I followed a link from Wonkette to a USA Today/Gallup poll, to question number 36, right before a question on the National Hockey League possibly canceling its upcoming season. It asks what forms of torture (their exact word) Americans think are "right" or "wrong."
Like Wonkette, I was glad to see that 82 percent felt that "Strapping prisoners on boards and forcing their heads underwater until they think they are drowning" is wrong, although also like her, I worry about those other 18 percent.
Forty-nine percent think depriving prisoners of sleep for several days is right. Threatening to send them to countries where torture is common is also fine, according to 35 percent of them. Twenty-nine percent think threatening them with dogs is ok, as is sexual fondling (12 percent) and "Forcing prisoners to remain naked and chained in uncomfortable positions in cold rooms for several hours" (18 percent).
In question 34, 39 percent advocated torturing "known terrorists."
I am glad those numbers aren't higher, but with the exception of the vague "threatening with dogs," which to some non-dog people and without a more specific definition could possibly be considered acceptable by someone I'd still be willing to sit down and have a chat with, I've been confronted with a harsh reality: I wasn't anywhere near as cynical as I thought I was. I honestly thought that only a small number of borderline-sociopaths would ever state that they believe torture was a good thing.
America: A really great idea for a country. We ought to try it sometime.
Comments