The origin of human cruelty--where does cruelty come from?

[MakahaMusic]

Everyone knows about the Holocaust, but there is something called the "forgotten holocaust" or the Rape of Nanjing (alt. spelling Nanking). The Nanjing massacre occurred during roughly the same time period (historically speaking) as the Holocaust (the Nanking massacre occurred in 1937).  What the Japanese soldiers did to the civilian population was unbelievable, to me it was even worse than what the Nazis did to the Jews, Gypsies etc. I mean you had Japanese soldiers pouring sulfuric acid on a man's head to see what happens, raping 80 year old ladies and 1 year old babies, decapitation contests with a katana, slicing open pregnant women and putting the fetus on the tip of the bayonet and parading it around the street. And after the war, these soldiers had no remorse. I remember reading about a japanese lady who in the 1950s remembers overhearing in a bar a couple of former japanese soldiers bragging about killing chinese in Nanjing and talking about how far they could stick their arm inside a woman's genitals. Unbelievable....

Even Nazis themselves were appalled by the violence. There were a few Nazi officials residing in the diplomatic safe zone in Nanjing who witnessed what happened and chronicled it....

The Chinese population did nothing to provoke those japanese soldiers. Why was there so much hate against the chinese? It's not like how someone would hurt your wife or family member, and you want revenge.  No....these civilians did nothing to the japanese soldiers.

And these kinds of behaviors continue today.  A couple of months ago, I heard this on the radio on the BBC World Service:  they were interviewing a lady from an African country, I forget which one, I think it might have been the Republic of Congo.   But anyway, she survived an ordeal where some thugs beat her up, and cut off one of her feet, threw her foot in the fire, then took it out of the fire and told one of her kids to eat her dismembered foot, and when her child refused, they killed that child.   I don't even know how a person would even think of doing something like that.....

So my question is: what is the nature of human cruelty?

Are we naturally evil?

Is it proof that we evolved from animals?

Because believe me, in war zones, humans, especially the males, can damn sure act like animals. It's still happening in this world today in war zones, and I think it's utterly disgusting.

What do you think about the nature of human cruelty?

[SunniRise]

The human mind is corrupt. It longs for power... That's where we are quite different from, we could say, a horse or a dolphin.

[odaesan]

The nature of human cruelty is nature, I guess.

The Japanese also did terrible things to the Koreans.

I think that most humans naturally are bad.

Humans are from the kingdom animalia (animals).

Again, humans are animals.

I think that I would like to know about why humans are so cruel.

[Mannosuke]

I think it is due to a culture where people are encouraged to take as much as they can for themselves. 
 And the individuals themselves I guess, which is why you have situations where a group of people are working together and dividing things up equitably, but then there's one odd person out that hates this way of life and wants to take everything for himself.

[NPB-XK]

Because we have a lot of abilities and complex mind (with different ideas, greed, etc that people are willing to fight for whether it's the cruel way or not).
In complexity comes the Yin Yang style. We're looking at the dark side here if we only talk about the cruel side.
But where there's shadow, there's light. With light comes a shadow.
That's the nature in this complex world. We could keep questioning the nature whether it makes sense or not.

4+4=8. Why?
Because it's mathematics. Why?
Because that's the way it is. Why?
Etc...

We don't need to make sense either and we could still ask an infinite "why".
Humans exist from dinosaur's poop. Why?
Because the dinosaur digested something gross. Why?
Because the dinosaur ate it. Why?
Because it was hungry. Why?
Because yo mama is so fat. Why?
Because she eats a lot and it's a chain. Why?
Because of McDonald's. Why?
Because Americuuhh. Why?
Etc.

[SunniRise]

Because burger king. Why?

Because it's made of buggers. Why?

Because Mannosuke. Why?

Because cookie monster!! Why?

[Guest hb_jackpot]

Lack of compassion, lack of sympathy, lack of love, lack of chemicals in the brain, lack of courage, lack of moral and values, fear, selfishness, pain, etc.

List go on and on.

It's human nature, it's simply more easy to be cruel/bad than being a good/fair person because actually you suffer/lose more in the world by being a better person most of the time. Especially in those times... Time of war is a very scary time.

[ayahuasca]

Human cruelty comes from the complete removal of restriction of ourselves from the bounds of society. Killing someone is bad by our standards but as often as not some sort of justification can be made for it, self defense, accident etc etc. However killing someone in some brutal way exceeds even those justifiable bounds. When we as humans cannot justify an act in some way then it becomes "cruel". 
WW2 saw millions of soldiers get blown up, shot to pieces, knifed, drowned, etc but because war can be justified people can turn a blind eye to it. However, because there was no realistic way that the Holocaust, Rape of Nanjing, comfort women, etc can be justified by most of society then it is seen as cruel. 

[odaesan]

ayahuasca said: However killing someone in some brutal way exceeds even those justifiable bounds.

[green papaya]

Ive heard some whites say the think the Japanese are the most "civilized" asians, but if you look back at the attrocities like the Nanjing massacre, they were some of the most uncivillized, brutal, cruel asians in history

killing the innocent for fun and bragging about it is Pure COWARDACE , they are not brave or honorable

I wonder why they hated the Chinese so badly to do something like this?

[Guest brokenmachine]

What's worse is that til this day, some Japanese still denies the incident and their action.
I think Japan as a culture/society is more suppressed compared to others, which requires a lot of self control and regulating, and it is usually in these cases where people are more likely to snap and swing to the other extreme of the scale. Hence there are always so many weird and bizarre behavior, trends, news from Japan, as you need some kind of outlet. Too much self-control can lead to ego depletion, and especially in the special circumstances of a war, the monster that have been caged for soon long could lead to great tragedy.
German also shares a similar trait, in that there is a certain precision in their culture that requires control. Both a probably representative of the most anal culture of the East and the West. 

[Guest who8myoreos]

I think cruelty actually stems from the same desires and dreams we all share as human beings. These desires themselves are not evil, but if left unchecked -- especially from childhood -- it can really develop into something horrific.
I would argue that every human being to a certain degree -- regardless of age, gender, race, or upbringing -- shares these traits:we want to love and be lovedwe want to feel like we matter, be valuablewe want to be happywe hate things that make us feel small, weak, or inadequate
Can you imagine those people out there who never receive these things? I don't believe we are naturally evil -- because those basic human desires are not evil. I believe we are simply confused as to how to obtain these basic things we need so badly, and often resort to quick solutions. Those who had fractured upbringings need to be shown how to live. It is through us that love, generosity, and grace can be shown.  And if you need help, look to Christ --the only human being that has ever lived the perfect human life the way it was meant to be lived. Bring him into your life and allow him to change you into the person you were meant to be!

[ayahuasca]

brokenmachine said: What's worse is that til this day, some Japanese still denies the incident and their action.
I think Japan as a culture/society is more suppressed compared to others, which requires a lot of self control and regulating, and it is usually in these cases where people are more likely to snap and swing to the other extreme of the scale. Hence there are always so many weird and bizarre behavior, trends, news from Japan, as you need some kind of outlet. Too much self-control can lead to ego depletion, and especially in the special circumstances of a war, the monster that have been caged for soon long could lead to great tragedy.
German also shares a similar trait, in that there is a certain precision in their culture that requires control. Both a probably representative of the most anal culture of the East and the West. 

[Guest brokenmachine]

ayahuasca said: brokenmachine said: What's worse is that til this day, some Japanese still denies the incident and their action.
I think Japan as a culture/society is more suppressed compared to others, which requires a lot of self control and regulating, and it is usually in these cases where people are more likely to snap and swing to the other extreme of the scale. Hence there are always so many weird and bizarre behavior, trends, news from Japan, as you need some kind of outlet. Too much self-control can lead to ego depletion, and especially in the special circumstances of a war, the monster that have been caged for soon long could lead to great tragedy.
German also shares a similar trait, in that there is a certain precision in their culture that requires control. Both a probably representative of the most anal culture of the East and the West. 

[Guest]

when animals hunt, they don't pay any attention to making a painless kill...
many times predators will wound an animal and not waste energy finishing it off and start eating it alive.
isn't this cruel?? sometimes curiosity will make a child or a monkey or something wreck an ant hill or something like that, killing millions if not billions of lives.
i think most cruelty stems from what is natural... if u live thoughtlessly, purely by your animal instincts, you will be cruel.. probably cook your food without killing it first. why? cuz u dont wanna burn the additional calories... u need that for survival.

[MakahaMusic]

ayahuasca said: Human cruelty comes from the complete removal of restriction of ourselves from the bounds of society. Killing someone is bad by our standards but as often as not some sort of justification can be made for it, self defense, accident etc etc. However killing someone in some brutal way exceeds even those justifiable bounds. When we as humans cannot justify an act in some way then it becomes "cruel". 
WW2 saw millions of soldiers get blown up, shot to pieces, knifed, drowned, etc but because war can be justified people can turn a blind eye to it. However, because there was no realistic way that the Holocaust, Rape of Nanjing, comfort women, etc can be justified by most of society then it is seen as cruel. 

[Guest brokenmachine]

Are you sure you want to be a crocodile? Human might take your skin and make it into a bag.

[Guest Boomx2Brian]

Self- preservation. 

[Mannosuke]

God is the origin of human cruelty. Dude people had awesome wars over who was more favored. It's because SOMEONE decided to make humans compete with each other to prove that they love him.

[odaesan]

Mannosuke said: God is the origin of human cruelty. Dude people had awesome wars over who was more favored. It's because SOMEONE decided to make humans compete with each other to prove that they love him.