"...I cannot and will not believe that the majority of even the most outspoken Nationalist Nazi's would have condoned the Holocaust had they actually been aware of what was going on. ..." - DJ
Yes, it is difficult to accept. And, in fact, it was mostly the bureaucrats who came to the 'final solution'. Having done this, it could never have happened without at least the tacit acceptance of the general populous...let alone the Nazis. Hitler was voted in because he spoke to the minds of the people...they wanted jobs, he gave them jobs. They, for a long time, had this nationalistic pride, he helped it to manifest in the world. They felt the Jews were not only outsiders, but less than human. He supported that view. Here, in no way am I blaming the Germans. There were a lot of people here in the USA that shared these views…a lot. On Feb 23, 5:14 pm, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > I haven't seen the movie. From what I've heard however, situations > such as Rwanda and Darfur come about due to tribal hatred and mob rule > violence. Very different from the calculated Hitler plan of Jewish > extermination. I cannot and will not believe that the majority of > even the most outspoken Nationalist Nazi's would have condoned the > Holocaust had they actually been aware of what was going on. It's one > thing to believe one's self superior and quite another to believe a > whole race of people should be murdered and made into book covers, > lamp shades and soap. > > Mob rule is mob rule. Anyone is capable of anything when under this > spell. The few that might voice restraint or caution are silenced > with fear that they might be the next victim. Or their families. > Think the Crucible. > > dj > > > > On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM, frantheman <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > I've just finished re-watching "Hotel Rwanda." It makes me a bit > > sceptical about Pinker's arguments. I don't know how much further it > > brings us to compare Genghis Khan with Hitler or the Thirty Years War > > with Rwanda and then claim, all in all, we're getting better. How much > > sense is there really in comparing the different circles of hell? > > There is progress, as Richard points out, but we still have a very > > long way to go. > > > Francis > > > On 21 Feb., 03:47, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I do have this tendency to throw public notables out on a bed of nails > >> to see which of you are inclined to take some steps across them. > >> Ouch! However, this is not just about curiosity but evaluation of my > >> views for either reinforcement or modification. > >> Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of > >> Psychology at Harvard University has a lecture video in which he > >> asserts humans to be peaceful by nature and merely corrupted by modern > >> institutions and concluding that we are living very peaceful lives by > >> historical comparisons. > >> Pinker writes, "Now that social scientists have started to count > >> bodies in different historical periods, they have discovered that the > >> romantic theory gets it backward: Far from causing us to become more > >> violent, something in modernity and its cultural institutions has made > >> us nobler." > >> This approach is a combination of empirical and biological study in > >> contrast to former assertions formed upon human cultures and > >> socialization without regard to biological recognition. > >> Steven Pinker concludes that violence in the world has actually > >> decreased, and conveys this idea in his "A History of Violence" > >> lecturehttp://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/163 > >> I for one never conceived of the notion but have tossed some bones > >> around with my good friend gruff, who also asserts that mankind has > >> made significant strides in the quest for a more peaceful existence in > >> contrast to my view that man is as violent now as ever and desires > >> aggressive conflict in perpetuity. > >> I think Pinker's inclusion of such behaviors as cat burning in 16th > >> century Paris is a stretch to expand the degree of historical > >> violence, as is reference to human sacrifice, slavery, governmental > >> conquests, real estate acquisition via genocide, torture and > >> mutilation as routine punishment, the death penalty, assassination, > >> massacres, conflict resolve through killing, all of which still take > >> place in our time. Pinker also references Biblical examples of > >> genocide and stoning deaths for any number of infractions, also > >> attributing the same and similar torturous behaviors to historical > >> accounts of Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and Chinese, etc. > >> Pointing to a "change is sensibility" Pinker writes: "Violence has > >> been in decline over long stretches of history, and today we are > >> probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on > >> earth." > > >> Somehow I can't seem to dance to the tune. > > >> Please take the time to view this lecture, only 19 minutes and respond > >> as to........... > > >> Truth or Wishful Thinking? > > >> State your Stance!- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. 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