Bad people doing bad things
What drives all the minions of evil to help bad guys win?
Why do they do it? What drives the minions of evil? Why would any young man knowingly shoot at any other young man on orders of someone else? Why would a young accountant at Anderson help to create the huge scandal that brought down Enron? Why would a Monsanto employee help to prepare unjustified law cases, against small uneducated farmers, in order to get ownership of their land? Why?
Our system is broken and we, mostly, ignore it. Millions of workers in organizations contribute to questionable ethics or downright deceit or ‘lawful’ robbery. To get targets, they follow orders, or just do what they are paid for. Thus employees willingly and knowingly conceit customers and pollute our planet. Why would they? Don’t they know better? Aren’t there better options?
The effect of an organization, ideology, country on people can be very bad and dark. Most of us can easily wonder why anyone would be an accomplice in a criminal gang. Yet, we should also consider why people, who ought to know better, support something we think is evil or very stupid.
How to make them open their eyes, change sides or consider what role they play in things? Perhaps most of all we need to contact them as much as possible, as personal as we can get. Perhaps through a new media bombardment some of these guys will start to wonder. As we saw during the Arabic Spring, through new media, many soldiers of Kaddafi changed sides or deserted. Would you shoot at protesters if your mother would text ‘Don’t do it’, or only when she would text ‘Your brother is among the protesters’?
At the same time we see all questionable regimes (whether corporate or national) hinder freedom of information traffic. And right they are, from their point of view. But we should wonder, which individual pulls the plug? What is he or she thinking? Why would anyone help spin-doctors to lie and frame manipulative talking points that are broadcasted everywhere? How can we save a country, when everyone makes decisions based on lies?
Perhaps we should consider more carefully who helps the powers that be. Very rarely someone chooses a career that willingly implies hurting others, for no good reason other than self-enrichment. We happen to be born into a crime family, under a racist ideology, or got a job that slowly makes us do things, we weren’t aware of before, etc. But while people may happen to get themselves in the role of Nazi (and such), here is how and why they stay. Here is a list of characters contributing to evil, compiled from Movies, mostly cliché Nazi’s, to investigate the faces of the minions of evil. You’ll find them in corporations, governments, city councils, family gatherings, and even playgrounds.
PLEASERS
Pleaser: “What shall I cook tonight, Herr Oberst?” He is part of a team and does what the rest likes, so they may like him. He has a very hard time looking victims in the eye before he kills them, but as long as his commanders and comrades are happy he can live with that. When they don’t look, he even may bring a prisoner some extra food to be liked by him as well.
Opportunistic Pleaser: “Let me find and kill those escapees for you, Herr Hauptman!” The Opportunistic Pleaser will serve his master beyond expectation, as long as they are winning, and as long there are not too many different sides to please. May switch sides fast, when his side is very much losing the battle.
OPPORTUNISTS
Opportunist: “Defend the lines, while I bring these priceless pieces of art in safety.” The crooks in the system. Will solely use it for their own advantage, as the huge art thefts by the Nazis across Europe. Almost any corrupt system is led by men like these, who are often also the cause of its inner rotting down. They choose a winning side, use the mechanisms of the system for their benefits, and don’t care about the effects.
Career Boy: “Should we not find and kill them all, Herr Leutnant?” The Career Boy wants ahead and will do anything that proves his merit, as long as those merits point the way ahead. Other than the Opportunistic Pleaser he is even willing to betray his boss if better opportunities arise. In many crime movies, this is the young upstart overplaying his hand with too much treacherous ambition. He often doesn’t look above the horizon of the system he is in, as long as within the system there is enough to win. Loves the political power play and the feeling of power it seems to bring.
LOYALS
Target Boy: “Burned down the targeted five villages, Herr General.” Give these men an order and they’ll do it, without thinking too much about ethical implications. These boys helped to inflate Wall Street beyond capacity, write great speeches for politicians they don’t believe in, and will support any ‘Befehl ist Befehl’. Consider themselves very intelligent, but have closed eyes to their impact on others. Because, hey, requested results are what is being measured.
Lonely Boy: (toasting) “Auf Uns, Kameraden.” (To us, comrades). Lonely Boy is the kind of kid groomed into gang life with the promise of it being family while being used by the opportunists. More famous role in American Gangsta movies. In their fierce loyalty, these people often think the company they work for is their family until they are fired or the company is sold, which often breaks them for life.
Paradigm Prisoner: “My son, don’t be afraid to die for Hitler, it is the highest honor.” Whatever the story, some people are willing to believe it. They cling to false truths like it is the only thing that can bring order to the universe. They may be opponents, but they share the same prison: poor Republican voters thinking they are being cared for by millionaires, suicide terrorists pushed to sacrifice themselves, any angry hooligan believing he’s justified because his friends say so, any criminal willing to sit for years to protect his boss and every CIA agent willing to torture and imprison without court case to protect freedom.
Loyal Soldier: “I put the Jews on transport, just as you ordered Herr General” The pure ‘befehl ist befehl’ type. He may even think: “If I don’t do it, someone else would and way crueler than me.” They can’t imagine anybody refusing willing to do it. Often they are just in it because this seemed an acceptable job and they have, or think they have, no other option. Doing the job gives them a sense of meaning. Don’t expect any intelligence or wider scope of looking at consequences. “Sorry, miss, can’t help you there. That’s not what we are paid for.”
SURVIVOR
Survivor. “I don’t care about those civilians on it. If we don’t blow up the bridge, we are lost. So, what are you waiting for soldier!” He wears the uniform of his side and has acted for it. Now he feels threatened by the other side. It’s an ‘Us against Them’ world he lives in. They are against him. In his logic, anything is allowed to make his own side stronger. This archetype is an easy target for unsound reasoning followed by questionable orders. Other than changing sides as an opportunist, he rather melts away to avoid detection when his side loses.
CRIMINALS
Loyal Accomplice: “I have an idea, how we can get your spoils of war safely to your home, Herr General.” These are perhaps the worst of them all. They know the organization, ideology, leader is corrupt and doing evil stuff and still they help the best they can. Are they pleasers? Lonely boys? Puppy dogs? Can’t they think for themselves? Are they in it for their own bit of the treasure? Or are they honorably loyal, and just happen to be on the wrong side? Just imagine the amount of work they do, to convince themselves it all alright what they do. “It takes less work if ve let zhem dig ze ditches and zhen shoot zhem in zhem.”
Sick Evil Bastard: “First I will shoot you in ze ztomach and zhen I will take your bowels out, hahaha.(cruel laugh)” Finally, the man who seems responsible for all the evil. He is not. His followers and commanders all play a part in the continuation of his sick power play. Any organization that embraces people who love to hurt others, or power play to doom others is sick itself and in need of some waking up. Because of these people, others rise in resistance. And then you have to hope they don’t have their own sick evil bastards.
HOW TO STOP THEM
Each of these types needs a different strategy to stop them or make them alter their course.
The Pleaser needs to be overwhelmed with new people to please, especially close friends and family. He must become torn between sides and start becoming aware, how much more people would be pleased if he started making different choices. Show him how happy you are with every little positive choice he makes.
The Opportunistic Pleaser must start to think the other side will bring his down soon and ramifications of his contribution to his side soon will follow. Especially legally well-prepared threats may make him think twice.
The Opportunist must be offered a better offer. As does the Career Boy, who also can be threatened with the message that if such and such comes out, his career will be destroyed. You might even offer him a leading position on your side. But never ever offer him to an opportunity to sell you out. Better fire him directly when you fear he is on the edge.
Bring Target Boys in direct contact with the effects of their doings or show them how they will take the fall first when the bubble bursts. Help them to become leaders in preventing the bubble burst, like with sustainable politics.
Be very nice to Lonely Boy, give him a better and more trustworthy family. Send him cards and flowers. Do the same with the Survivor. He is the kind of soldier that breaks when you put a flower in the barrel of his gun. Give him love. His current mindset can’t cope with that.
Paradigm Prisoners are very hard to crack. They don’t want to open their eyes. Their faith means the order in the fearful universe. This is probably why the Republicans attack Gays, Commies, and other ideas so much. It keeps these followers afraid enough to keep their eyes closed. Don’t offer them the opposite. Show them the cracks in or effects of the system (also for their personal private life) and let them think for themselves. Show them how his bosses parade their wealth and corruption.
Offer the Loyal Soldier an alternative income or change the laws, that accept his work as legal. If this is not possible talk straight to heart and offer ways how he can give that shape, without direct danger for himself.
Offer the Loyal Accomplice a fatter price. If he stays loyal, he might, then just persecute and hope for the best. Finally whatever your cause, never ever agree to the contribution of a Sick Evil Bastard, because then, you will for others become part of ‘them’. Perhaps one day we can prevent a lot of suffering and revenge if all sides take their own worst apples out.
How to find out who is who in your organization? Well, try the different strategies on them all, and see who reacts on what. And most of all, the more dialogue, the better. A few years ago Shell send a high-ranking manager to talk and investigate the eco protestors and slowly was won over to their point of view, which he now defends within the Shell system (as far as I know). This is a win for a more just and healthy planet too.
Previously posted on an old blog of mine. Reposted here with some editing.
