I saw this on the Daily Show the Jon Stewart. He had on this guy Phillip Zimbardo (soical phsyciologist and author of the book The Lucifer Effect. The book is about what makes good men or women go bad. His idea or theory is that not one is bad but it is the social groups and systems that make a person or persons go bad.

When I think about this and mind you we are not taking about individuals here we are talking social groups. I am reminded of what happened in Rwanda with the Tutsi and the Hutu's where the Government started playing hateful messages about the Tutsi over radio and television stations. So, the Hutu's after being told by their government that the Tutsi is enemy and needs to be feared and hated they started organizing the government funded them to get weapons and conduct training programs. The government met with youth group leaders in secret forming and arming their militia's ( they claim is was not secret that some of the meetings if not all were public and the government admits that some wanted the Tutsi's gone said that it would end problems in Rwanda. Over 500,000 Tutsi and thousands of Hutu's died. Some reports show that there was more numbers like 800,000 to 1,000,000. We can also say that of what is happening with the Muslims and the rest of the world (i don't mean all muslims just the radical ones that are being taught that we are attacking them and we are the enemy) I think the key here is that knowledge is power the more you know and not just what your country or leaders teach you seek out knowledge learn about others be educated alot of people in these countries are not educated.

This Phillip Zimbardo did a study called the Standford Prison Experiment where college students were randomly assigned to be either prison guards or the inmates. Then they were placed in a mock prison environment. Within a weeks time the experiment had to be abandoned because it got out of control. The prison guards were getting violent with the inmates and the inmates getting violent with the prison guards. Anyway, very interesting and I haven't even read the book.

I do want to add to this that I feel that it that makes sense however people still have a choice in what they chose to do.

I think that in serial killers and rapist that sort of theory doesn't really apply but that is another post.