What always brings out the worst in people?

Two quotes perfectly answer this question.

First, Abraham Lincoln:

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

This has been demonstrated countless times throughout history: just consider Adolf Hitler, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, George Washington, King George, Donald Trump, Martin Luther King, Kim Jong Un, the many leaders of the Catholic Church, and even The First Emperor of China. All of them had great power and influence over their world. Some used their power to oppress the poor, to limit education and hunt down scholars, to solidify the social stratus that held them in power and kept others in the dirt, to place enormous taxes on the unfortunate, and to generate a complacent and ignorant society. Others took power (Martin Luther King Jr: “I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.”) to promote equality, education, justice for all people, morality, and free thought.

Second, Oscar Wilde:

“Give a man a mask and he will show his true face.”

This is pretty obvious especially today. Look a the Anonymous movement, which seems to always get increasingly violent, outof control, and angry. Look at some of the BLM/Pride/Feminist/F***Trump protests, in which people for some reason tend to put on face masks, and how they seem to scream their rallying cries with little or no obvious train of thought, how they beat down (verbally, if not physically) people they percieve to be the “oppressors,” the “privileged,” and the “enemy,” calling them Nazis and racists without much knowledge as to what those words actually mean. Masks seem to give people the power to do things anonymously, to perform deeds they would never do if others could see who they really are, to commit crimes under the security and knowledge that, no matter what they did, they couldn't be judged personally by their friends, family, and contemporaries, because they can't be identified.

An Anonymous protest in London, iconic with many of its members behind a Guy Fawkes mask, becomes increasingly violent.

Violence ensues as Anti-Trump protesters and Trump supporters clash at Berkeley. Note the masks and face coverings.

I think that the thing that brings out the worst in people is the thing that allows them to show their true selves, the thing that gives them the courage to do something they wouldn't do otherwise. And on that same note, the thing that brings out the worst in people is also the thing that brings out the best.

Anonymous supporters help a homeless man.