Sentiments.
Not actions.
What sort of sentiments do you think eventually led to actions?
A systematic demonization and dehumanization of an entire group of people (Jews) - what were the sentiments driving that? Anytime one group of people starts to see another group as less than human, it is very dangerous. Do you think they just woke up one morning and thought - wow, I want to cut some baby throats?
I do not wanna know what sentiment can lead to someone wishing to cut out an infants throat.
I don't see myself doing it no matter how pissed I might become. Once you do that, there is not much humanity left in you.
I can't imagine myself wanting to do that.
I also can't imagine myself ever living with such an act on my conscience.
I can't imagine hating enough for that.
But also, I have never:
been truly desperate
afraid for my life
in a situation where I knew there could be no justice for me
faced with corruption that would insure no justice
without a country
despised for who I am
afraid of losing my home for no reason I could fight
afraid of my family being killed
never knowing if I might be arrested for who I am
never been locked up without access to any source of help
never faced desperation
never faced a choice of doing something unspeakable or having my family suffer
There are a lot of situations I've never faced. If faced with life or death - or, more important, the life or death of my child or family - what would I choose to do? I know what I hope, but I've never faced it.
In the case of the Fogels, did they catch who was responsible? I can't imagine someone doing being any different from some of the cold blooded Nazi's who coldly and systematically selected Jews for human experimentation. I feel that same way about those who ordered white phospherous into Gaza as well. It's inhuman. And cold blooded.
And above all, they had to know it would hurt and maim innocents. But they couldn't have considered them humans. They had to be seen as less than human. Or how could a person do it?