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Waterluvianyesterday at 4:59 PM5 repliesview on HN

I actually have a greater disgust for those who see it but don't act. I think this line from an incredibly relevant book is precisely this:

> "Your ‘little men,’ your Nazi friends, were not against National Socialism in principle. Men like me, who were, are the greater offenders, not because we knew better (that would be too much to say) but because we sensed better.

Those who act on behalf of evil are not free from guilt, of course. But the truly damned are those who sense better but look the other way. They walk in the footsteps of the millions who tacitly supported the last time this evil took hold of the world, by not acting.

This entire book, but especially this exerpt, is a must read: https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/511928.htm


Replies

FrustratedMonkyyesterday at 5:14 PM

"What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise"

Wow, seems on point.

Wow

"kept us so busy with continuous changes and ‘crises’ and so fascinated, yes, fascinated, by the machinations of the ‘national enemies,’ without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us."

scottyahyesterday at 5:17 PM

I think it's fair to say that neither ideology is free from evil, and choosing the "lesser evil" is still choosing evil. Every good or well-meaning movement I've seen has been taken over once it reaches a certain size.

hommelixyesterday at 6:25 PM

Thanks for sharing this except of the book.

chmod775yesterday at 5:32 PM

The US wasn't exactly "friendly", but comparing US hegemony to Nazi Germany is a bit much, don't you think? /s

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