Comments by "Michael Deierhoi" (@michaeldeierhoi4096) on "Into the Shadows" channel.

This was an interesting explanation of "some" of the causes of the brutal behavior of Romans to the peoples that they conquered as well as their own people. I don't argue with what was said, but rather what was left out that being a glaring omission of the primary cause of Roman brutality and sadism. There is a direct corollary between nation states with imperialist tendencies and brutal behavior toward its subjects. This has been shown to be true as the conquering nation marginalized the people it dominated as well as enslaved their subjects. It is this marginalization that led to victims being treated as less then human. Victims of these dominating powers were also debased and tortured as the Romans did and the later German forces and US forces as well. Who can forget the atrocities committed at Abu Graib by American soldiers. The American soldiers were taught to see the Iraqis for example as less then human thus making it easier to kill them and even torture them as was done at Guantanamo. Exactly the same way the Romans treated their conquered foes.
21
@OGA103 Their values are superior by whose standard? Whose to say Judeo Christian were superior to Buddhist for example? That is a subjective statement because it lacks evidence to support it. Beyond that such arguments were the basis of conflicts through history and still are.
8
@originalblob The underlying problem with the Roman Empire was their imperialistic tendencies to dominate the known world. And that was tied to their sense of feeling superior over other peoples. When a country or nation state feels superior it also thinks its conquered foes as inferior like animals and allows them the justification to torture them even to the point of their own amusement which is the definition of sadistic behavior. Numerous other cultures have marginalized their opponents in similar ways right up to the present. In the same way the Germans under Hitler considered themselves to be the master race and various ethnic groups were all treated as animals i.e. Jews, Slavs, disabled, etc thus making it easier for these groups to be murdered or treated brutally. And the US is also guilty of numerous atrocities done to marginalized peoples right up to the present. American Indians,. black, Asian, Hispanic have all been targets of US military as well as institutionalized repression. We have in general become more capable of empathy, but there are segments of our society that are still stuck in old ways of thinking even as they pretend to be empathetic. We can see this in companies, individuals and government as well.
6
@kylelundgren5133 That is a naive and completely unfounded statement. That comment only demonstrates your lack familiarity to history. The Romans were notoriously brutal simply by the expanse of the empire. No other country could compete with that level of persecution. Other groups were brutal as well, but looking at Greece as example then were not imperialist by nature as the Romans and no where near as brutal let alone sadistic. And it is that imperialist tendency that is correlated to their brutality. In the same way imperialist countries like GB, Spain and the US were imperialist as well as brutal and even sadistic.
5
Videos that tell of a historical time such as this telling of the brutality of the Romans requires evidence to support the over all theme of the video. Whose to say what the right amount of such evidence is?!
3
@generaltso5592 Yes, after thinking this a bit I have to agree with you. There have been numerous violent cultures through history.
2
@lisazoria2709 . It is just dumb to criticize a person for a single point in 30 minute video. 😂😅🤣
2
@cslantz4020 But it very much is the color of the skin that leads some people's to be more persecuted and discriminated then others. White people often can't see this because they are generally treated different then the dark skinned minorities. It's called White Privilege and there are many books written about it as well videos about it. You can videos about on YouTube. As a white man I became aware off this and now better understand the challenges blacks and other minorities face every day that I never have to deal with. Stopped by police, followed around a store by security, treated differently in hospitals and much more!! Look up how Serena Williams was treated differently in a hospital.
1
@cslantz4020 I'm not acting like the problem is because of skin color, the problem IS because of skin color. There is some nuance here to consider there has always been an underclass no matter what society or period in history we are talking about. If you look at early American colonies who were people enslaved? Not whites, but blacks and Indians. Both were marginalized and seen as less then. Poor whites often ended up as indentured servants which was difficult life also, but they weren't slaves captured in Africa, chained up and brought over to this country with many dying on the journey. If the oppression of the lower class wasn't about race then why were blacks classified as three fifths human?? That way the south didn't feel penalized for having most of the blacks in the country when it came to how many congressional representatives they were entitled to. Why were blacks compared to any other group lynched in such high numbers throughout the Jim Crow era which was essentially legal segregation? The KKK was formed as a terrorist group that lynched blacks with impunity. Why were blacks among the last to receive the right to vote? Why were blacks prevented from playing on professional sports teams until players like Jackie Robinson was given a chance. But he was treated as less then human for years. When was a white person ever treated like that in professional sports? Or take the policy of Red Lining. This was an example of structural racism in which blacks were intentionally kept out of white neighborhoods even though they were well to do and could afford to live there. There are numerous additional examples which shred your claims!! And people with White Privilege (which is most White Americans) don't see these examples of racism for what they are.
1
@tesmith47 I didn't ignore them since my response was only intended to cite an example as opposed to being some kind of extended essay on the subject. That should have been obvious. Of course maybe you were addressing your comment to J K and not I in which case never mind. This is why it is best to cite who you are addressing your comment to.
1
@SM Such statements are quite meaningless without some reason or evidence to back it up. More specifically nothing is conveyed by such general statements because they lack any meaningful information.
1
Go study history and you will find that yes the Romans were especially brutal. And this video attempts to explain why. It is just one effort and more could be said about the subject, but like any investigation into history there will always be detractors. The disagreements can also enhance the conversation.
1
@clintfalk You got me there. I need to put my money where my mouth is as the saying goes.
1