MKUltra, the countless assassinations and regime changes it instigated, the coercion of foreign policy. Basically every issue that the US has with other countries, can be traced back to CIA and DoD operations carried out after WWII.
As far as I know, short of someone having a gun to their head, everyone makes their own decisions in life. That was my point. You can't fluff responsibility off onto others. Do you not believe in individual responsibility? If not, why not?
Most people are more or less the same. We want the same things in life, and are more or less equally capable of attaining those same things. Why, then, do we so often see trends in specific demographics that have been historically wronged?
Individual responsibility depends on circumstances. This is why it is not the orphaned, homeless 9-year-old girl's fault that she has to sell herself because it's either that or her and her siblings starve to death.
After the post on the orphaned girl? That was just 13 minutes ago. I am confident several people are typing out hollywood-style rants That takes a while to type.
Survival situations are judged slightly different than regular poor decisions. Same with a child. But what we're talking about here is the mentality that adult individuals make choices regarding alcoholism, sexual and physical abuse, criminal activity, etc. I don't agree with the idea that someone's past forces them to drink, or beat women, or steal, etc. That was what @mammamaia was saying.
Oh. Yeah, I was reading this book the other day and it said that many, many women have the misconception that "If he's had a hard past, he's excused to treat me like crap." It doesn't "force" them to do anything, though. Most people with hard lives are quite kind.
The statistics say you are wrong JJ. If someone comes from an abusive home, an alcoholic home, or something of the like, they are much more likely to also fall into that same hole as an adult.
BUT as a society we are just as much at fault for letting them grow up thinking everything that happens at home is normal, and allowing them to get to be an adult without knowing any different. How can you fault a child if they are raised in that environment and don't know anything different? Remember morals and values are learned behaviors, we aren't born knowing what is wrong and what is right.
I understand what you're saying, but I don't think the situation you described is an accurate one. In order to claim true ignorance, they would have to spend 100% of their lives completely cut off from all outside influences. If they were to watch PBS cartoons or read a book, or attend school, they would learn things like respect for others, and that it's not okay to hurt someone. Even if they were ignorant, I believe any human being would understand that physically abusing a woman would be wrong. Bringing pain to another living thing will cause something inside you to stir. I just think the odds of someone not knowing right from wrong are statistically nil.
I think you need to stop calling @mammamaia a racist or accusing her of racist remarks. I agree wholeheartedly that 'Whitie' caused all sorts of upset, murder, rape and pillage to the natives. I think the Jews called it a holocaust - was there a difference with the Natives? Small pox blankets instead of gas chambers? And even if the Natives did spent thousands of years trying to wipe each other out it wasn't Whitie's business. They were fighting over their own land. The trail of tears was a terrible episode in Whitie's history so feel free to call this Whitie a racist too. - Actually I'm Irish, therefore a greenie! Also Columbus Day? Really? How did a lost Italian 'found' a place that was already inhabited?
Some cultures actually argue that hitting a woman when she has done something "wrong" is perfectly fine, and as horrible as that may be to you and me, it's an accepted part of their culture. I find it extremely hard to believe that we are born with a system of morality. Our environment plays a huge role in determining what we believe to be right and wrong, so it's easy for me to see why kids from abusive homes grow up to be abusive themselves or why kids with alcoholic parents may turn to alcohol early in life, etc.
You know where the saying "Rule of Thumb" came from? There used to be a law that a man could beat his wife if she did something he thought was wrong as long as he did it at the courthouse with a stick no bigger round than his thumb.