eco:
"This reminds me tho, of those recent stories out of Poland where seemingly normal, everyday people willingly participated in the torture and murder of Jewish men, women, and children at the start of WWII."
That's precisely why it is paramount to understand that yesterday's abomination is the act not of religious, cultural, national or other belief system but solely the product of a psychotic makeup...Confusion around this basic but subtle tenet historically has resulted in the persecution of minorities...Individuals with psychotic predispositions do not have to be of any particular religious, cultural or national grouping...In your example, a religious group became the scapegoat for a psychotic leader and the "system" set in place by the psychotic leader encouraged/forced the general population to participate in intolerable acts...In yesterday's aftermath, we will do well if we do not repeat a similar mistake.
"Are any of us really immune to committing an atrocity when placed in terrible circumstances?"
Hopefully, those who do, are the people who rise to a leadership role in any social organization, be it based on religion, culture, nationality, gender or any other common characteristic.
In that context, it should not be surprising that I've heard reports now of Arab Americans receiving death threats. |
