I really do find this man's mind fascintaing. At first I didn't know whether I agreed with what he said about how good people can do bad things, that it might not be the "who" but the "what". I thought to myself: well I would never hurt someone regardless of the circumstances.I paused the video and thought about it and realised that I was being very idealistic (as usual). I do think that in some cases that it does have a lot to do with the "what" of the situation. The human mind can be conditioned and depending on the circumstances it can be capable of doing very destructive things. I was having these idealistic thoughts from the comfort of my own home where I feel secure and I have my own mind. But what if I was put into a totally different situation where I didn't have the same kind of control over my mind? Things are totally different when you feel secure and you have your thoughts to yourself. It takes a very strong person to stand up for what is right. The average person goes with the majority and doesn't question authority. This made me think: do I have an average mind? Would I be brave enough to stand up for what was right, even if I had someone in a position of authority telling me it was fine and that I should do it? Would I follow the majority or would I speak out? I would like to say that yes I would do the right thing but I realise that this is highly idealistic of me. Realistically, I cannot possibly know. Certain situations can do things to you, make you act out in a way that you never thought you were capable of. But it is important not to use this to excuse one's behaviour. There have been situations that have made me act out of character, sometimes in a negative way. But the situation is only partly responsible. In my opinion it only has a small responsiblity, although I know that many would disagree. I think the majority of the responsibility lies with you. It's your job to be brave.
