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The Nazis weren't evil, but they were wrong. The whole "Jewish conspiracy" thing was bullshit. As was many of their beliefs. You could have Nazi values, and sti

The Nazis weren't evil, but they were wrong. The whole "Jewish conspiracy" thing was bullshit. As was many of their beliefs. You could have Nazi values, and still disagree with the Nazis on a completely factual basis.

jimrandomh 11y ago
On the contrary, they absolutely were evil. It just turns out that evil doesn't look quite like we would have thought--hence the importance of studying history from primary sources, to know what evil actually looks like, to be able to recognize and oppose it today.
- AlexandrB 11y ago
  I think a great documentary that explores this territory (but within the context of Indonesia) is The Act of Killing [1]. It can be hard to watch because it lays bare the banality of "evil". No cackling madmen or volcano fortresses, just ordinary-seeming people who committed mass murder while still believing themselves to be just. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Act_of_Killing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Act_of_Killing
- meric 11y ago
  Evil is "good people" thinking "the ends justify the means". "It's unfortunate we have to persecute these even the women and children, but it's required to make a more fair and just world." "It's unfortunate we have to go to war in Iraq, but it's required to defend peace in the region, from the threat of mass weapons of destruction." Of course, "the ends" are never achieved, because the "means" they use will cause even more problems to be solved. Persecuting Jews to achieve justice and fairness for the German people => Destruction of Germany. War in Iraq to remove dictatorship and mass weapons of destruction => Rogue terrorist group governing by coercion and hundreds and thousands of civilian deaths. I ask you. What other examples of evil can you see in our world, today? What other evil things are people are doing in the name of good? Most important to remember: Evil is stopped by being persistently good ourselves, even when pressured and coerced to do otherwise, and that's all that we have to do.
- Houshalter 11y ago
  I don't agree. In my opinion, evil is something done selfishly, knowing it will harm others. If you are doing terrible things because you believe they are right, then you aren't evil. Just wrong, or deluded. Granted, some of the things the Nazis did were evil, in the sense they were selfish. Valuing their own race and country above others, for example.
madaxe_again 11y ago
Yes it was - but it didn't start with them. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which was published in 1903 in Russia, kicked off that particular idea - and the nazis just ran with what popular thought already held. Also, true - going back to my grandmother, she's a raving anti-Semite, but has a Jewish daughter in law - and (now deceased) husband. The cognitive dissonance required is incredible, but common. She'll rant over the dinner table about "the Jews" who are ruining the world - always followed up with a "not you, dear".
- gizmo686 11y ago
  I do not think that necessarily relies on cognitive dissonance. For example, there are plenty of example you can point to of an American conspiracy to overthrow governments, but it is not not cognitive dissonance to believe that a particular American was not involved in it. The only reason that this logic does not apply to Jews is that their is no central hierarchy to Judaism, however it is still possible to believe that there is a shadow organization that is running the world and happens to be Jewish.
  - madaxe_again 11y ago
    Logic doesn't come into it. No, as far as she is concerned all Jews are part of the conspiracy, all are a drain on society. She gets around this not with "you're one of the good ones", but rather, "I like you, so you can't really be Jewish.".
- erikpukinskis 11y ago
  The same thing is rampant today. Rather educated, liberal people will claim that black people are, on average, more violent and less valuable as employees... but of course specific black people are fine. It's easy to do, you just have to rely on a little bad science and a lifetime of propaganda and that whole worldview seems sensible.
  - zo1 11y ago
    From my point of view, the majority of the "propaganda" I witness in media in general, pushes the opposite view that you are claiming is influencing people. It's accepted ridiculously easily as well it seems to the point of being absurd. So I would say that neither side is immune to bias and propaganda. At the end of the day, I will only be against violent individuals, and not ones that hurt my feelings.

jimrandomh 11y ago

On the contrary, they absolutely were evil. It just turns out that evil doesn't look quite like we would have thought--hence the importance of studying history from primary sources, to know what evil actually looks like, to be able to recognize and oppose it today.

AlexandrB 11y ago
I think a great documentary that explores this territory (but within the context of Indonesia) is The Act of Killing [1]. It can be hard to watch because it lays bare the banality of "evil". No cackling madmen or volcano fortresses, just ordinary-seeming people who committed mass murder while still believing themselves to be just. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Act_of_Killing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Act_of_Killing
meric 11y ago
Evil is "good people" thinking "the ends justify the means". "It's unfortunate we have to persecute these even the women and children, but it's required to make a more fair and just world." "It's unfortunate we have to go to war in Iraq, but it's required to defend peace in the region, from the threat of mass weapons of destruction." Of course, "the ends" are never achieved, because the "means" they use will cause even more problems to be solved. Persecuting Jews to achieve justice and fairness for the German people => Destruction of Germany. War in Iraq to remove dictatorship and mass weapons of destruction => Rogue terrorist group governing by coercion and hundreds and thousands of civilian deaths. I ask you. What other examples of evil can you see in our world, today? What other evil things are people are doing in the name of good? Most important to remember: Evil is stopped by being persistently good ourselves, even when pressured and coerced to do otherwise, and that's all that we have to do.
Houshalter 11y ago
I don't agree. In my opinion, evil is something done selfishly, knowing it will harm others. If you are doing terrible things because you believe they are right, then you aren't evil. Just wrong, or deluded. Granted, some of the things the Nazis did were evil, in the sense they were selfish. Valuing their own race and country above others, for example.

madaxe_again 11y ago

Yes it was - but it didn't start with them. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which was published in 1903 in Russia, kicked off that particular idea - and the nazis just ran with what popular thought already held. Also, true - going back to my grandmother, she's a raving anti-Semite, but has a Jewish daughter in law - and (now deceased) husband. The cognitive dissonance required is incredible, but common. She'll rant over the dinner table about "the Jews" who are ruining the world - always followed up with a "not you, dear".

gizmo686 11y ago
I do not think that necessarily relies on cognitive dissonance. For example, there are plenty of example you can point to of an American conspiracy to overthrow governments, but it is not not cognitive dissonance to believe that a particular American was not involved in it. The only reason that this logic does not apply to Jews is that their is no central hierarchy to Judaism, however it is still possible to believe that there is a shadow organization that is running the world and happens to be Jewish.
- madaxe_again 11y ago
  Logic doesn't come into it. No, as far as she is concerned all Jews are part of the conspiracy, all are a drain on society. She gets around this not with "you're one of the good ones", but rather, "I like you, so you can't really be Jewish.".
erikpukinskis 11y ago
The same thing is rampant today. Rather educated, liberal people will claim that black people are, on average, more violent and less valuable as employees... but of course specific black people are fine. It's easy to do, you just have to rely on a little bad science and a lifetime of propaganda and that whole worldview seems sensible.
- zo1 11y ago
  From my point of view, the majority of the "propaganda" I witness in media in general, pushes the opposite view that you are claiming is influencing people. It's accepted ridiculously easily as well it seems to the point of being absurd. So I would say that neither side is immune to bias and propaganda. At the end of the day, I will only be against violent individuals, and not ones that hurt my feelings.