Do indiviuals need to take responsibility for a group's behaviour?

Chikombo

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If you are part of a group that is discriminated in the sense that people keep saying you are violent, due to facts because many people in your group are violent.
Is that something that should burden you as an individual?
Or is it unfair to judge someone based on the category they are inside?

Like what if alot of police officers kills innocent people when they are working? Do I have the right to say all police are bad?


If a muslim does something bad do I have a right to critique Islam?
 

Infant

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In terms of your question . . .

Groups are made up of individuals. They are influenced by ad in turn influence groups. So the individuals within the groups are always responsible. The question is how and how much. For example, if i just keep quiet while my friends bully someone, by being their friend i silently encourage their behaviour, just that alone. If i tell them not to do such things, then i tried to counter influence, maybe failed. In such a case, i wasnt really part of the group, since i opposed it.

So there is responsibility, defintely of different levels (leader vs followers), but still some responsibility.

In terms of your specific examples, the cases are mostly ones of identification.

If someone says he is Christian but his behaviour is opposed, is he really Christian? People can lie (social benefits) or be mistaken (youth), so you must check if they acted as part of the group or as individuals.

The Islam case is one of foundation. If you define 'Muslim' as 'follower of Islam', then just check if Islam actually agrees with such behaviour and you have your answer.

So groups have two factors for their identity: members and definition/reason. Only if someone acts in line with both factors - defintiins of the grouo encourages them and members agree with them - do you judge the whole group. Otherwise, its identity issues.

So your title is about group dynamics, for which the answer is a clear yes, but your examples are about group identitity, which applies long before dynamics come into play. That's wherethe confusion arises from.
 
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Avani

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If you are part of a group that is discriminated in the sense that people keep saying you are violent, due to facts because many people in your group are violent.
Is that something that should burden you as an individual?
Or is it unfair to judge someone based on the category they are inside?

Like what if alot of police officers kills innocent people when they are working? Do I have the right to say all police are bad?
Hmm? It's not that simple. Acts of individual do not always reflect act of the group or vice versa. But there are times when some sentiments and beliefs are more widely held and if an individual does some violent act and rest of the group is supporting it directly and indirectly then it becomes problematic. Then some introspection by the members of the groups is needed.

Support may come in many ways:
  • Some engage in whereaboutery while avoiding any condemnation of such an act
  • Start making excuses or denial of action
  • Start the fallacious arguments of there being No True Scotsman.
  • Start conspiracy theory despite load of direct evidence of the violent act and known accused or convicts even. Or shifting responsibility.
  • Condemning the act and still implying that the victim/s brought it upon themselves. Aka victim blaming.
  • Remain silent but still help the accused in some way- helping in destruction of evidence or knowing and still keeping silent thinking you are doing it in interest of the group. Or worse, outright glorifying him as some king of revolutionary working for the cause of the whole group against "random excuse like discrimination".
etc. etc

A lot of groups have been discriminated historically all over the world under various ideological beliefs or what seemed like a good idea to the people at the time. But not everyone resorted to violent crime or justification of such crime. Nor every group idolizes or glorifies such elements afterwards.

Please avoid dragging in any particular relegion in it.
 

salamander uchiha

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The only time they take responsibility is if they support such things and the group in carrying out policies. An example stealing and usurping another's land, the one doing it and the one supporting or facilitating are equally guilty.
 
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Chikombo

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The only time they take responsibility is if they support such things and the group in carrying out policies. An example stealing and usurping another's land, the one doing it and the one supporting or facilitating are equally guilty.
Is it justified to suspect people? For example if you were raped by a firefighter, is it ok to hate firefighters when you grow up?
 
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