We all see ourselves as the good guy, or as somehow justified in our actions.
I have come to believe that that saying is only partly true.
Although the Nazis definitely had large swaths of people who believed that they were doing the right thing in the concentration camps, it seems that -- historically -- there were also large swaths of them who spent their off-duty time getting blind drunk to cope with performing their orders.
Especially over the last couple of years, on the matter of medically transitioning children, I've encountered dozens of people who know that a lot of these procedures and "treatments" are irreversible, and potentially harmful, and inexplicably lie about it in order to get their child abuse protected by law.
Evil actions shouldn't be that hard to assess. The targeted murder of innocent men, women, and children shouldn't present a moral quandary.
The more complex issue is trying to understand evil people, and asses the what's going on with those people.
Some people, including Douglas Murray, have said that comparisons between Hamas and the Nazis are insufficient.
That Hamas is worse, because some Nazis eventually showed some contrition, and that the Nazi behavior indicated that many of them knew that what they were doing was wrong, while Hamas is broadcasting their barbarism.
What's absolutely true, so far as I can see, is that Hamas's behavior isn't the exact same as the Nazis. Even knowing how evil the Nazis were and neo-Nazis are, it's hard to imagine Nazi soldiers calling their mothers to report their heroism in killing ten Jewish women and children with their bare hands, as a Hamas militant did this last month.
Still, what this says to me is that the Hamas militants have no clue that they're doing anything wrong. In fact, they believe that they're carrying out God's will.
They believe that because they've been taught to believe that from the cradle. They've never heard dissent, or opposition to the racism they've been taught. They've been brainwashed by an evil regime.
The evil intentions and actions of Hamas, and it's operatives are largely identical to what the Nazis did. The goal of cleansing the world of the Jews is identical. Still, it seems that many more Nazis knew that what they were doing was wrong, while seemingly no Hamas militants seem to know that what they're doing is wrong.
I do think that, no matter how evil the action, the person who knows what he's doing is evil, and does it anyway is a worse person than the person who believes he's doing good.
Still, the person who is so demented that he believes that raping women and cutting the throats of babies is God's will is much more terrifying.