There Are No Cruel People

I don't believe in cruelty. I believe there are people who do cruel things, but not because they are cruel, only because they are confused.
I believe that cruelty is a human invention, not a human trait. Even though we observe what appears to be cruelty in very young children, if we look more carefully we will see that the behavior they exhibit is really no more than raw survival impulses that have not yet been honed by social instinct. To punish them for being “cruel” is how cruelty itself is instilled.
The parent who punishes such behavior is the one who is really being cruel. A more responsible and loving parent, who has faith in their own child's development, will see the behavior for the aberration it is. And rather than responding out of fear that there is something “wrong” or even “evil” with their child, they will instinctively either ignore the behavior (which is usually, but not always, the best thing to do the first time or two that it is displayed), or they will take some “corrective” action other than punishment, such as distracting the child from the negative “cruel” behavior, by giving them a hug for some other positive “kind” behavior, helping to hone the child's rough edges rather than agitating them with punishment, which only teaches the child to avoid the parent (i.e. authority) not the behavior. Punishment often even makes the “cruel” behavior seem appropriate to the child. After all, the punishment itself is no more than a demonstration of the “cruel” behavior it is supposed to avert!
And when you extend this understanding of how children are taught to be cruel by fearful parents to the way a fearful society teaches its citizens to be cruel with a “punishment” based justice system – a system that demonstrates cruel behavior and calls it “justice” - then we might start to understand how we bring crime upon ourselves.

“All Penal Laws court Transgression & therefore are cruelty & murder...” - William Blake (1757-1827), English poet

“Cruelty is a tyrant, that is always attended with Fear.” - Thomas Fuller (1654-1734), English cleric

“I was trying to punish society... I wanted justice for what happened to me (in prison)...” - Joseph E. Duncan III (b. 1963), American “Serial Killer” statement to the court (September 2008)