Wikipedia interprets cruelty as a “moral and psychological personality trait that manifests itself in inhuman, rude, abusive treatment of other living beings, causing pain to them and an encroachment on their life. It is also considered to be a socio-psychological phenomenon that manifests itself in pleasure from knowingly inflicting suffering on a living creature in an unacceptable way in a given culture."
Cannot be justified
Everything is clear and simple here. Well, who can justify the inhuman, rude and insulting attitude to other living beings, especially - the pleasure of deliberately causing suffering to a living creature? Unless only a person with a sick psyche, but the same cruel person.
Although it happens, they justify it. And quite, it seems, normal people, and even considering themselves educated and cultural. For example, not even cruelty, but an inhuman crime - political repression, or rather the destruction of millions of innocent people. Some insist that the repressed were really to blame for what they were accused of, others argue that time was like that and it was simply impossible to act differently. Some agree even to the fact that otherwise we would not have won the Second World War. Although the absurdity of such excuses is completely obvious.
This is the highest degree of cynicism. On the other hand - a condescending attitude towards such manifestations of cruelty as domestic violence, harassment, animal cruelty and much more. Which is also a kind of justification for cruelty. Between them there are still all sorts of cruelties, which are also justified one way or another.
But all this of course cannot be called normal. And such excuses are harshly criticized, rejected by sane and honest people.
