This has been so interesting to watch. I do think people are inherently decent. But that’s because the West thinks of good and evil as diametrically opposed when it’s often more of a spectrum. No one is purely evil. But good people can uphold bad things. And vice versa. https://twitter.com/channel4news/status/1263819447342678016

Thinking of my own research in the understanding of good and evil. And I noticed my thinking was steeped in western thought. Coming from Liberia, a country of war and conflict but growing up in NL it was difficult understanding how my dad could work for Charles Taylor, a dictator

It was also difficult understanding how people even democratically voted for him. And I had to conclude that humanity is complex, things come down to survival, good people can do bad things, often unaware till after the affect, politics of power come into play as well

The question of if humans are good or bad is imo irrelevant cause being good doesn’t mean you can’t contribute to what harms others. Being bad also doesn’t mean you’re incapable of good. Thinking of Achebe’s poem Vultures about the nazi commandant who went home as a loving father

I fear that (and I think it’s often the problem when it’s comes to change), because people believe they are good, they see no reason for self scrutiny or reflection. And thus remain ignorant or uncaring towards their position, privilege or unintentional contribution to wrongdoing

Haven’t read the book yet, so curious 2 see if these aspects are also incorporated. Have read articles and seen these clips, and this is what came to mind. Not saying @rcbregman is wrong. Calm your tits, fanboys. Just saying I have a different perspective cause [self explanatory]

Like, people often think racists are bad so they can’t be racist cause they ain’t bad. And that’s the thing, right? You can only think that when you see yourself as completely autonomous and unaffected by society and societal conditioning and structures, which is literally no one

So, I think we should do the opposite. Not use our inherent ‘goodness’ or humanity as measure because it’s honestly not a guarantee.

What I’ve also gathered is that people are sooooooooooo easily manipulated lol. So it don’t matter how good you are if you’re led by and fall for those that want to do wrong. Which is where the lack of individual critical thinking comes in