Milan, December 24, 2025 – “I don’t get anything from it, maybe a few pennies or a jacket, but I gain the humiliation of the other.” This chilling confession underscores a disturbing trend of violence motivated by the desire to inflict pain, a concept explored by Primo Levi in “The Drowned and the Saved,” and now playing out on the streets of Milan. A 15-year-old was recently stripped, blackmailed, and forced to call his parents for 100 euros by a group of three minors and one adult, all with prior criminal records, in an attack on Corso Buenos Aires.
The psychology of Cruelty: Why Humiliation Fuels Violence
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Experts say inflicting pain isn’t about material gain, but a desperate attempt to feel powerful.
- The attack highlights a disturbing trend of violence focused on humiliation.
- Experts beleive perpetrators often act from a place of deep personal insecurity.
- A lack of adult intervention suggests a troubling indifference to youth violence.
- The perpetrators often don’t recognize the gravity of their actions.
A notably scary thing is that the intended victim could display traits that attackers don’t want to see in themselves.”
Are Perpetrators Also Victims?
The question of whether those who inflict harm are themselves victims is complex. Mantegazza believes the answer is frequently enough yes. “The kids will have learned this model of behavior from someone. We are in a society where aggression is everywhere. ther is no longer tolerance of others. There is widespread violence that kids absorb and multiply, because adolescence lives in extremes.”
The lack of intervention from bystanders is particularly concerning. The mother of the attacked boy noted that no adults stepped in to help. “The kids acted in public, as if they knew very well that no adult would lift a finger,” Mantegazza observes.”If so,it’s very serious: it means that the idea they have of the adult world is that it doesn’t care about them,as they are used to being ignored. Yesterday I went to see the film ‘Nuremberg’ and I thought it was very suitable for our times: at a certain point it is said that the problem is not Hitler, but those who pretended nothing happened. Without making excessive comparisons, there is the habit of thinking ‘if I intervene I will compromise myself, because he is not my son’.”
A Disturbing Lack of Remorse
Similar group attacks, such as one that occurred in October in Corso Como, reveal a pattern of perpetrators failing to grasp the severity of their actions. “Yes, there is no repentance,” Mantegazza states. “Sometiems there is amazement, they say: ‘After all it was a joke’. This is a serious thing: there is no perception of the violence and humiliation inflicted. They think that giving two shoves or stealing shoes is all a game.”
This disturbing disconnect highlights the need for greater awareness and intervention, starting with addressing the underlying issues of insecurity and aggression that fuel such behavior. The dynamics of group violence often mask a profound sense of loneliness. “Yes. There is difficulty in being with others except in a form of mutual coverage. We need to do awareness work from the first episodes at school. We shouldn’t underestimate the ‘small’ forms of verbal violence or humiliation.”
What Needs to Change?
Mantegazza emphasizes the importance of responsible behavior and language around minors.”We need education in responsibility, in listening to others. But here too it must start with adults. We are in a country where if someone makes a sexist joke about a woman and someone points it out to her, the response is ‘how harsh are you?’. It is indeed clear that this is strengthened in adolescents.” However, he also acknowledges the positive role adolescents can play. “Without a doubt. They are the best allies. but we shoudl learn to listen to them more.”
