People we see as "evil", are we being ignorant of their brilliance?

[Grenbyron]

I'm going to detract from the seriousness of this topic and point out that the poster misspelled ignorant

Hmmmm... Spelling Nazis... Evil Brilliance?

Just kidding.

 

[LewsTherin]

that is true, but you have too look at the methods that he used to gain power and bring the country out of it's depression. He got into office using fear, murder, and hate. then once he was in office he united the population against a minority who were killed, beaten, and robbed to help fund the government. He was clever, but he was not a genuis, it doesn't much more then a lack of morals and a little megalomania to do what he did.

I think TMAN has it best outlined. Hitler was not a genius, though he had genius working for him. Many of his advisers were well above the curve and yet more evil than Hitler himself. The rhetorical statement "Who is more foolish? The fool or the fool that follows him?" best sums up Hitlers Dictatorship. In Hitlers case though it should read "Who is more evil? Hitler or the men that did his work?" Hitler himself was a figure head and very likely the first guy that was going to get killed when the Nazi party won WW2.

The question posed was "People we see as "evil", are we being ignorant of their brilliance?". My answer is No, we are not ignorant of their brilliance, I do however think we are ignorant as to what brilliance is. Standing up to someone and saying that someone else is responsible for their pain and hardship is not brilliance. That is better classified as Kindergarten 101. I cannot think of any one historical figure that could count as an "Evil Brilliance". If I had to select one I would put up Rasputin.

I dunno, to me Rasputin seems to the type who was just along for the ride, leeching off of his 15 minutes of fame for as long as he could. Kind of like that friend who does you a big favour and holds you out for it, except you are the Romanovs and your friend is batshit insane.

 

[mattttherman3]

Serial killers are evil, ive actually heard one use the excuse:"I did it because I felt like it." anyone who kills a child or baby is evil, unless perhaps said child was for some reason trying to kill you first(good luck proving that)

 

[Pimppeter2]

erased

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

Okay, to all the people who say that "evil doesn't exist" and that "Hitler was just doing what was good for Germany"

He was responsible for the murder of 11 MILLION people. 1.5 MILLION were CHILDREN. That IS evil, there is no philosophical crap like how we were evil to the Germans. True, the Japanese internment camps were a giant mistake and we are not exculpated from that. But Hitler WAS evil.

No. They wouldn't. Because years ago I read a story about a girl who was locked in her room for her young life, from birth to late teens. She couldn't speak any english, and didn't know ANYTHING about the world, yet she adapted quickly like a normal citizen.

A psychological study in France would completely prove that wrong. They found a boy in the forests in France who never had human contact. After 10 years of trying to teach the child language they gave up. There is a period of time where one has the ability to learn language using their LAD (language acquisition device). After the time ends they lose their LAD. Many psychologists theorize that morals develop the same way but nothing substantial has been found.

 

[DrunkenKitty]

An evil exists that threatens every man, woman and child of this great nation. We must take steps to ensure our domestic security and protect our homeland. -Adolf H.

Does that Hitler quote remind you of any recent world leaders?

Hitler did some wicked shit(understatement). You shouldn't let the fact that he was an effective leader diminish the meaning of that. Don't mistake attributes for morality.

Keep in mind that it's the people who win wars who write the history books. Hitler is regarded as "evil" because he lost. Had he won, he'd be remembered as a visionary hero and the holocaust would be buried under a pile of lies, out of sight of the public consciousness.

 

[mattttherman3]

so drunken kitty, it sounds like George W to me

 

[Azeban]

There is so good and evil, there is only power...and those too weak to seek it.

OK, OK, enough Voldemort quotes.

I don't think good and evil exist. Everyone does what they think is best for themselves. Some are deranged enough that we can't see their motivations.

 

[fletch_talon]

I don't think a person can really be said to be good or evil, there are actions which can be called evil, cold blooded murder, murder without remorse, for no other reason than because you can or because you enjoy the suffering of others is evil, you can argue that all you want but causing someone pain is bad, and to enjoy it is evil.

In saying that, I tend to see it as being a product of circumstances, a serial killer is going to be emotionally or mentally damaged in some way, I don't think its possible for a sane, rational human being to justify that kind of behaviour.

So basically actions can be evil, and humans can commit evil deeds, but only if they are mentally unsound or raised to believe such behaviour is alright.

 

[sheic99]

let us not forget that he used Hate, Fear and Murder as a means to jumpstart his country.

True, True.

Hitler was the only example i could think of, any other examples where this might be occuring?

An idea for general "evil" people? excluding hitler?

A lot of people call Pontius Pilate evil, when he was just doing what he thought was best for his country. And there's Lenin.

As I remember Lenin wasn't that evil compared to his predecessor Stalin. Especially if you look at the fact that Lenin wrote a letter that gave orders to prevent Stalin from entering office and Stalin found them and destroyed them.

He wasn't either.

And he wasn't that great of an orator either.

so your saying the ability to rebuild a country and its people isnt great?


I feel i may have started something bad

Not when it leads to turning back the clock on your country (and less importantly, other countries) by a couple centuries.

For awhile, most of what we new about genetics was obtained by Joseph Goebels.

You know what I think is funny though, a Jewish person driving a Volkswagen or BMW that just makes me laugh.

 

[Anomynous 167]

I think there are plenty of people just as evil as Hitler was, it's just that Hitler, due to special and coincidental circumstances, managed to get into a position of power. The moment he got into power the German people were effectively doomed. Even if the Axis had won the war Hitler would have bought Germany down.

But there's quite enough of Hitler on the internet, don't you think?

Wait... I thought of one that is as evil as Hitler, AL GORE

 

[LOOY]

Good and Evil don't exist. Hitler was just a pyschopath that managed to get into a position of power.

 

[Typhusoid]

Evil suggests negative actions with no motive, other than doing the acts. Of course in the real world there are NO true examples of this. We use evil to suggest something so far outside the law or normal social limitations that it is beyond comprehensions

All 'alighnments' placed on actions are infact merely due to perspective. For example, if you were attacked by a group of teenage girls on the street and they were beeting you up and you pulled a gun and shot one, that would be considered self-defernce and NOT EVIL.

However if you just walked up to a group of teenage girls and shot one, that could possibly be considered EVIL.

In reality the action was the same, you shot a teenage girl. Everything else is perspective.

 

[s0denone]

If you can find something to prove me wrong, I will realise it isn't fact.

If you're not terrorist yourself, you see terrorists as bad, evil people. If you're not a child-molester, you see child-molesters as wicked, evil people.

1: Good and evil are not, for the second time, universal constants.
Therefore, it's an opinion that anything is evil, and it's an opinion that anything is good. Not fact.

2: Again with the stereotyping? Come on. You shouldn't hide behind things like that as inherently "evil".

But "Good" and "Evil" are infact universal constants. (Aren't they?)

Find me a country where murder is not illegal.
A country where rape is praised, a country that salutes molesting of other human beings.

Sure there are cultural differences, like the beating of ones wife if she disobeys, but things such as this are in constant retreat, since the world becomes aware, and makes the people of those countries aware as well - > Laws are passed against that kind of behaviour.

But we aren't talking about beating ones wife, we are talking about Hitler, the murderer of MASSIVE amounts of people.

I stated that Hitler was evil, and I dared you to find me a country that wouldn't see his malicious behaviour as inheritly "Evil" and as such throw him to prison.

If I can find a country that doesn't see murder as "Bad/Evil", then I will reevaluate my entire view of the world, but if you can't, please stop this madness.

We can discuss "Universal Morality" if you want, but you shouldn't have disagreed with me from the start then, merely pointed that out, rather than started a discussion on my post "Hitler is bad".

(And by the way, stating ones opinion as fact in a discussion is otherwise known as "making a claim", if you can prove the claim wrong, it is a false claim, but until then the claim stands. You'd be surprised if you started listening for claims in speeches, claim even without ethos.)

 

[GenHellspawn]

Find me a country where murder is not illegal.

So laws are unquestionably good then? Why is it illegal for someone to steal food for their starving family? Trying to apply morality to law is a pointless endeavor. Laws are not meant to be good or evil, they are simply meant to keep people in line.