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bhikkhu

(10,708 posts)
13. People were angry. "The gloves were off".
Thu Dec 11, 2014, 04:41 AM
Dec 2014

The lessons of history were put aside, as if they didn't apply to us. I say "us" because it was a general phenomenon that people were aware of and supported, though only a few participated; that's the way those things work.

Its sometimes useful to draw parallels between the acts of nations and the acts of individuals in interpersonal relations. I've always told my kids its normal to be angry sometimes, but to never act when angry. And I told my wife when raising the kids that its normal to be angry when something wrong is done, but discipline should never be doled out in anger; you let it pass and then decide what the most reasonable and effective response should be. Too many parents think "you made me angry" is an excuse for whatever destructive thing they did to their kids.

Millman: Why did we torture? [View all] Recursion Dec 2014 OP
I don't think the general public can know 'why' 'we' tortured because the general public doesn't NewDeal_Dem Dec 2014 #1
Following orders was not accepted as an excuse at the Nuremberg Trials. sabrina 1 Dec 2014 #4
well said! marions ghost Dec 2014 #7
Excellent post malaise Dec 2014 #11
That might fly if it was anyone except low level non officers being punished, which was the case NewDeal_Dem Dec 2014 #12
Following illegal orders is itself a crime. Educate yourself. WinkyDink Dec 2014 #6
I don't need to educate myself. "if the order was illegal" being the sticking point. It's been a NewDeal_Dem Dec 2014 #9
"A long time since Nuremburg"? Oh, my, my, my. When such is said about living memory, what happens WinkyDink Dec 2014 #14
You don't seem to have heard me. I'd be very happy if the Bush gang were NewDeal_Dem Dec 2014 #17
Wow, I hope this is high-level satire Recursion Dec 2014 #16
No, I call bullshit there on both counts. Recursion Dec 2014 #8
The first most people had an inkling was Abu Ghraib. For which only a few low-level peons got NewDeal_Dem Dec 2014 #10
I thought the last paragraph was applegrove Dec 2014 #2
That's an interesting point. I hadn't looked at it that way (nt) Recursion Dec 2014 #3
Because we were led by treasonous psychopaths? WinkyDink Dec 2014 #5
People were angry. "The gloves were off". bhikkhu Dec 2014 #13
We were/are torturing for profit, in the service of multinational corporations. Zorra Dec 2014 #15
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