Someone who takes pleasure in the actual suffering of another has issues - somewhere along the way something warped their development. They are damaged people.
But indifference?
Apathy - the not caring - the tuning out - the not thinking? That is where we are all susceptible. Doesn't mean we will all fall victim to it.
Hannah Arendt believed that totalitarian regimes need apathy of the masses to develop and maintain, and that evil doesn't need bad intentions to do bad things.
Apathy of the masses
That the sheer magnitude of suffering is so routine, happening so often, that it becomes boring. It becomes background noise to your life - you become indifferent.
It's not happening to you.
It's out of your control.
It's happening to bad people, so it's OK.
People tell themselves all kinds of things.
On evil not needing bad intentions to do bad.
You're following orders. The good of the state. It's your job. You want to get a promotion. You separate your task from your primary motivation, so you don't see yourself as doing evil - you see yourself doing a job or saving a country.
Yes, it is denial and yes, if you think that way you are completely wrong - but people will compartmentalize that way.
The point is, people can willingly do evil without ever thinking about the evil they are doing. And that's what makes it all the more insidious. They disengage mentally.
Most of those causing harm, such as Trump with his child kidnapping and Bush with his torture, have removed themselves from the equation - meaning they separate themselves from their deeds. They disengage - unable to see from the viewpoint of other people - of those who oppose them - and especially their victims.
But there is a difference.
Trump is completely wrapped up in himself. For him, it's not how he impacts others but how they impact him. He's always the victim of lies or fake news.
Trump is a damaged person. The more people scream the better he likes it.
Bush was a prime example of the banality of evil.
So which is worse to me?
Apathy...indifference.
One can't be propped up without the other. If citizens are indifferent to the harm being caused around them, then that harm only increases and goes on for longer.
You can stop a madman easier if there is opposition than a madman who causes harm without anyone caring. Without anyone paying attention.
Oh, both are bad - enjoying the suffering of others and being indifferent to the suffering of others....but that indifference?
Lethal.
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