A new Rasmussen poll finds that voters want to go to great lengths against Flight 253 bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, with a majority saying he should be waterboarded to extract information.
The poll asked: "Should waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques be used to gain information from the suspected bomber?" The result was 58% yes, to only 30% who said no.
Doesn't matter that interrogation experts say that torturing suspects results in misinformation, rather than facts. Doesn't matter that the experts say that the persons being tortured will say whatever they think the interrogators want to hear just to stop the pain. Doesn't matter that nothing worthwhile will be gained by torture. Torture them anyway.
And that's to say nothing of my obviously minority view that it's MORALLY WRONG to torture people, and I'd very much prefer that the people of my country would not support torture under any circumstances.
From TPM.
I,too, belong firmly in that minority. Why can't we just send him to trial like we did the "shoe bomber"?
ReplyDeleteYes, Elizabeth, Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber" was convicted within our own justice system. Do people forget that?
ReplyDeleteThis is sad news. I mean, what makes people say things like that? What is going on?! I feel like I'm in a crazy world.
ReplyDeleteIn the minority with you.
Fox News and certain preachers promote hate. Let's face it. Hate sells. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Mimi. Torture is never acceptable. It's downright wrong.
ReplyDeleteTorture is simply wrong. No excuse, no exception.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, vengeance, not either justice nor security is what a substantial portion of the population wants.
I guess I am part of that same minority.
FWIW
jimB
Then I'm not crazy?
ReplyDeleteRead about the Milgram experiment. People are following figures like Glen Beck et al, responding to what they think the expectation is. People are mostly, sadly, sheep.
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall that when the first stories of torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib surfaced, polling showed that Americans were shocked that something like that could be done by "our people." But those in power both minimized the incident and at the same time insisted over and over that torture was necessary and effective.
ReplyDeleteSince last January, their surrogates in the media have continued this refrain, and Obama's administration is much less opposed to it than Obama's campaign was. Our country over the last several years has been conditioned to accept and even encourage torture, as this polling now shows. Talk about 'Mission Accomplished"!
Ah yes, IT. The Milgram experiment.
ReplyDeletePeople are mostly, sadly, sheep.
'fraid so.
C.W.S., I remember the disbelief about Abu Ghraib. The pictures were forged. We didn't do that. What if similar pictures came out today? Would we, as a people, applaud?
We may be in the minority, but we are not crazy, Mimi.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a question of how biased the Rasmussen polls are.
ReplyDeleteThere is that, Paul (A.), which gives me a little hope, but not much. I would not be at all surprised if the numbers were close to accurate.
ReplyDeleteAmen, dear Grand´mère!
ReplyDeleteYou know my feeling about evolution and the current state of the human race, Mimi. You know that I truly do believe we are in a (growing) minority.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure they are capable of setting aside a desire to rend, tear and hurt - especially someone who's not "one of us" - to get revenge.
Mark, if you have hope, how can I not have hope? ;-)
ReplyDelete