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"You can receive $100 but someone in the world dies at random" I mentioned the above scenario to my wife and she said she thinks the majority of people would t

"You can receive $100 but someone in the world dies at random" I mentioned the above scenario to my wife and she said she thinks the majority of people would take the $100. I don't know if she's right but I think in any country a large percentage of the population is apathetic about people they don't know (especially foreigners) and can be easily prodded to support genocide.

sn41 3y ago
I wouldn't - 100 dollars is not worth a death on my conscience. (I do not live in a rich country and 100 dollars is not a trivial amount for me.) Perhaps if the choice were more drastic: you can get a life saving treatment for free, but someone else dies at random, then my choice would be different.
- badpun 3y ago
  > I wouldn't - 100 dollars is not worth a death on my conscience. How much do you have in mind then?
mrtksn 3y ago
I think most people wouldn't support genocide and they are not apathetic and that's why propaganda is needed in first place. When at war, belligerents systematically dehumanise their opponents so that their population or allies wouldn't oppose killings of human beings for gains. Ukrainians call Russians "meat" and Russians portray Ukrainians as less than humans or Nazis. Russians will also not name Ukrainians but call them just "opponents" and they wouldn't kill them but neutralise them so that people can easily think in terms of reaching an objective in war and not in terms of loss of human life. On Twitter, popular accounts would Tweet things like "name 10 Israeli and 10 Palestinian inventions" to dehumanise Palestinians by showing that Israeli lives are more valuable than Palestinian ones and if you support the "civilised world" you should support those who are contributing to it(unlike the "subhumans who don't"). In Turkey, Turks used to believe that Kurds have tails like monkeys(not a popular belief anymore but it was up until 10 years ago), therefore they are less than human. It's just something its always done. War isn't fair or brave or dignifying endeavour. It's actually quite disgusting.
- majikaja 3y ago
  >they are not apathetic Not trying to single-out a particular country but "Post-9/11 wars have contributed to some 4.5 million deaths, report suggests" https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/15/war-on-terror-911-deaths-afghanistan-iraq/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/15/war-on-terro... Doesn't get talked about much nowadays despite being close to the Holocaust, people just move on and focus on the next bad guy like Putin
  - mrtksn 3y ago
    I think its in the consciousness of everyone and its partly responsible for the ant-establishment movements all over the western world. Awful lot of people feel cheated and dirty and don't want to have anything with the people responsible for it. Part of the anti-establishment argument(left or right) is about distancing themselves from that kind of wars and the military industrial complex.
tzs 3y ago
> I mentioned the above scenario to my wife and she said she thinks the majority of people would take the $100 I would of course decline, both on general morality grounds and also because I saw the episode "Button, Button" from the '80s revival of "The Twilight Zone". Summary: a couple in a low-rent apartment who are having serious financial trouble receive a delivery of a locked box with a button on top. That night a man arrives and gives the wife the key to the box, and tells them that if she presses the button someone she does not know will die, and she will receive $200 000. The man leaves. The couple debate whether or not the offer is real or just some weird joke, and weather or not press the button. They unlock the box and lock inside and find that it is empty. The button is not connected to any machinery or electronics, and they toss the box in the trash but later the wife retrieves it. The next day the husband sees the wife just staring at the button. He tells her to push it just to get it off her mind. She does so. The next day the man from the first day returns, hands them $200 000 cash, and takes the box. He tells them that the box will be reprogrammed and offered to some other person with the same conditions, and tells the wife that the person it will be offered to will be someone the wife does not know.

sn41 3y ago

I wouldn't - 100 dollars is not worth a death on my conscience. (I do not live in a rich country and 100 dollars is not a trivial amount for me.) Perhaps if the choice were more drastic: you can get a life saving treatment for free, but someone else dies at random, then my choice would be different.

badpun 3y ago
> I wouldn't - 100 dollars is not worth a death on my conscience. How much do you have in mind then?

mrtksn 3y ago

I think most people wouldn't support genocide and they are not apathetic and that's why propaganda is needed in first place. When at war, belligerents systematically dehumanise their opponents so that their population or allies wouldn't oppose killings of human beings for gains. Ukrainians call Russians "meat" and Russians portray Ukrainians as less than humans or Nazis. Russians will also not name Ukrainians but call them just "opponents" and they wouldn't kill them but neutralise them so that people can easily think in terms of reaching an objective in war and not in terms of loss of human life. On Twitter, popular accounts would Tweet things like "name 10 Israeli and 10 Palestinian inventions" to dehumanise Palestinians by showing that Israeli lives are more valuable than Palestinian ones and if you support the "civilised world" you should support those who are contributing to it(unlike the "subhumans who don't"). In Turkey, Turks used to believe that Kurds have tails like monkeys(not a popular belief anymore but it was up until 10 years ago), therefore they are less than human. It's just something its always done. War isn't fair or brave or dignifying endeavour. It's actually quite disgusting.

majikaja 3y ago
>they are not apathetic Not trying to single-out a particular country but "Post-9/11 wars have contributed to some 4.5 million deaths, report suggests" https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/15/war-on-terror-911-deaths-afghanistan-iraq/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/15/war-on-terro... Doesn't get talked about much nowadays despite being close to the Holocaust, people just move on and focus on the next bad guy like Putin
- mrtksn 3y ago
  I think its in the consciousness of everyone and its partly responsible for the ant-establishment movements all over the western world. Awful lot of people feel cheated and dirty and don't want to have anything with the people responsible for it. Part of the anti-establishment argument(left or right) is about distancing themselves from that kind of wars and the military industrial complex.

tzs 3y ago

> I mentioned the above scenario to my wife and she said she thinks the majority of people would take the $100 I would of course decline, both on general morality grounds and also because I saw the episode "Button, Button" from the '80s revival of "The Twilight Zone". Summary: a couple in a low-rent apartment who are having serious financial trouble receive a delivery of a locked box with a button on top. That night a man arrives and gives the wife the key to the box, and tells them that if she presses the button someone she does not know will die, and she will receive $200 000. The man leaves. The couple debate whether or not the offer is real or just some weird joke, and weather or not press the button. They unlock the box and lock inside and find that it is empty. The button is not connected to any machinery or electronics, and they toss the box in the trash but later the wife retrieves it. The next day the husband sees the wife just staring at the button. He tells her to push it just to get it off her mind. She does so. The next day the man from the first day returns, hands them $200 000 cash, and takes the box. He tells them that the box will be reprogrammed and offered to some other person with the same conditions, and tells the wife that the person it will be offered to will be someone the wife does not know.