drunk then its an unfortunate accident .. if he is drunk , im not sure its evil as there is a problem with the brakes ,

 

[Khamelion]

Is that not what the op was kinda getting at .. the first "probably" wont be seen as evil as by the grace of God [just a term Chris}nobody got hurt .. so he stayed the arms length from being evil as per the OP

I dont get the second one as im not sure if you intentionally didn't have the driver drunk or not .. if he wasn't drunk then its an unfortunate accident .. if he is drunk , im not sure its evil as there is a problem with the brakes ,

The intention was to have the second driver as sober.

 

[drawboy]

No, a soldier is doing a job their countries government has asked them to do, they are trying to kill other soldiers who are out to kill them, they openly commit the act or killing an enemy combatant knowing that if they didn't there is every chance they will be killed.

Is the MP evil for ordering the soldier to commit murder as Adolf Hitler was?

 

[stevie_r]

Is the MP evil for ordering the soldier to commit murder as Adolf Hitler was?

Difficult one, on the one hand a democratically elected government has to take an unpleasant but morally correct decision and go to war - not guilty.

Taking a country to war over faked evidence of WMDs - guilty, yes Blair that's you I'm referring to.

 

[Khamelion]

Is the MP evil for ordering the soldier to commit murder as Adolf Hitler was?

Hard one, but as Stevie_r writes, if a democratically elected government is making a decision on behalf of the electorate then I would say no, if that decision is morally correct. The US going to war against Japan or Europe going to war against the Germans then that would be morally okay.

However, the governmental decision to start the war, Japan raiding Pearl Harbour or Germany invading Poland, were both morally wrong.

 

[bladeplayer]

The intention was to have the second driver as sober.

Cheers ... personally i think there has to be intent to constitute evil .. so i would say evil in neither .. few names for the drunk driver .. one wouldnt be evil tho


Soldier one is a hard one ,, to kill other soldiers in a war i dont think i would class as evil .. but some soldiers in some wars committed atrocities against civilians and there has to be a level of evil in that ..

im in no way knowledgable enough of wars or soldiers to post definitive on that tho .. i have no concept of the mind of a soldier or the stress they could be under in a war zone .. so it would be unfair of me to do so

 

[Coatsy79]

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.

Bravo sir, bravo!

 

[williamalex1]

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.

GET BEHIND ME SATIN who said that- he must have been one of the first golfers .

 

[williamalex1]

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

Neither do I , my wife's name is Grace but she thinks she's God.

 

[williamalex1]

GET BEHIND ME SATIN who said that- he must have been one of the first golfers .

A senior moment from me while sat in my satin PJs writing about Satan.

 

[SocketRocket]

My sister did oo:

So she had a scrote? Was she a Russian weightlifter!