I feel like I did not full explain my comment on the video. It was about whether or not it is human nature to act the way the soldiers did. I said that I did not feel like it is because, even though the soldiers were ordered to kill these people, it was obvious that they were innocent. I know that I could never put myself in the men's shoes, and it is somewhat different because they are in the military, but I refuse to beleive that it is human nature that was behind the massacre. If it is human nature, how can we as a society convict murderers at all. That is what I see operation as...a murder of innocent people.
They did not just go in and kill the people(which is bad enough in itself), they scalped, raped, cut out tougues...I just can't understand why? I know these men were not abnormalties, but what was the driving force? Was it obeidance to authority, was it power???I just don't have an answer? If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear.

i'm with sarah in wanting to explain some of my comment about the video, too. do i still think it's human nature to act so violently? yes, i do. but not human NATURE, persay. when the one girl in class explained that soldiers usually "snap," that's more of what i was meaning. i think humans have a raw, animalistic instinct. but it's so deep inside that they basically have to shut down the whole "humanistic" side. and when several people in class agreed that soldiers go through a process of being "de-humanized" in training, i believe it's actually leading them closer and closer to that point of where everything raw and intense comes out. i'm not saying any of this to justify anything from the video, because it really is such a tragedy. but the point i think i was trying to make is that people from any walk of life can reach the point of "snapping." murderers, rapists, assassins, american soldiers, etc... whoever - it doesn't matter. put a human being in a type of stress such as the one presented in the video and the layers quickly peel away to display the inner anger in everyone. most people just don't ever get to that point. only the few here and there do. is that too deep? so in response to what gayle was saying, it's not human NATURE, cause i agree - if it were, why have hope? but it's more of a blind instinct that humans have at their most stressed point. i don't know if i've explained myself fully, but if anyone has any other questions for me, please ask. none of this has anything to do with relating all this to the classroom, so maybe i'll go start a post for that!

I think these men were programmed by the army to act this way. They teach the men to kill and not feel or think about what they are doing. I also think the men do snap to be able to do the rapes and other horrible things they did. We are also programming our kids to act this way. The violence on tv and video games are programming them to see death and killing as "normal". It takes the sting or the human aspect out of these acts. Could this be why our society is becoming more and more violent?