I do think, though, that there are certain levels beneath which we as a species don't need to descend. Beating family members because we can is one of them. Treating girls like property is another. No good can come of either of these behaviors in the long run because they create an atmosphere of brutality and fear that injures the whole group.

I can hardly wait [/sarc] to see what's going to happen in South Asia and China once this generation of mostly boys (because girls are aborted before birth, abandoned, and neglected to the point of death because they are girls) grows up to find that many of them will not be able to find anyone to marry. One would hope that the women will become precious and respected, but the other choice may be just to fight over them and to brutalize them even more out of fear that they will "stray" looking for a better deal.

Some people don't understand the impact of their actions until it has an effect upon them personally.