Can I just say, and I'm just being honest...

[Edwardo Piet]

I guess it comes down to a matter of definition then. I would consider a 'human monster' to be a 'subhuman'... and I don't believe in the existence of subhumans nor do I believe in dehumanizing anyone. This is why I don't believe in human monsters. I have compassion for absolutely everyone

See, I disagree there. Even human monsters are still human. We both agree Hitler was a monster, but he loved his niece, and his dog. Given the right set of circumstances, I believe, we each and every one of us have the capacity to become Hitler, or Salk, or Genghis Khan, or Sargent Shriver. We each have the capacity for great good and evil -- and what that tells me is that how we live is a choice -- we choose each modality, day-by-day and even moment-by-moment.

And all those modalities are part of the human experience. A guy like Hitler may have been the nadir of humanity, but he was still human. Someone like Salk may have been the apotheosis of humanity -- but he too was still human, his wife probably bitched about his skid-marks no matter that he discovered the polio vaccine.

And we all have skid-marks. We all do.

I agree completely with everything you say here. I just don't believe in 'human monsters' because to me calling a human a monster is like calling them subhuman.

I'm thinking perhaps your way of looking at things makes more sense. I guess what I'm asking is what is your definition of a 'human monster'... Hitler is an example, but how about a definition?

ETA: Oh I agree with everything except I didn't quite agree Hitler was a monster. I think he's almost one and about as close as you can get... but that's because I'm defining a 'human monster' as subhuman and I don't believe in such a thing. I think he's about as close as you can get to one because he genocided millions of people like they were monsters. But yeah, Hitler is a classic example of a 'human monster', although I personally wouldn't call anyone a monster.

Probably, but hey, it's a good convo, and if it isn't split, readers will get a nice surprise.

I hope so

I'm going to go play my guitar a bit, but I sure appreciate the thinking you've given me, and hope I've returned the favor, Hammy.

You certainly have