Humans are scum

[ApeNotKillApe]

Humans are disgusting; they have the minds to do better, but they can't do better. They're damned to make things worse for themselves, to make the wrong choices time and again. They love torture, they'd rather skin someone alive than have a conversation, their mouths water at the idea of violence. Humans are horrid things - they saw people in half for fun, they burn people for fun. Every facet of this species is vile. They don't want to solve problems, they want to celebrate ignorance while the world burns.

[Aoi Magi]

Humanity isn't all that bad. Yes there is violence and ignorance, but compared to that there's a lot more good out there, and we ARE making progress towards a more civilized world slowly. News and media tend to focus only on the bad things but if you look around you from a neutral standpoint, you'll see there are more good people in our society than the "scum"

[Mermaid]

I can't say I disagree. Reading the comments on news stories reinforces that notion that we are selfish, violent assholes.

[Cato]

Yeah, but we're making progress. I can't recall the last time I witnessed our species of primate throwing our own feces in order to exhibit displeasure. Had to be careful how I worded that as I believe there are still cow chip throwing contests.

[Chad32]

While Humans are capable of depraved things, society at large has actually improved over time. Especially in modern society. We still have problems that you'd think would have been wiped out by now, but health, wealth, and happiness has gone up in many places over time. One of the biggest problems is the few having power over the many, which is kind of hard to deal with. You need people to be in charge of the goings on of society, but you need the people in high positions to be subservient to the people in lower positions. that's where you get the term public servant. It's an ongoing struggle, but the good has outweighed the bad in many areas.

[Cato]

A more considered reply...

Accentuating the positive always seems to be much more difficult than pointing at atrocities of some sort as the basis of generalization. Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of our Nature is an excellent and thoroughly researched work that puts our progress in this regard into perspective.

http://stevenpinker.com/publications/bet...our-nature

We certainly aren't perfect, but not near as bad as reported considering our recent history. Pinker's book might change the way you view the issue.

[ApeNotKillApe]

Humanity isn't all that bad. Yes there is violence and ignorance, but compared to that there's a lot more good out there, and we ARE making progress towards a more civilized world slowly. News and media tend to focus only on the bad things but if you look around you from a neutral standpoint, you'll see there are more good people in our society than the "scum"

Where is this 'lot more' good? Humans have tortured and killed each other for centuries; it's the natural way of our species. There may have been a decline in violence over the last few decades, but that doesn't disregard the unspeakable things done to our fellow humans, or the enjoyment gained by the countless others who reveled in their suffering.

[ApeNotKillApe]

Yeah, but we're making progress. I can't recall the last time I witnessed our species of primate throwing our own feces in order to exhibit displeasure. Had to be careful how I worded that as I believe there are still cow chip throwing contests.

Chimps throw feces. Humans pull out each others fingernails and cut out their eyes.

[account_inactive]

I would say society has improved over time, but unacceptable levels of violence still occurs and unfortunately probably always will. So no disagreement here.

[RozKek]

Do you assume that all human beings are that way? Do you assume that everyone is that "stereotypical, dumb" human?