Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Should the United States of America torture people?

Plan9 · 03-19-2008, 04:12 AM

Maybe torture itself isn't the main problem. The erosion of morality scares me more.

If it's okay to torture somebody BUT ONLY IF... then the BUT ONLY IF becomes less and less severe over time as torture becomes more commonplace and more "accepted" by the people in the public eye. "Oh, I don't care. It's not me. I'm a good citizen of East Asia." This isn't to suggest that covert torture will change and we'd be foolish to assume that Uncle Sam hasn't shoved a few bamboo slivers up some fingernails to get a few names in the last 20 years.

Once you let known torture become acceptable for one specific reason... say terrorism... human nature takes over and suddenly you've got 120V nipple clamps and are gettin' sweated out downtown about those parking violations from last year... and all in the name of stopping "traffic terrorism."

03-19-2008, 04:12 AM	#8 (permalink)
Plan9 I Confess a Shiver	Maybe torture itself isn't the main problem. The erosion of morality scares me more. If it's okay to torture somebody BUT ONLY IF... then the BUT ONLY IF becomes less and less severe over time as torture becomes more commonplace and more "accepted" by the people in the public eye. "Oh, I don't care. It's not me. I'm a good citizen of East Asia." This isn't to suggest that covert torture will change and we'd be foolish to assume that Uncle Sam hasn't shoved a few bamboo slivers up some fingernails to get a few names in the last 20 years. Once you let known torture become acceptable for one specific reason... say terrorism... human nature takes over and suddenly you've got 120V nipple clamps and are gettin' sweated out downtown about those parking violations from last year... and all in the name of stopping "traffic terrorism." __________________ *Whatever you can carry.* "You should not drink... and bake." Last edited by Plan9; 03-19-2008 at 04:15 AM..