Monday, July 17, 2023

Ordinary men

On the thirteenth of July 1942, the German Reserve Battalion 101 in Lublin executed 1,500 Jewish women, children and the elderly. The battalion leader, Wilhelm Trapp, was a wise man. He offered the men who did not want to participate in the mission to step aside and promised not to punish them. He understood that some of them would not be able to shoot children without making a fool of themselves. Twelve men out of five hundred accepted the offer. What do you think was decisive when these twelve men made their decisions? And what were the motivations that influenced the other 488 men? Was the genes making the decisions, or was it their worldview?


Ordinary Men Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland By Christopher R. Browning

Actors

There have always been people who have lived outside of society: loners and fugitives, thugs, partisans, and spiritual seekers. In ancient times they hid in deep forests or in the mountains, but nowadays, it's hard to find a place where we can be in peace. That's why we stay here. Some perish, others blend in with the crowd and pretend to be ordinary citizens, much like homosexuals were forced to do in the old days.


Outside views

10-15% of all adults are social misfits. They have a personality disorder, severe substance abuse problems, or some mental illness. But some misfits have no serious mental problems; they simply don't want to be a part of society. We belong to a small group, but we exist. Is it possible, do you think, to find an evolutionary explanation for this strange behavior?