Well, Civilization is the only thing that stops those who enjoy torturing others from being brutal and, lo and behold, those holding power have de facto created various classes of people who have immunity to the mechanisms of civilization that stop them, one of said classes of people being police officers in certain countries, certain positions in the force and/or certain time periods when politicians in power suspect the rules for them.
That such is at all possible is all part of the overall problem that even in supposedly Democratic nations “civilization” is mainly talk and that whatever of it actually exists is a thin layer. In fact I would go as far as saying that at this moment in time even in some supposedly democratic countries the organised violence of the State is in practice less civilized than the ah-hoc retributive violence of the masses would be - in other words those who enjoy torture, as long as they occupy certain positions in the state apparatus have less to fear if they act such sick wishes than they would have in past times when the state did not have a monopoly on violence and the populous was free to themselves take care of retribution.
For all the messaging (especially in films) that the past was unjust and violent, in some countries the only real difference there is now a thick layer of bureaucracy disguising the de facto immunity of certain people from societal retribution and claiming it’s “justice” when anybody trying to exercise retribution is fallen upon by the structures in power like a ton of bricks, whilst in the past it wasn’t at all hidden that the minions of the powerful could do whatever the fuck they wanted and there was nothing that rest to could about it - in other words, what before was open that “some are not bound by the same rules as others”, now there’s a lot of sing and dance to disguse that “some are not bound by the same rules as others” and the violent suppression of any attempt at making it otherwise as being the very opposite - all part of a societal agreed system to do what’s Just which “represents the common will” and is always right.
Where as I would agree, I still find it very scary that they can so easily cross the border between being brutal and enjoying torture
Well, Civilization is the only thing that stops those who enjoy torturing others from being brutal and, lo and behold, those holding power have de facto created various classes of people who have immunity to the mechanisms of civilization that stop them, one of said classes of people being police officers in certain countries, certain positions in the force and/or certain time periods when politicians in power suspect the rules for them.
That such is at all possible is all part of the overall problem that even in supposedly Democratic nations “civilization” is mainly talk and that whatever of it actually exists is a thin layer. In fact I would go as far as saying that at this moment in time even in some supposedly democratic countries the organised violence of the State is in practice less civilized than the ah-hoc retributive violence of the masses would be - in other words those who enjoy torture, as long as they occupy certain positions in the state apparatus have less to fear if they act such sick wishes than they would have in past times when the state did not have a monopoly on violence and the populous was free to themselves take care of retribution.
For all the messaging (especially in films) that the past was unjust and violent, in some countries the only real difference there is now a thick layer of bureaucracy disguising the de facto immunity of certain people from societal retribution and claiming it’s “justice” when anybody trying to exercise retribution is fallen upon by the structures in power like a ton of bricks, whilst in the past it wasn’t at all hidden that the minions of the powerful could do whatever the fuck they wanted and there was nothing that rest to could about it - in other words, what before was open that “some are not bound by the same rules as others”, now there’s a lot of sing and dance to disguse that “some are not bound by the same rules as others” and the violent suppression of any attempt at making it otherwise as being the very opposite - all part of a societal agreed system to do what’s Just which “represents the common will” and is always right.