“Nice people made the best Nazis. My mom grew up next to them. They got along, refused to make waves, looked the other way when things got ugly and focused on happier things than “politics.” They were lovely people who turned their heads as their neighbors were dragged away. You know who weren’t nice people? Resisters.”
I would also add that one of chief problems is that smart and intelligent good willing people are so confused, scared and lacking confidence, whereas their opposite conuterparts are brimming with confidence.
Preceisly. As if Dunning-Kruger effect has become a social norm.
I illustrate it with a funny example: take a complete narcisoid schmuck who sits in an F 16, finds by some chance instrument lighting switch and starts pulling from his jacksie stories of him being a super ace.from WW2 or Korea or Vientnam. In reality he can't start that bloody thing, but he spreads his heroic BS as if he was really in a dogfight.
@kroltanz
When someone says something to the effect of "they're not a nazi, don't be hyperbolic" I ask myself only one question. "Would they do anything to stop the nazis if they came for me?"
That's really all I need to know.
I think people are taught to be nice instead of kind. Nice is not making waves or avoiding offending nazis. Kind is standing up to nazis and protecting those they target.
@aral Actually, resisters of injustice and exploitation are usually nice people - just not to those who look the other way to whom they are also a nuisance/interfering/…. Think @juststop_oil- they’re the most wonderfully nice people - thoughtful, considerate, non-violent. They are, however, disruptive of “business as usual” and all that entails: #crimeagainsthumanity
@aral It's true in hindsight and a decent rule of thumb. However, one never really knows the capabilities of other people, or even one's own, until facing a situation where action is critical. Words and appearances can be deceiving.
Allowing shit to escalate to the critical point (people being dragged away) is another story, but even then, weighing risk and success is very difficult. Throwing livelihood away over one thing may result in being unable to help with another. A cruel reality of choices. Though on the other hand, a sacrifice is never judged by its impact.
@aral There's a really good old Canadian documentary called Hidden Heroes about survivors of the Holocaust in the Netherlands who go back and meet the people who hid and sheltered them. The stories of resistance are incredibly brutal - far from the sanitized stuff we see in the movies. Really eye-opening.
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