aquascoot wrote on Feb 20^th, 2020 at 2:40pm:
Both of those incorporated the dehumanisation of those groups so as to enable average people to slaughter them. We did the same to the Germans and Japanese in WW2, also the Viet Cong. If you dehumanise people then its far easier to tell someone to kill them. Not everyone has a "dark side", we know this because despite military advances in training there are still some people that can not be taught or forced to point a gun at another human being and pull the trigger, they just wont or cant do it, its not in their nature. Its estimated that over half of combatants in  the American Civil war actually shot to miss, they got this up to around 70 percent in Vietnam. T his is a far more complicated issues than "good vs evil" .

aquascoot wrote on Feb 20^th, 2020 at 5:53pm:


It wasn't me, it was Barny.

And you've been running from it ever since. Hilariously.

But interesting you should need to read back to remember what the question you're dodging us, while you continue to dodge it.

Probably a good time to remind the readers that you don't rate intelligence.

rhino wrote on Feb 20^th, 2020 at 5:55pm:



fair enough point rhino.

if you were to watch the media on this, i am sure it is full of people saying "they cannot understand this".
i think the only way to understand it is from the idea that humans are partly composed of evil and there are no limits to that.
the germans , in 1940, were at the pinnacle of cultural development.
yet they were able to go and shoot pregnant jews in the back of the head.
it was worse then that.
they were able to unload jews for gassing and before they gassed them they would make them carry 100 lb bags of salt from one side of the camp to the other and back again, just to show they could always make an evil act a little bit more evil.

young people are not taught about that at school.
very few would have ever heard of auschwitz, pol pot or the gulags.

i suppose the authorities think it keeps them safer not to know that "thats what people can be like" and that "thats what YOU can be like".

because if you were alive in nazi germany in 1940 you MIGHT be a saint who rescued jews.
but probably not.
you probably would have joined in or at least condoned it by refusing to look at it

i suppose they dont want to upset the kiddies with this sort of confronting history (which was certainly far worse then anything james cook or arthur phillip ever did)
but that just keeps the kiddies naive and if you are naive and you confront something truly evil (and you probably will), then you get PTSD and thats not good

aquascoot wrote on Feb 20^th, 2020 at 6:26pm:
Thats the point I am making, most of those Germans if given an individual choice would not have shot pregnant Jews in the back of the head. And people who refuse to look at it, they arent inherently evil either.

aquascoot wrote on Feb 20^th, 2020 at 6:26pm:


But not their own kids. Goebbels killed his in 1945 , some Germans suicided but most didn't.  We don't copy family murder just because of thinking about it , an evil thought.  Ancestors didn't . So it must be off the scale to kill our kids and into insanity such as drug insanity.

Captain Caveman wrote on Feb 20^th, 2020 at 9:20pm:


It's possible, so is steroid abuse. There's also a chance that (CTE) could have been a factor.

Hopefully at autopsy the Perp will be checked for any signs of Repetitive Traumatic Brain Injury / Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) stemming from his football career.

Captain Caveman wrote on Feb 20^th, 2020 at 9:20pm:



Possibly.  Whether or not that would be revealed after investigation ….

if he were, it would throw additional light on the 'gym' culture and drugs, particularly steroids.  Not sure authorities would like to go that road

More likely he was a narcissist, based on his in-laws reported comments.  It's reported they've said he was controlling and basically attempted to isolate his wife, which is classic narcissistic behaviour.  Verbal and physical bullying and intimidation.  And jealousy.  Jealousy is one of the root characteristics of narcissism.  Her family reportedly stated he was jealous of her sporting ability and I think CrossFit is what she is said to have beaten him at.  If he was bulked via steroids, his physical size wouldn't automatically translate to fitness, whereas despite three pregnancies, she looked extremely fit and strong

basically, he's a kid who grew tall and big and whether by inclination or early environmental influence, that translated years ago to 'masculinity' and approval.  But he was getting older and doesn't sound as if he'd ever had anything to commend him other than physical size.  With age comes physical deterioration regardless of diet or exercise.  It happens across the board in the natural and human world.  The old lion is eventually beaten just as are ageing human big-men.  It takes maturity (which is supposed to come with advancing age) to accept that.  Some cannot, be they men or women.  And if all they've really had is physical size/attractiveness, some turn to various drugs or to plastic surgery.  It's a no-win battle

Anyone who hasn't lived in a cave will be familiar with the dynamic and would suppose that if he hadn't burned his family to death, he would have extended his attempts to control and intimidate to his children. For instance he may well have attempted to 'run' (read 'ruin') their opportunities and lives by dictating where they could go, with whom they could associate, which studies they could undertake, which sports they should become involved in, which relationships they were 'allowed', etc.

In time, had they all lived, his son may have grown larger, stronger and eventually have put the old man on the ground after years of being bullied and being forced to watch his father bully and control his mother and sisters

Men like the family-killer in question are destroyers of all they envy, and generally they envy everyone.  They forget, or try to, that time moves on relentlessly.  They choose to forget that children get older and as they do so, their memories and sense of injustice burn.  This is why so many paedophiles are brought undone in the end, either in court or less discussed rough-justice.  And here in Australia there have been cases of forced-to-obedience sons who've turned finally, and killed or bashed their male parent.  Law of the jungle

The family-killer in question was low on resources.  Size and looks and most likely predominantly male-approval were what he'd relied upon.  Sounds as if he possessed few coping abilities to cater for changing times and age.  His golden-years had flown.  He could have chosen to down-scale his dreeeems and fantasies if he'd been another man … could have learned a trade or mowed lawns to prepare for advancing age, but narcissists almost never accept reality other than to predate and parasite on others until the bottom drops out

The petrol-killer was a low-grade show-pony and that's reflected in the way he chose to tell the world to get effed at the end.  Nasty world hadn't given him what he believed he was entitled to. Everyone, including his wife and kids, in-laws, etc., had to be punished by Big Punisher the Petrol Killer.  He'd finally make the headlines.  And all the goons who swallow steroids and spend their lives worshipping 'big' masculine physicality would be awed by the drama of his exit.  A flame-bomb family massacre would be his 'manifesto', seeing he couldn't achieve real life success

In other news, a West Australian ex-politician is heading to court, charged with multiple counts of family violence with another wife-victim, in addition to his professional misconduct/failure

And on the same page is a woman recounting how her mother was murdered by yet another narcissist predatory killer

A middle-aged, crippled woman was jailed for a lengthy term, years ago, for the murder of her husband.  Wheelchair bound, she'd beaten her husband to death one night with a hammer.  She'd been rendered wheelchair bound after being thrown out of a moving vehicle by the same husband as his most visible act of violence after years of same.  Once she was wheelchair bound, he took to stripping her naked, drenching her with water (in winter) and leaving her on the floor all night, punctuated by kicks and floggings if she whimpered too loudly.  Finally, she broke and killed him.  Sent to prison, which must have been a luxury spa compared to the life she'd led

Such is life and will remain so.  The family annihilation currently in the news is just the tip of the iceberg.  Less dramatic crimes are committed daily in, for example, age and care homes where the elderly who may have managed to avoid physical and mental torture during their younger years are nevertheless subjected to it when they're at their most vulnerable since infancy. Sexually & mentally tortured school kids are still coming forth

Suspect Rowan Baxter may have been on ice....then people are becoming more violent whether ice a factor or not...traumatic to see images of the kids and mum in happier times.