Are humans inherently cruel?
I overheard someone talk about this, and the reason being is for survival. What do you think?
TinyViolins · 31-35, M
There are a few famous psychological cases that lend credence to this idea, but the reality is a little more complicated.
The Stanford Prison Experiment ended up seeing ordinary college students turn into remorseless prison guards that openly abused their inmates.
The Milgram Experiment saw many people apply painful shocks to what they believed to be other people simply because they were commanded to do so.
There are a few other experiments I recall where one group will willingly screw over another if they believe that they are competing for a limited resource or if they have been informed that the others are doing the same to them.
There's legitimate concerns about these study designs that suggests the appearance of authority grants any subsequent actions legitimacy, like it makes their actions the responsibility of the experiments' designers rather than themselves.
You can look at the mob mentality of soccer riots and violent protests as well, where people act on behalf of a crowd rather than of their own accord. Although there are plenty of cruel individuals as well.
I guess it all depends on what people think they can get away with. If they think there is support for an idea, it's easier to go with the group than against it. People are a social species and may place the safety and security of their group above the needs and wants of an opposing group. I mean, just look at how bad political tribalism is getting if you need a further example. We talk to each other with such demeaning, dehumanizing rhetoric.
The Stanford Prison Experiment ended up seeing ordinary college students turn into remorseless prison guards that openly abused their inmates.
The Milgram Experiment saw many people apply painful shocks to what they believed to be other people simply because they were commanded to do so.
There are a few other experiments I recall where one group will willingly screw over another if they believe that they are competing for a limited resource or if they have been informed that the others are doing the same to them.
There's legitimate concerns about these study designs that suggests the appearance of authority grants any subsequent actions legitimacy, like it makes their actions the responsibility of the experiments' designers rather than themselves.
You can look at the mob mentality of soccer riots and violent protests as well, where people act on behalf of a crowd rather than of their own accord. Although there are plenty of cruel individuals as well.
I guess it all depends on what people think they can get away with. If they think there is support for an idea, it's easier to go with the group than against it. People are a social species and may place the safety and security of their group above the needs and wants of an opposing group. I mean, just look at how bad political tribalism is getting if you need a further example. We talk to each other with such demeaning, dehumanizing rhetoric.
degraded · 22-25, F
@TinyViolins Stanford prison experiment showed that man will form groups within groups. He will go against his fellow man, in this case fellow prison guard. A few in the experiment were cruel. Others were firm, yet willing to enforce rules. Remaining few were reluctant to exercise authority. You see? It's not as predictable as we think. Mixed results. All the time.
BlackPetals · 18-21, F
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BlackPetals · 18-21, F
@cherokeepatti Well said. Thank you 🤗
PrincessVelvet · F
Justmeraeagain · 56-60, F
TangledUpInBlue · F
Yes I think we are. Human beings are only not cruel, if it’s going well for them. If we’re all dying of hunger and I have to get the last drop of water….then it’s each for themselves.
cherokeepatti · 61-69, F
cherokeepatti · 61-69, F
@PatKirby Well a big thing with that is that they would have to prove that the ancestors of people were involved in slavery and profited from it wouldn’t they? I have read that most of the Whites living in the USA had ancestors come over here after slavery ended. Not to mention the Whites who were here during the slavery years that didn’t have anything to do with slavery because they were just poor farmers or workers, and many of them were exploited themselves. Also what about the indentured servants who were brought here as children from Europe and never released from forced work even long after they had worked and repaid their parent’s debts. So why make everyone pay for it? And so many are mixed but look White.
PatKirby · M
@cherokeepatti @Thrust
The first thing that BLM co-founder and self-described Marxist Patrisse Khan-Cullors did when she got her hands on donated money and pledges from corporations and individuals was to go on a real estate buying binge, snagging high-end homes for millions. Her Malibu home features soaring ceilings, skylights and plenty of windows with canyon views. The Topanga Canyon homestead includes two houses on a quarter-acre, is just one of three homes Khan-Cullors owns in the Los Angeles area.
Patrisse Khan-Cullors’ Topanga Canyon property...
The Albany residence Khan-Cullors reportedly looked at is on 600 oceanside acres...
The “custom ranch” Patrisse Khan-Cullors owns in Georgia...
Reparations my ass, this bloated, greedy, race-baiting communist
sounds more like a professional hustler.
* https://nypost.com/2021/04/10/inside-blm-co-founder-patrisse-khan-cullors-real-estate-buying-binge/
The first thing that BLM co-founder and self-described Marxist Patrisse Khan-Cullors did when she got her hands on donated money and pledges from corporations and individuals was to go on a real estate buying binge, snagging high-end homes for millions. Her Malibu home features soaring ceilings, skylights and plenty of windows with canyon views. The Topanga Canyon homestead includes two houses on a quarter-acre, is just one of three homes Khan-Cullors owns in the Los Angeles area.
Patrisse Khan-Cullors’ Topanga Canyon property...
The Albany residence Khan-Cullors reportedly looked at is on 600 oceanside acres...
The “custom ranch” Patrisse Khan-Cullors owns in Georgia...
Reparations my ass, this bloated, greedy, race-baiting communist
sounds more like a professional hustler.
* https://nypost.com/2021/04/10/inside-blm-co-founder-patrisse-khan-cullors-real-estate-buying-binge/
MyNameIsHurl · 41-45, F
I don't think so
HowtoDestroyAngels · 46-50, M
Some are
phoenixrising · M
I believe they can be
Infamous607 · 51-55, M
Some are.
alongalone · M
If Mother Earth could speak she would say.. INDUBITABLY! I believe collectively we are a horror to the earth and virtually every living thing around us, excluding certain insects or scavenger animals. And we do it all without a second thought. Yes that's cruel, but no one gives a shit, so it doesn't matter. After all, they say, it's God's will. We didn't do it, He did
YoMomma ·
Some are, some aren't.. there’s all types out there 😏
bijouxbroussard · F
I don’t think so—unless they’re taught to be, as children.
A few are, I think most not.
SlippingAway · 46-50, F
Some, not all
cherokeepatti · 61-69, F
cherokeepatti · 61-69, F
@PatKirby Yeah I have seen those buckets. A lot of gluten in them and I don’t want to risk it. I have bought beans, lentils and a lot of pantry stable foods and rotate and use it. I’m thinking about the people who would break into homes when we would all have to be gone somewhere (like now with me and Ray both having cancer at the same time and going back and forth for chemo and so many other medical visits and tests etc.). Nobody at home to defend the house from being invaded in that circumstance.
