One question often brought up in studying World War II is the question of how the average German could have allowed the Gestapo and the S.S. to take over their country and kill so many people unopposed.
Maybe I'm unaware, but has this NOT happened in countries other than Canada yet? As for a country's atrocities going on "unopposed"...its probably more the case that the atrocity IS opposed by at least some or even the majority of the average citizens, so its probably not the quantity but its the quality of the opposition that isn't effective in quelling the atrocity. Consider the abortion atrocity (which btw is higher per capita in the US than Canada...not sure if the post was to single out Canada being a worse pushover to moral atrocities): the majority of average citizens probably oppose abortion (in countries where its not illegal) but probably this majority opposition is private, weak and even unvoiced altogether. Or even where the voices ARE expressed, they are ignored...because what are they going to do about it? The government/healthcare systems have impugnity. Unless force/violence is matched in kind in these atrocities, the bad guy wins almost every time. Protests, petitions, and the usual pacifist opposition doesnt work. It all seems quite hopeless sometimes doesnt it. One thing I've wondered about is how solving the nazi/Hitler atrocity with force/violence doesnt seem to be deemed unjustified by history (unless I'm wrong...i don't know of anybody saying the casualties and collateral damage, as terrible as they were, of WW2 weren't worth it) but when it comes to the worldwide abortion atrocity which vastly outweighs the atrociousness of the holocaust, we seem to think protests/petitions and even preaching is all we can do and force/vigilantism is just taking it too far.
Hello Eyezayah, The fact that it's happened in other countries doesn't change the fact that it just happened in Canada and therefore Canada serves as a useful foil to point to. Furthermore, the point of the post isn't to show an atrocity committed by Canada; it's to show how the people of a country do not stand up for their rights when they see them egregiously violated. You know: kinda like what Americans are letting happen in the US.
Because THAT is the actual target of the post.
The point is that my entire life, in researching World War II Germany, I've read dozens of people saying, "How could the average German citizen let this happen?" To piggyback off the point you raised with abortion, I would daresay the average Westerner knows far more of the horrors that occur inside an abortion clinic than the average German citizen knew of what went on behind the secret walls of a concentration camp, most of which were intentionally operated in occupied territory instead of Germany itself precisely for the secrecy it conveyed. But that wasn't the focus of my argument.
Rather, the average German knew that Jews were being persecuted even though I agree with their claims that they didn't know the details about the death camps. They still knew windows were being smashed. They still knew Jews were going missing. They still knew that wherever the Jews were being taken was, at the very least, a prison, not some happy paradise vacation. And we condemn them for not doing anything, and we are befuddled that they could let it happen in their own country.
Viva Frei (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tKxqp0RkjE&ab_channel=VivaFrei) had been covering him with a few videos.
ReplyDeleteRemember, the only crime in Canada is Not Being Nice (except at hockey games)
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm unaware, but has this NOT happened in countries other than Canada yet?
ReplyDeleteAs for a country's atrocities going on "unopposed"...its probably more the case that the atrocity IS opposed by at least some or even the majority of the average citizens, so its probably not the quantity but its the quality of the opposition that isn't effective in quelling the atrocity.
Consider the abortion atrocity (which btw is higher per capita in the US than Canada...not sure if the post was to single out Canada being a worse pushover to moral atrocities): the majority of average citizens probably oppose abortion (in countries where its not illegal) but probably this majority opposition is private, weak and even unvoiced altogether. Or even where the voices ARE expressed, they are ignored...because what are they going to do about it? The government/healthcare systems have impugnity. Unless force/violence is matched in kind in these atrocities, the bad guy wins almost every time. Protests, petitions, and the usual pacifist opposition doesnt work.
It all seems quite hopeless sometimes doesnt it.
One thing I've wondered about is how solving the nazi/Hitler atrocity with force/violence doesnt seem to be deemed unjustified by history (unless I'm wrong...i don't know of anybody saying the casualties and collateral damage, as terrible as they were, of WW2 weren't worth it) but when it comes to the worldwide abortion atrocity which vastly outweighs the atrociousness of the holocaust, we seem to think protests/petitions and even preaching is all we can do and force/vigilantism is just taking it too far.
Hello Eyezayah,
DeleteThe fact that it's happened in other countries doesn't change the fact that it just happened in Canada and therefore Canada serves as a useful foil to point to. Furthermore, the point of the post isn't to show an atrocity committed by Canada; it's to show how the people of a country do not stand up for their rights when they see them egregiously violated. You know: kinda like what Americans are letting happen in the US.
Because THAT is the actual target of the post.
The point is that my entire life, in researching World War II Germany, I've read dozens of people saying, "How could the average German citizen let this happen?" To piggyback off the point you raised with abortion, I would daresay the average Westerner knows far more of the horrors that occur inside an abortion clinic than the average German citizen knew of what went on behind the secret walls of a concentration camp, most of which were intentionally operated in occupied territory instead of Germany itself precisely for the secrecy it conveyed. But that wasn't the focus of my argument.
Rather, the average German knew that Jews were being persecuted even though I agree with their claims that they didn't know the details about the death camps. They still knew windows were being smashed. They still knew Jews were going missing. They still knew that wherever the Jews were being taken was, at the very least, a prison, not some happy paradise vacation. And we condemn them for not doing anything, and we are befuddled that they could let it happen in their own country.
Meanwhile, in our own back yards....