Philip Zimbardo called the behavior of his prison guards "situationally determined behavior" This then asks the questions, given systems of capitalism and competition within the society, is the way we behave, treat one another through self-motivated actions like betrayal, lying, and exploitation also then determined by "the situation."
Zimbardo was asked to testify at the court martial of the Abu Ghraib officers and soldiers charged with crimes.
Quiet rage [DVD]: the Stanford prison experiment
I think you always can see small evil in crowds. I can not tell you how many times I have seen someone in trouble and a crowd of people ignore the (crying child in one case, woman upset, old man in wheelchair stuck in gutter,that was yesterday). Then I march over and try to help and then there is a break. Not the whole crowd but just a few people come and help.Most do not want to get involved or might feel embarrassed? I have seen other men and women be the first to help but very rarely.
ReplyDeleteI have been hearing about the Standford experiment my whole life but I think people are just evil when they feel anonymous. That is why I hate big concerts.
Anyway National Geographic does it again, great show. I have never seen the actual Standford video spooky. I have seen a famous picture of "John Wayne" with his mirrored sunglasses and his big boots both up on a desk. He looks very evil.
M.D. IV