--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_re...@...> wrote: ><snip> > HUMANS do stupid shit. That does not mean that > they are incapable of doing smart shit, or even > the occasional good shit. I'd be willing to bet > that Adolf Hitler did one or two good things > in his life. Can you concede that possibility, > or was he ALL EVIL?
I don't know Hitler but my guess is that he was all evil and the good things he might have done were for reasons that had nothing to do with goodness. > > I think that using the word "evil" is an attempt > to claim absolutes where there are none. And more > often than not, it is also an attempt to excuse > one of the lower emotions in the person who is > using the term. > > "He is evil, so I hate him." Well, isn't hate evil? > > "He is evil, so I think he should be executed in > public." Well, isn't killing evil? > > "He is evil, so he should be thrown in prison, > where I hope he will be raped and tortured." See > your own statement above. If you were to believe > this, then wouldn't you be just as guilty of > justifying rape and torture as the person you > called evil above? And wouldn't you have prob- > ably felt calculatingly rational *as* you > justified it? > I do not wish evil on anyone. I do not support the death penalty precisely because I find it debasing. I do not want anyone to be raped or tortured even if they raped or tortured. But I still believe that some people are evil. You of course are free to disagree. Ever meet any murdering psychopaths? I have. Meet any child rapists? I have.
