The argument is not how one gruesome, cruel, sociopathic behavior outweighs the other, but being opposed to extremely anti-social behavior in general. Nobody wins the cruelty olympics.
Frankly, even the idea of “it is ethical, enjoyable, or just tolerable to cruelly hurt X in any way, because they are objectively worse than whatever I can think of” should be fundamentally repulsive to anyone, more so when attempting to take any moral high ground.
It’s too close for (my) comfort to normalizing suffering as somehow deserved by anyone, which is how “the other side” likes to argue how exploitation is totally fine. “Everyone else would do it, too, I’m just faster or better at it than them.” - “If they weren’t subhuman, worthless losers, they could hold a job in my orphan blending factory, and just not be homeless or pay for medication”. These are examples of an anti-social mindset. Honestly wishing, not just out of righteous, powerless anger, another conscious being cruel harm for any reason is a very slippery slope towards that mindset. I try to fight this urge.
I follow the argument insofar that “they” caused unfathomable suffering in multitudes. I would really prefer if the reaction to this wouldn’t be the prevalent “I want to see them hurt in (un)kind, because they deserve it”, but rather “how can such people be effectively discouraged from ever wanting to become a scourge to society”, while still accepting that universal human rights are still universal.
Of course this is much more complicated than “just take the money, and shove it elsewhere”, and quite possibly not even achievable within the time we have left, and coming from societies as they currently are. Without that little quantum of optimism, hope, and belief in a fundamentally sociable human nature, though, I don’t see much in our future than eventual, total destruction, one way or the other.
TL;DR:
Yeah, molten lead isn’t even close to the cruelty inflicted by those doused with it. But why are we one-upping each other in cruelty, again? What’s the point?
The argument is not how one gruesome, cruel, sociopathic behavior outweighs the other, but being opposed to extremely anti-social behavior in general. Nobody wins the cruelty olympics.
Frankly, even the idea of “it is ethical, enjoyable, or just tolerable to cruelly hurt X in any way, because they are objectively worse than whatever I can think of” should be fundamentally repulsive to anyone, more so when attempting to take any moral high ground.
It’s too close for (my) comfort to normalizing suffering as somehow deserved by anyone, which is how “the other side” likes to argue how exploitation is totally fine. “Everyone else would do it, too, I’m just faster or better at it than them.” - “If they weren’t subhuman, worthless losers, they could hold a job in my orphan blending factory, and just not be homeless or pay for medication”. These are examples of an anti-social mindset. Honestly wishing, not just out of righteous, powerless anger, another conscious being cruel harm for any reason is a very slippery slope towards that mindset. I try to fight this urge.
I follow the argument insofar that “they” caused unfathomable suffering in multitudes. I would really prefer if the reaction to this wouldn’t be the prevalent “I want to see them hurt in (un)kind, because they deserve it”, but rather “how can such people be effectively discouraged from ever wanting to become a scourge to society”, while still accepting that universal human rights are still universal.
Of course this is much more complicated than “just take the money, and shove it elsewhere”, and quite possibly not even achievable within the time we have left, and coming from societies as they currently are. Without that little quantum of optimism, hope, and belief in a fundamentally sociable human nature, though, I don’t see much in our future than eventual, total destruction, one way or the other.
TL;DR: Yeah, molten lead isn’t even close to the cruelty inflicted by those doused with it. But why are we one-upping each other in cruelty, again? What’s the point?
the same way that it’s unethical to chop people’s body parts, but it is if said body part of a tumour.
it’s best just to end the system that creates them. however, they are fighting tooth and nail to maintain it.