Sponsor |  anb | Oct 25, 2004 11:40am | I thought maybe we could discuss some of the quotes that are posted, possibly becuase I came across the following, which angered me at first read, and I wondered if I am missing something:
"It is the weak who are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong."
-- Leo Rosten
Thoughts? |
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Sponsor | | Meh | Oct 25, 2004 11:42am | | The strong can afford to be weak. |
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Sponsor | | anb | Oct 25, 2004 11:44am | | What kind of weakness makes one cruel? |
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Sponsor | | kmkrebs | Oct 25, 2004 11:44am | I like your idea to delve into things more deeply.
My thoughts on this: reflect on what he may mean by weakness and strength. |
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Sponsor | | anb | Oct 25, 2004 11:46am | The strong have a store of internal resources which can allow for empathy and benevolence.
I hope that the author did not include the infirm or the disadvantaged in his use of the word "weak". |
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Sponsor | | Meh | Oct 25, 2004 11:49am | | Reflecting (some) on what may be meant by weakness and strength: It might be anything. The behavior of siblings toward one another can be described as cruel or gentle. Dictators can be cruel. |
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Sponsor | | kmkrebs | Oct 25, 2004 11:50am | How he meant it I cannot tell you, but I read it as describing ones character.
One reason I think this might be confounding is our associations of strength with power (which often results in cruelty) and the social implications of that power. |
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Sponsor | | anb | Oct 25, 2004 11:55am | I think cruelty comes out of fear (attack before being attacked, hurt before being hurt), self-loathing (you hate yourself so much you have to hurt others to feel better about yourself), powerlessness, etc. I think weak was probably just the wrong word.
Right, km! In one of the forums, I repeated a quote: "power is holding someone's fear in your hands and showing it to them." That is manipulation, not strength. |
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Sponsor | | Meh | Oct 25, 2004 11:57am | The social implications of power is a great subject. Didn't Machiavelli write something about that? :) The quote in post one does make you think. For example, one would think that the weak would be gentle because surely they would understand how scary it feels to know that you are vulnerable.
8: How do you explain sadism, though? You know? Is that fear? (I don't expect you to reall explain sadism, just consider it in your ideas on cruelty out of fear.) |
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Sponsor | | Biba | Oct 25, 2004 12:00pm | | maybe gentleness is expected only from people who are strong enough to be compassionate. |
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Quotations & Proverbs → Discussion