I hate the phrase "Evil Wins When Good Men Do Nothing"

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

People sure like to repeat this phrase and its variants all over the place, especially during an election year (here in the U.S.). Here's how it reads to me:

"So guess what? All the atrocities in history weren't committed by the people with all the power who ordered them, or even the people who carried out those orders. No, apparently they were committed by whatever peasants happened to be around at that time and were basically just going about their business and trying not to die. The other people...the ones who actually did the stuff...yeah, they were bad, I guess, but not as bad as those random peasant bystanders.

And guess what else? You, random person, are to blame for every bad thing in the world that's happening right now (and also the past and the future) because you exist and you didn't join our club, which just happens to be the only thing in the world that can stop all the bad things from happening. So if you'll just join up and give us all your votes, money, time and effort and conform perfectly to all the things we tell you to think, say and do...I guess we can upgrade your status to 'okay.'"

I hate the manipulative way this phrase is used. People who use it, it does not make want to get involved with your politics. Quite the opposite. Whatever side you're on, you will never have my vote.

Is it really wrong, although it may a fact.
But on a more pragmatic level the average prolitariat often has little control over there government.

That being said,in history whenever a people were against there government they have been able to overthrow it.

But that requires everyone knowing there government is in the wrong which is not always realistic.
So it is indeed complex.

Damn, they finally figured out it was me…

All these years trying to frame the Illuminati, the Rothschilds, the Freemasons, the NWO, Fnord, the Deep State and the Coastal Elites... all for naught!

I agree.

Stand up to evil as much as you can. Especially in your own actual life, like if you know someone in your community is being bullied and you're NT and persuasive, you should probably risk telling people to knock it off. If you see a violent crime, call the police. Etc.

But that shouldn't mean 'stand up to evil or you yourself are evil'.

Inaction when you can do action is wrong. But it isn't evil. And you can't always do action. For eg, my dad gives blood every year. I wish I could do that myself but they've told me I'm too short. That doesn't make me a bad person.

(In that case the 'evil' isn't human so nobody is actually to blame. But I'd say the same about for eg murder or paedophilia etc)

People are afraid of being forced to be bystanders. They want to feel like they can always be heroes. That isn't the case though.

I think sometimes people who throw that cliche about are the ones who are most scared of doing nothing. And some times in their lives, they will be forced to do nothing. They want to be the heroes in an action movie but real life is more complicated than that.

Activism burnout is a thing, apart from anything else.

every wisdom has a contrary wisdom

Like ...

Not Everyone Has what it takes to do something
In the Face of Evil but Obviously If Evil Is Not Called
Out Now for What It is And Shamed as Humans Do
Still to Curb 'Evil' Group
Think Behavior;
It Will Thrive
As It Surely
Continues
To Wear
The Face Of
Ignorance as the
Body Count Continues
to Pile Up With the Same
Old Stories of Ignorance Told;
And Even Promoted From the Pulpits
of Churches Like 'the Waiter Didn't Feel
Like Wearing A Mask' so We Will Let Others
Die Around Us From the Increasing Spread of Covid-19;
Sadly, Humans Will Pretend something doesn't exist, if
They Cannot Readily See It Now With Their Own Eyes;
Like A Plane Crashing Into Enough Skyscrapers for
415,000 Corpses Piling Up Higher For Covid-19,
Well Over 3000;
Christmas, Yes,
This Year 2020
as it is already
even being Celebrated
From the Pulpit as only
Wear A Mask, if You Feel
You Need to; Trump's
Excuse for Being a
Leader away
from the
DarK
Side
Evil
of Killing
Ignorance Now for Real...
650,000,000 Masks Planned
For Delivery by The United
States Postal Service Last Spring
But Halted by the Trump Administration
in Fears Saving Lives Might 'Spook the Stock
Market'; Human Ghosts Walking The Earth Without 'SoulS' iN Deed...

Personally, I've never seen anyone use that quote to advocate overthrowing the government. They want to maintain the current system, they just want to win the next election.



LOL! This is great.



I think that's probably true.

I feel like the phrase also takes away from actual heroes. It says, "they weren't extraordinary for being brave. They were just doing their basic duty which simply brings them up to the level of regular non-evil human being."

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So tonight my friend tried to convince me to vote. I told him I had just posted this and he freaked out and said that if other people see that I'm not voting, they too will be convinced not to vote and then Trump will win. (He says that if Trump wins he'll "die.")

So, was he right? Did my post hypnotize anyone into not voting?

I take issue with the quote in some instances and not others.
It ignores that most of us, good or bad, do not have the time or power to prevent evil--especially when it comes from the state.
We could theoretically drop everything in our lives to try and stop evil men, but doing so often involves risking one's life without guarantee of success. Even if one does not die, one could be arrested, and then those who depend on you would suffer both from your absence and the evil you could not stop.

Sadly we live in a world where the demands on the common man's time and body preclude him from taking meaningful action against evil men in positions of power.