(no subject)

[brynndragon]

Someone on my friend's list posted this over the weekend: You Can't Be a Sweet Cucumber in a Barrel of Vinegar
It's an interview with Philip Zimbardo, a situational psychologist whose greatest work and most painful experience is the Stanford Prison Experiment, who talks about his work and Abu Ghraib. From the interview:
"It's not the bad apples, it's the bad barrels that corrupt good people. Understanding the abuses at this Iraqi prison starts with an analysis of both the situational and systematic forces operating on those soldiers working the night shift in that 'little shop of horrors.'"

Comments

[null4096.livejournal.com]

I personally figured it was a combination of the lousy conditions and resentment toward people who probably shot at their friends in the Army.

As for schools, a respect for learning probably does help keep kids in line but I wouldn't expect to get too far given the notoriously anti-intellectual nature of American culture; after a while you're just bailing the ocean with a bucket.