When man attacks his brother

[CatWoman]

Last night I had insomnia, and was up most, if not all, of the night.

While channel surfing, I came across PBS. They were showing a repeat of "The Civil War".

This one segment described the horrible conditions at Andersonville Prison (which housed the union POWs).

Pictures flashed across the screen of men, or what used to be men, starved down to skeletal form.

These men couldn't weigh more than 80 pounds.

These images reminded me of the Jewish prisoners freed from Nazi concentration camps.

Hate is a terrible thing. War is a terrible thing. The cycle must be broken.

I watched Schindler's List twice, and broke down crying each time.

How can humans be so cruel to one another?

An old history teacher once told me that in order to hate, man must first dehumanize. This practice was employed against African Americans during the slavery years.

[Bonobo]

1. Sorry, but we're basically chimpanzees with language...

Civilization is an awfully thin veneer at best.
Take away our food and see what we are capable of...

[thermodynamic]

3. I know...

Which is why the poor must stop hurting each other, organize, and hurt the rich. The poor aren't the problem. They are a symptom of a greater problem.

[CatWoman]

5. Are you trying to imitate Al Gore

"reinventing" yourself?? :D

[CatWoman]

6. Are you trying to imitate Al Gore

"reinventing" yourself??

:D

[thermodynamic]

2. Greed helps in dehumanizing, too

Power, status, wealth. These things society creates and wants us all to achieve, if we can. The only way to get it IS to be evil against everybody, even your own. And what happens when you get it?

"Power corrupts, isn't that what it's for?" Good bumper sticker I saw once.

I could list 50 reasons why our society is the antithesis of life, liberty, and happiness. But I won't, this is the lounge and I don't want to become a threadjacker. :-) But I will say "life is what we make of it, so why don't we create what we romanticize?"

[auburnblu]

4. So Oprah is evil

Please, you seem off your rocker. Not everyone who is a sucess is evil. Is Theresa Kerry evil? Is Barbara Striesand evil? If you became rich, would you be evil?

[Iverson]

7. two famous photos of Andersonville prisoners

Those are very upsetting.

Your other comments are on the mark, as usual.

[Cleita]

8. I still do have some faith in humankind.

It became evident when DH and I broke down on the road occasionally in the middle of nowhere and complete strangers came to our aid and even made a point of making sure we were all right before moving on.

But I think war dehumanizes the perceived enemy, so it becomes okay to do vile things to them. I hate how many people treat animals too. It's the same mentality. They refuse to see the suffering they are causing.

[CatWoman]

Ignore -- for some reason, I keep double posting

:shrug:

[CatWoman]

9. I can't bear to watch Animal Rescue

and those other shows on the Animal Channel.

What some people do to those poor defenseless animals.

It's barbaric.