We say, "Kids can be so mean," but we don't usually ask how they get that way; we accept it as if they are born that way. They weren't.

Disagree. They were born that way. They were born to be pack hunters, to whom anyone outside the tribe is an enemy to be enslaved, tortured for amusement, and killed. And the other members of the tribe are rivals for dominance.

It is possible to bring children up to act in a way more "civilized" than that. But it takes work. It doesn't just happen.

For some people religion seems to help with the process. Sometimes it makes things worse.

Peter