My take on collective responsibility
Blog 220, a symbolic number, calls for a serious and timely topic to discuss. What can be better than my take on collective responsibility? Yes, it’s been endlessly discussed, even on my blog, but I’d like to delve deeper this time.
I’d like to quote one of my Kyiv Post articles as a reference point.
The desire for revenge. We want Russian war criminals to be tried at The Hague. We are hoping for justice. That’s understandable. Sadly, it’s a bit of a mirage. Look at history. Heinrich Himmler, head of the notorious SS responsible for overseeing concentration camps, swallowed a cyanide pill before facing justice. Do you think Ukrainian parents who watched their children get blown to pieces by Russian bombs are going to be satisfied with Putin being sent to The Hague? Doubtful. If anything, it’s only going to enrage them even more. Distraught Ukrainian parents won’t be able to punish the Russians responsible for savagely killing their children; as such, any Russian could become a substitute target. It’s tragic, yes, but hardly surprising. Not The Hague, but hell, is the only appropriate punishment for Russian ‘’soldiers’’ who get off on blowing up Ukrainian children. Ukrainian society is going to have to find a way for this collective and individual anger to be channeled into something positive and productive.
As you can see, there are many issues when it comes to the collective responsibility and while it’s easy to condemn collective responsibility as irrational and downright dangerous, the fact is humans aren’t always rational and can harbor a deep desirve for revenge. As history shows, the desire for revenge often overrides any plans to show mercy to the group or nation that wronged us. I mean, why would you show mercy to someone who wanted to erase you from existence, correct? Humiliating the defeated enemy can cause a spiral of revenge, of course, as the defeated enemy is now going to be seeking revenge. That’s obvious, I know. Agan, to stress, international law, diplomacy, all the rest of it, gets ignored when the fire of revenge burns within you. Anyone who thinks otherwise has been living in some strange bubble. And so, when you can’t get to someone who you hold responsible for destroying your life, you target substitutes. For example, the citizens of the same nation as the main war criminal. Is it rational when there’s no link between the two, apart from their citizenship? Well, it isn’t, but the fire of revenge burning within us must be quenched. That’s where you get all sorts of seemingly random attacks. The attacker knows what he or she’s doing is crazy, but he or she is like an addict who needs a fix.
The fix of revenge.
Nazi Germans burned their uniforms after World War II. Was it out of real dishonor and disgust or was it merely a tactic to adjust to new realities by posing as reformed Germans and avoid being targeted, possibly further scrutiny? Good question. The fact is, they only burned their uniforms after Germany was demilitarized and puppetized. There was no will to do it earlier, meaning the Germans went along with the plans of the Nazi regime. The Germans didn’t have a change of heart because they saw the light, if you will – they were forced to change as a result of external pressure. How much of that change is genuine and how much of it is a coldly-calculated decision, a charade, that’s another matter we won’t be discussing now.
How about this. Let’s say you know someone who belongs to a destructive cult. That person is alright, maybe even a good person. Alas, he or she was born and raised in the cult. My belief is that it’s extremely unlikely, almost impossible, for someone born into the cult not to be the psychological pawn of the leader. What it means is that almost every person the cult member comes across is secretly profiled as a potential convert. Assets? Wealth? Even better. Cults love money and power. Cults love prestige and elitism. There’s nothing wrong with that per se but the caustic cult context makes it concerning. Everything the cult member does is scripted, and likely approved by the higher-ups. The potential convert doesn’t know this, of course, heck, the cult member might be so indoctrinated he or she won’t have a clue, either. Everything looks spontaneous but, in fact, it’s a scripted performance aimed at recruiting people and turning them into cult assets. The chances of someone having even a semblance of critical thinking after years spent in the cult, often since birth, are minuscule. These people can spot propaganda and cults around them (for example, by pointing out how absurd Russian propaganda is), yet they lack the ability to look in the mirror and find see cultists in themselves. It’s a mental block, like a split personality, truly remarkable. If you think being intellectually aware that something is absurd is enough to leave the cult, for example, well, look at OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). People who check ten times whether the stove is off know it’s absurd, but they do it anyway. Same with cultists. They might even be aware of how absurd their beliefs are, but these bliefs have been drilled into them. Individually, cult members might be good people but the structure they belong to overrides that. As such, the feeling of collective responsibility for the cult’s actions and beliefs is warranted and logical.
What if there was a rebellion in the Hebrew Hell? Would you punish just the rebels or everyone in hell in a collective lesson not to mess with you? Not that the rebellion would’ve gotten far, mind you. I mean, what can you do with a bunch of violins?
Speaking of hell, here’s a cool scene where the Devil loses more than just his pride. Hope he won’t get mad at me for posting this…
