Revisiting my theory that most people are bad

[PlanetJosh]

If this should go in P&N np. So a few times on Anand I've posted it could be that over 90% of all people in the world are bad as in evil. I used the 2016 U.S. election results as partial evidence to try to prove the theory. If that many people voted for our former president who I shan't name then maybe the standard opinion that only 1% to 5% of people are bad is way too low.

And I also said back then if the results of the 2016 election raised your personal view of the percentage up even just 10% higher than you thought before the election then I would consider it as a boost to my theory which is not a new theory of course.

So with the spectacle of the rioting in the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6 this year has your view of the percentage of evil people increased in regards to the theory? You can probably deduce that a large number of people in the country condone the rampage even if they don't openly speak of those feelings.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Nope. Most people are good.

 

[Leymenaide]

I will add support to your thesis. I grew up with death camp survivors and yes it has had an effect. When my mother passed I inherited photographs taken by her brother a American medic who opened Dachau of opening day. My family history told me as a young man what happened at the camp that day. As I studied the period I learned more and more. First think of the germans that denied anything was happening down the road while the bodies were being burned they remind me a whole lot of Republican Senators who will not listen and see evidence. It is also important to remember Washington knew of the killing in 1942 by 1944 the Democratic Roosevelt had an eye witness to Auschwitz in his office. The official Democrat response to the request to bomb the ovens was "they are only Pollacks and Jews". Never forget good Christians built and ran the camps.

 

[highland145]

Definitely p/n. Please move.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Definitely p/n. Please move.

I avoided making reference to politics or news in my response....ohh boy, if this thread gets moved you're going to hear exactly which political groups are sooo good and NOT evil.

 

[pauldun170]

Most people are good.
Some good people do bad things.
Only a small percentage of people are evil.
Except 3 year olds
3 year olds are straight savages

 

[Mai72]

Most people are good. Now, people engage in bad events for a number of reasons. I think it's mostly out of emotion. Check out the snow shoveling incident that took place last week where 3 people were killed. In regard to being human we have our faults. Much of it is situational. If we were placed in a life or death situation would you do something unethical so you could survive. The Ted Bundys, and Jeffrey Dahmers in the world are very very small.

Most of the people who voted for Trump aren't bad people.

 

[Muse]

I am 100% fine with this thread NOT being in P&N

You know, "evil" is one of those words whose meaning is slippery. It means very different things to different people. To some religious people it refers to people who don't share their beliefs. To many people it refers to people who don't share their idea of right and wrong, and obviously right and wrong are very subjective.

I'll drop some relevant quotations from brilliant thinkers, maybe add my own thoughts:

Sanity appears to be a rare condition for humanity. - Aldous Huxley (this is paraphrasing the man, I heard him say this in person)

"Madness is rare in individuals - but in groups, parties, nations, and ages it is the rule." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Truth is out of style - MC 900 Foot Jesus

The best argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter. - Winston Churchill

Muse: Well, most people are unenlightened and uneducated. I have found that most people are, when you remove the pretenses, pretty much very selfish. In that sense, if not being self-centered is your criteria for not being evil, then yes, most people are evil.

Nope. Most people are good terribly stupid.

FTFY

 

[Torn Mind]

Most people are bad.

Ever dealt with car accidents? Someone's gonna make something up in their story most of the time.

 

[UsandThem]

I don't know about percentages, but I know there is a lot of assholes out there. And those assholes are raising assholes, so in the end there will be even more assholes.

 

[bbhaag]

I don't know about percentages, but I know there is a lot of assholes out there. And those assholes are raising assholes, so in the end there will be even more assholes.

Yeah but being an asshole doesn't make you an evil person. Neither does voting for a particular pollical party that the OP doesn't see eye to eye with.

 

[Torn Mind]

I avoided making reference to politics or news in my response....ohh boy, if this thread gets moved you're going to hear exactly which political groups are sooo good and NOT evil.

Politics and law is basically moral relativism in action.

Political platforms are the confluence of the views of varying interest groups, and certain interests contradict other interests even though they are packaged together as "on the same side of the aisle".

I'm surprised people have yet put 2-and-2 together and tried to apply "systemic racism logic" to gun control laws as a way to keep the black man from exercising his gun rights as much as a white man can. .

 

[UsandThem]

Yeah but being an asshole doesn't make you an evil person. Neither does voting for a particular pollical party that the OP doesn't see eye to eye with.

Yeah, I don't get into political stuff or what "evil" is.

I was just talking about people who like being assholes to others.

 

[Captante]

Nope. Most people are good.

Agreed.

Sadly "good" and "stupid beyond all belief" are not in any way mutually exclusive!

Yeah but being an asshole doesn't make you an evil person. Neither does voting for a particular pollical party that the OP doesn't see eye to eye with.

This is HALF right.

(Being an asshole by definition makes you "bad")

 

[MtnMan]

If this should go in P&N np. So a few times on Anand I've posted it could be that over 90% of all people in the world are bad as in evil. I used the 2016 U.S. election results as partial evidence to try to prove the theory. If that many people voted for our former president who I shan't name then maybe the standard opinion that only 1% to 5% of people are bad is way too low.

And I also said back then if the results of the 2016 election raised your personal view of the percentage up even just 10% higher than you thought before the election then I would consider it as a boost to my theory which is not a new theory of course.

So with the spectacle of the rioting in the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6 this year has your view of the percentage of evil people increased in regards to the theory? You can probably deduce that a large number of people in the country condone the rampage even if they don't openly speak of those feelings.

You seem to be judging all of society based on those that were drawn into the Trump Cult.

Your personal view of the world (90% of people are bad) must create a lot of fear and paranoia in your life. Yes, there are bad people, and there are mindless followers of cults, and religion, which is also nothing but a cult. see signature line below.

 

[Captante]

 

[MrSquished]

I wouldn't say most people are good or bad, but capable of both. I read this book senior year in High School for class. Definitely a must read for anyone interested in how massive movements of really bad shit happens:

How Holocausts Happen: The United States in Central America: Porpora, Douglas: 9780877229230: Amazon.com: Books

How Holocausts Happen: The United States in Central America [Porpora, Douglas] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. How Holocausts Happen: The United States in Central America

www.amazon.com

 

[WelshBloke]

Most people over the age of 40 are gullible idiots that have no idea how to deal with the broken sewage pipe of Information that is spewing bullshit into their faces 24/7.

 

[MtnMan]

Agreed.

Sadly "good" and "stupid beyond all belief" are not in any way mutually exclusive!

My mother used to say after dealing with the "public" that when the world was created, it was allocated a set amount of "intelligence". As the population grows, that set amount of intelligence has to be spread thinner and thinner.

 

[Captante]

Most people over the age of 40 are gullible idiots that have no idea how to deal with the broken sewage pipe of Information that is spewing bullshit into their faces 24/7.

Fixed.



*(being young and inexperienced makes it EASIER to be really stupid)

 

[MtnMan]

Most people over under the age of 40 are gullible idiots that have no idea how to deal with the broken sewage pipe of Information that is spewing bullshit into their faces 24/7.

Nope I fixed it for you.

 

[bbhaag]

This is HALF right.

(Being an asshole by definition makes you "bad")

Does being "bad" make you evil though? I mean even "good" people do "bad" things sometimes right? Does that make them evil? That's bordering more on a philosophical debate though and perhaps that is what this thread is.

I still do not think that because a person votes for a certain political party that does not see eye to eye with the OP it makes them evil. That is absurd.

 

[Kaido]

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life:

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil–he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

.
The reality is that all of us have a ying-yang inside of us: partly good, partly bad. Childish, and mature. Stupid, and smart. The side you choose to feed is the one that grows.

Are most people bad? No, I don't think most people are bad. I think there is a small segment of society that is bad, but most people are pretty good people just trying to get by, who occasionally do dumb things. I stick my foot in my mouth all the time. I drop the ball. I make mistakes. That's just life. In today's horrible online cancel culture, there's no room for being human, learning, or growing. Also, because most of us are fairly sensitive people, if one or two people are mean to us, or if we get sucked into the news cycle, which highlights worldwide meanness, then it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that most people are bad. There are nearly 8 billion people on earth, and over 300 million people in America, and most of us just want to get by & enjoy life a little.

In the trail mix of life, there are always a few nuts!

 

[Captante]

I still do not think that because a person votes for a certain political party that does not see eye to eye with the OP it makes them evil. That is absurd.

That's the half I agree with!


And unless a person is big a fan of what comes out of an an asshole
*(not to imply there's anything wrong with that!) I would say that makes them evil.!




But then I'm a harsh and judgemental douchebag.

The reality is that all of us have a ying-yang inside of us: partly good, partly bad

 

[shortylickens]

No.
Most people are selfish.
And thats not evil, its part of the survival instinct. It can materialize as evil, but its not always evil.