It makes me think about the liberal take on how "no one believes themselves to be the villain" or "everyone's the hero in their own view" that's just such wide eyed idealist nonsense in practice.

I always have found it interesting how a lot of people try apply literary criticism to real life. If they see a cartoonishly evil villain in a TV show or a movie they say "wow this writing isn't very subtle. Boo." meanwhile when people in real life are over-the-top and cartoonishly evil, are self aware a bout being over-the-top and cartoonishly evil, and don't see themselves as secretly good, people say "well there must be some perspective I'm missing, after all, surely they see themselves as the hero, there's no way real life is more unsubtle than a well written TV show." But it is. Like you said they're giving too much credit to the idea that everyone sees themselves as good. It's wide-eyed and naive.

[–] BeanisBrain@hexbear.net 9 points 6 days ago

Evil may indeed often be the most banal Eichmann. Perhaps sometimes it comes instead with Mephistophelean splendour. But very often it’s a party-goer; boisterous; braying; a frat alumnus; a bully who loves being a bully; a successful professional, lip-smacking at the misery of those s/he hurts; and one who is increasingly happy to cop to that enjoyment, to proclaim it, to perform it.

[–] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Liberals are often like people who cheat on others in a relationship, they assume that because they are doing it, everyone is doing it. It's the same way that they assume communists are lying or gaslighting them or that we are saying what we are saying just to hold some sort of moral high ground, as if that is what is important, and not the literal human lives at stake.