Hitler

Vorpy

Gee, he's kind of a horrible guy. He killed over 1 million jews an-

was in charge of the group that killed a couple million people in cruel manners, although he did not actively murder them with his own hands.

GLORIOUSLeader

I agree. He could have been more polite. 

DonZabu

Somehow, I get the feeling Hitler wouldn't have the strength or fighting skill necessary to kill a Jew with his bare hands if he tried.

inkblot

You don't need to physically take out a gun and shoot someone in order to willingly cause them to die.

Actually, it's even worse. It's so easy not to feel empathy for someone you don't know. It's just as easy to consider a group of people unworthy of being treated like human beings. And it's easiest to look at such an atrocity and push it out of your mind. Many Germans in Nazi Germany did it, and I do it, too, and I feel like I'm fighting basic instincts whenever I try to give a fuck.

I'm an atheist, but I'm happy religion exists. I'm happy that there is an imaginary voice in most peoples' heads telling them not to be like the Nazis, to recognize that everyone deserves the right to exist.

Vorpy

So if you are in charge of a force that you command to kill a million people, does that mean YOU personally killed them, you and your force killed them, or just the force that is commanded by you killed them?

inkblot

The latter. If Hitler told the Nazi troops to bleat like a goat and shit on their desks, they probably would. The phrase "just following orders" exists for a reason.

BaronGrackle

It's interesting to compare the evil of Stalin (I don't care about you and you're going to be killed if you get in my way or if it's just convenient) with the evil of Hitler (I hate you and I'm going to do anything I can to kill you and the group you belong to, even if it makes things less convenient for me).

glennmagusharvey

So, basically, Hitler was more of a classic stereotypically evil villain, while Stalin was a much more genre-savvy villain.

BaronGrackle

^ Well, look at who won World War II, stayed in power his whole life, made his country one of the two superpowers, and died in his bed. Evil, magnificent bastard.

EDIT: Actually, most of that was just that he won World War II. Pretty sure Stalin made some dumb mistakes, like slaughtering his best generals.

inkblot

And you know who else slaughtered his best generals?

Vorpy

^ Harry S. Truman at Pearl Harbor?

BaronGrackle

^ (I think you mean Franklin Roosevelt, and it probably wasn't his best generals, and if it was an evil conspiracy it would've worked much better as a resounding defeat of the evil Japanese ambush.

Iaculus

I'm an atheist, but I'm happy religion exists. I'm happy that there is
an imaginary voice in most peoples' heads telling them not to be like
the Nazis, to recognize that everyone deserves the right to exist.

You mean a conscience? There's a fair number of atheists who have those too, you know.

inkblot

I was going to rewrite that post, too...

What I meant was that believing in a god who you believe created every person makes it just a bit harder to allow innocent people to suffer.

Chagen

I may be somewhat religious, but I don't like watching others suffer because of secular and atheistic reasons.