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Politics: Who is Evil?

TahoeHorn

By TahoeHorn
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TahoeHorn

TahoeHorn 107

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What politicians are evil (as opposed to being good people with whom you just happen to disagree about politics)?  Or deplorable, despicable, unethical, bad, ...

How many Senators fit the spec?  What percentage of the voting public fits the spec?

What percentage of your friends and relatives have political views you despise?

I don't think any current US Senators are evil.  I thought John Edwards was evil or despicable or whatever.  Hillary is disgusting but not evil.  I despise Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren but I suspect that they are actually good people.  They just have absolutely detestable political ideas.

In my life I don't have a problem with people like Bernie Sanders.  I can disagree without being disagreeable.  I only have problems with people I think are immoral.  If they lie or cheat I have a problem.  I may not get along with them if they are the type (and there are many) who can't disagree without being disagreeable.  If they start acting like an ass then I'll have a problem with that.

I'm on very good terms with many people who hold political views I despise.

One of the things that perplexes me is how people can see so many political views as right and wrong.  Some are.  Not many.  Most are just the way I things things should work versus the way you think.  I can see, for example, how you can have a different opinion on guns, God or gays.  I can't see why you think someone whose positioon is different from yours is evil.  Or why you get angry at a person who expresses a different opinion, as if they are bad.

When I look at posts and posters, some people talk about positions.  Others talk about the poster or people with that idea.  Go down threads on, for example gun control, and see which posts are about gun control policy and which are about posters.  I just don't get it.

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David Dennison

David Dennison 18845

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Just now, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I have issues with calling anyone evil, as if they are past the point of any redemption.

I’m of the opinion it’s never too later to do the right thing and change one’s ways.

Agreed. 

Donald Trump isn't evil, he's just an incompetent, corrupt fool who's in way over his head.

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RomaVicta

RomaVicta 29900

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Anyone cowardly enough to vote other than their conscience.

Anyone who knowingly lies and/or attacks truth for partisan election reasons.

These are despicable people. I don't like the word evil because it suggests that the evil person is different fundamentally from the non-evil. We all make choices and the course of those choices can change.

I was surprised to read that Mitch McC is a staunch defender and promoter of Civil Rights. I foolishly assumed he was pretty much all bad because of his obstruction for the sake of obstruction and his spinelessness in standing up to Trump. I'm sure there are some things that all of them do to make themselves feel better about the evil they do.

Edited by RomaVicta
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kopp0e

kopp0e 1135

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40 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I have issues with calling anyone evil, as if they are past the point of any redemption.

I’m of the opinion it’s never too later to do the right thing and change one’s ways.

I'm sure there were a many young & eager folks that entered the fray of politics only to realize, if you want to be re-elected, you must appease the voting base that got you elected...

Unless it somehow undermines the ability for the politician to work the system of special interest groups in gaining an advantage over another politician looking to replace him/ her...

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31438

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1 hour ago, kopp0e said:

I'm sure there were a many young & eager folks that entered the fray of politics only to realize, if you want to be re-elected, you must first whore yourself out for campaign contributions and then appease the most venal portions of the voting base that got you elected by introducing/advocating for/passing legislation that is not in the national interest or even the local interest, but will get you votes...

Unless it somehow undermines the ability for the politician to work the system of special interest groups in gaining an advantage over another politician looking to replace him/ her...

Fify.

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Anastasis

Anastasis 23458

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Posted (edited)

 

29 minutes ago, lemonlime said:

Few people are truly evil.  Though Trump, McConnell, Prince and a few others may qualify.  A better thread would be about the ways so called "good" people enable evil to spread.

You think Trump and McConnell personify evil, you have a water down understanding of what the face of evil looks like. Trump, as abhorrent as he is porn star fucking while his wife nurses his newborn, doesn't even register in the global evil scale. The Turtle?  The Turtle? LOL.

Edited by Anastasis
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JimmyJames

JimmyJames 12271

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One of the great things about Breaking Bad is it does a very good job of answering the OPs question. Most all people aren’t evil, but they make choices that they justify that are in fact evil and eventually they become that way, but most people don’t reach the level of becoming gone beyond all hope. Some do. 

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BurntOrangeCrush

BurntOrangeCrush 1011

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1 hour ago, lemonlime said:

Few people are truly evil.  Though Trump, McConnell, Prince and a few others may qualify.  A better thread would be about the ways so called "good" people enable evil to spread.

I was thinking about the OP's question and I couldn't have said it better than this. 

To be honest, I don't think there are a lot of evil politicians but I also don't think there are very many honest legislators that truly care about their constituents. They serve their party, their special interest groups, and will whore themselves out to ensure they stay in office.

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Mole

Mole 4330

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Posted

Trump is particularly unethical and dishonest in a city of unethical and dishonest people, but he isn't evil. Among mainstream politicians, he's probably the closest that I can think of, but he isn't very close. 

The sooner we accept that our opponents aren't necessarily stupid or evil, and deal with their ideas, the sooner we deal with the pathology of our culture.

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bernorange

bernorange 8359

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Quote

evil

[ee-vuh l]

 

adjective

1.
morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked:
evil deeds; an evil life.
2.
harmful; injurious:
evil laws.

Arguably, every one of them has supported legislation or political actions that are morally wrong/bad and/or harmful/injurious on the whole.  Given that context, it would seem that the label fits them all to one degree or another.

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Degenerate Gardner

Degenerate Gardner 4085

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To "be" evil is a steady state that few achieve.  Judging it accurately requires looking inside a man's heart and soul, an impossible feat.

The list of those who commit evil acts is much longer.

No one's evil.  Everyone's evil.  It's just one giant goddamn gray area, right?

Now back to your dissembling.

 

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Hank Kingsley

Hank Kingsley 20904

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14 hours ago, TahoeHorn said:

What politicians are evil (as opposed to being good people with whom you just happen to disagree about politics)?  Or deplorable, despicable, unethical, bad, ...

Stop arguing about the definition of evil.  Tahoe stupidly titled the thread and defined it above. 

Is Trump a good person? No. 

 

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Rimbo

Rimbo 25910

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I find it more useful to attribute "evil" to actions, instead of to people. People are neither "good" nor "evil," but they do good things and they do evil things, with and without intent.

Sure, if someone's intentionally doing evil things most of the time, you can probably sum the person up as "evil," but again, this isn't useful, unless you've done step one above first.

It's tough to make legitimately justifiable sweeping generalizations about people, but easy to do so for acts. For example, it's pretty easy and safe to say that most anti-immigration politics are based on ignorance and fear, and thus -- intentionally or otherwise -- we can describe these laws and actions as evil pretty easily.

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NameAlreadyInUse

NameAlreadyInUse 5111

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I don't know who is evil.  I do know that there are several associated with politics who do evil things in the name of $$.  Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Pat Robertson (and all his televangelist lookalikes) all make up shit and lie, knowing full well its a lie, because its what their patrons want to hear.  This makes them rich.  Those guys may not be evil, but they sure as hell are not living up to the standards they claim to hold dear.  Those people have gotten rich duping grandma and grandpa into being scared of their own shadow enough to enable our politicians to be the nincompoops they've become.  And they are the ones that would eventually pave the way for some more restrictive form of government within the US should we get far enough down this rabbit hole.   I'd put those a lot closer to the evil category than any politician that's coming to mind right now.

Politicians are looking for 2 things.  Money and power.  They are going to say things to make and keep both, even if they have no intention of acting on what they are saying.  Most of them put country over party these days, and I find that sickening, but I don't think it rises to the level of evil.  At least not yet.

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Guest

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Are ideas bigger threats of evil than actions?

 

seems as of late, just disagreeing with someone borders on a complete affront to one's very being. 

 

(Obviously) I favor throwing shit around in a discussion. I like people who give different perspectives. For some that just seems to be such a threat. 

 

So they said something crazy or unpopular.  Did they hurt anyone?

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Mole

Mole 4330

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4 hours ago, Rimbo said:

it's pretty easy and safe to say that most anti-immigration politics are based on ignorance and fear, and thus -- intentionally or otherwise -- we can describe these laws and actions as evil pretty easily.

 

I'm pretty pro-immigration, but even if we grant the bolded part (which I would question), it doesn't necessarily follow that they are evil.

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