Welcome to a forgotten corner of the ancient forest.
Here is a photo of Sabrina Harman, she was a "specialist" with the US army at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. "Specialist" is US Army speak for "torturer". She is having fun with the body of a dead Iraqi who most likely died of the abuses he suffered at the hands of Sabrina and the other torturers at Abu Ghraib.
If you ignore the dead body in the foreground this could be the photo of any happy young woman. In fact research shows that it could have been virtually any young woman, or man for that matter. Professor Susan Fiske of Princeton University says
Could any average 18-year-old have tortured these prisoners? I would have to answer, 'Yes, just about anyone could have -- unfortunately.'
I have written of earlier research by Stanley Milgrim that proved this point in a research lab with hypothetical victims, sadly Abu Ghraib gave us a brutal and real life example of the sadism that is a part of us all. What are you thinking right now? Perhaps you are thinking something like "I couldn't/wouldn't torture and murder other person."
Here is the sad reality, given the right circumstances you would and what is more you would enjoy it. Not a comfortable thought is it. Professor Susan says
Ordinary people can engage in incredibly destructive behavior if so ordered by legitimate authority. Subordinates not only do what they are ordered to do, but what they think their superiors would order them to do, given their understanding of the authority's overall goals
No doubt Sabrina is back in the USA now and probably is, or will be, one of the sacrificial lambs who will be prosecuted to ease the collective conscience of the US public. Is she a bad person? Reflect on Professor Susans research before you rush into judging Sabrina. If you have an 18 year old son or daughter it could have been them in that photo, or it could have been you!
I have switched comments back on because I would particularly welcome discussion on this entry.
Read about Professor Susan Fiskes research here.
Here is a excellent link to Stanley Milgrims original work on Compliance kindly contributed by Carol Maltby.
There are many jewels hidden amongst the leaves in this forgotten part of the ancient forest. Spend some time browsing and you are sure to find some. Click here or continue your search below
or read the most recent entries here.sad but true.
and that scapegoat thing is also sad but true.
Posted by: tammy at November 27, 2004 10:46 AMAre you saying that her behaviour should go unpunished?
Posted by: shrub at November 28, 2004 01:46 AMNo, she should be tried for war crimes, along with those in authority that placed her in a position where she thought this was the correct thing to do. I suspect Mr Rumsfeld is probably to ultimate instigator.
She has done something terrible and she must accept the consequences of her actions. The point is that she is not some evil monster but just an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances. The judging of this girl is for the courts not the populace.
Those of you who are religious, even just like a good cliche, might like to think "There but for the grace of god go I"
Posted by: Greenman at November 28, 2004 06:21 AMwe know the individual soldiers will be punished. the real question will be whether superiors will be punished as well. i can't believe they didn't know about it.
Posted by: tammy at November 28, 2004 09:45 AMWhile Fiske refers to the Milgrim shock experiments as being done in the seventies, the first were actually done at Yale in the early sixties.
A good account of them can be found here:
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/psychology/compliance.shtml
Posted by: Carol Maltby at November 29, 2004 05:08 AMWhat I want to know is "who really cares", these men were animals who probably killed and tortured many innocent Iraqi civilians when they were in Saddam’s army. You people act as if they were torturing children. So when you liberals sign up to go spend a weekend in some middle eastern hell hole and maybe have your head cut off by some wacko militant terrorist, then maybe you can talk about the horrors of torture. Until then keep your bleeding hearts too your self, maybe after we finish building our new oil pipeline (built by the old and children, who are fed nothing other that cat food and viox) then we can spend some time persecuting the soldiers who risked their lives.
Joe
Many of those captured and tortured were innocent Iraqi civilians that were subsequently released.
A war crime is a war crime regardless of whether the soldier was risking their life at the time they committed it. By your logic Joseph, Lyndie England et al are animals that do not diserve the human rights that apply to the rest of us.
Posted by: greenman at May 10, 2005 08:28 AM
Stumble It!