Why are there STILL people that believe torture is ok?

Question

As I see it, there are two major problems with using torture to attain information from suspected terrorists.

First, it is unreliable. I assure you, if you torture ME long enough, I will admit to flying a plane into the Pentagon or any other heinous act you want me to confess to...even if it was physically impossible for me to have commited the act.

Second, and more importantly, the main thing that makes America and it's people great is our high moral and ethical values....and when our goverment tortures people....even people out to kill us, we are no better than the terrorists we fight.
But still, I would like your opinion.

Answer 1

They don't understand why torture is illegal and morally repulsive.They deny it's unreliable.They think only BAD people will be tortured.They don't realize once you open that door you,me or anyone could be next.
They are too spoiled and uninformed to understand why civil liberties exist and why people fought and died to get and keep them.
How can you,we ever claim victory against Muslim or any other fascists if we end up with anything less than a free and law abiding civilization where human and civil rights are respected.
They want to destroy our free way of life,they won't have to work very hard if we give it away ourselves

Answer 2

1. Your first premise is incorrect. Torture is done properly and with talent, and not too much pain, just enough, and then you check the information against known facts and others that are being interrogated simultaneously. It does work. Read CIA studies.
2. Someone must have told you that war is a glorious thing!? It's not. It is bloody chaos! It is hell and damnation lived over and over by all survivors for a lifetime. And doing anything to prevent a bunch of young people (can't say 'men' anymore) from two different sides from laying down in the mud (or dust) and killing and maiming one another until one side's leaders give up is fine with me. Doing what is necessary to stop one is fine too. Become like the other side? Hell no. Become worse than them, so that you may survive and then allow your wounded morality to heal and your naive sensibilities to grow again.

Answer 3

I`m ok with certain types of torture if it saves lives here in the west but the PC guys want to talk nice think that would work being nice won`t work if yah have to zap em with a few thousand volts so be it lite em up , keep em awake for a few weeks ,slap em around , force them to listen to Celine Dion Barb Striesand sing for 24 hrs straight .

Answer 4

oh sure its great to say america is on some high moral horse but the truth is that we are not and actually we fail our citizens in so may ways i've lost count, yet this fact is too hard to swallow and so when the topic is brought up most people sucumb to some stupid cliche like, "if you dont like ti, get out", well no, we should change. but as far as torture goes, that is one classic "american" way brute stupid force, we are like the bullies on the play ground who want the swing, i want it now!!!! no wonder we fight with the rest of the world our values are twisted and often our ablitiy to see clearly is clouded, i dont support torture but i dont think it will ever change... have you ever tried to talk to a marine or a navy seal or any of the armed forces elite? they are so set in thier ways in in one way of doing something that there is no better judgement to use there is only one way to get what you need.....sadly

Answer 5

What goes around comes around. While that may sound very childish and naive, I think it applies here. I have no problem that the people who are over in Iraq decapitating our troops and innocent people are being tortured. I am not trying to justify torture what-so-ever, but in those circumstances I have no problem.

Answer 6

I agree with you completely, but here is the difference between the two types of human beings in the United States.

Those who value money and those who value humanity. Those who value humanity do whatever they can to save humans and do what is morally right immediately. Those who value money don't necessarily not value humanity, but they see money as a way to get there first.

Those who value money are those who torture. They see it as potentially protecting their country which in turn will preserve humanity in their country. They are not all bad, they just have their priorities different than those who value life first.

Cons for the two:
Those who value life rarely get far in life, achieve much, and live on a style of ethics, i.e. not very comfortably.

Those who value money do get that comfortable lifestyle and give it to those who surround them. However, they often have complex steps to achieve this and can be seen as inhumane.


This is VERY opinionated, so take it with a grain of salt.


But the fact that people use the argument "They did that to us, so we're repaying the favor" is ridiculously immature. We are Americans. We are better than that. There is always a way around a situation without having to resort to such inhumane tactics.

Answer 7

I see a big plus though..!

as a scare tactic against the enemy or potential enemies!

never mind information or anything else, the sole fact that if they would get capture they would not be:

a-treated nice,
b- not hurt

but would be tortured with lots of pain and suffering would deter many into not either attacking us or becoming terrorist against us, etc, I guarantee it.

but by us been "nice", and "playing by the rules" makes us seem weak and puss... like in their eyes.

I would torture just to show that if you survive an attack and are captured by us you will NOT have a good time! you would be in hell on earth courtesy of us!

they already do horrible things to our people, and in a fight you better be as bad as your opponent or worse if you want to win!

Just like Gene Hackman in "Unforgiven" : "I am going to have to hurt you now, but not gentile like before...but bad....!"

it is that simple!

Answer 8

It's human nature. When one feels and is convinced that the other party has done something terrible and is wrong, with enough reinforcement from people with same views the anger and probably frustration makes people behave in this manner and i don't think they are able to stop and think rationally about the given situation.

Answer 9

As long as we see the coercion and force of the psychiatric psycho-social-court systems as okay we will always see torture and abuse as okay if we admit that or not.

Answer 10

Sorry, I don't know the answer to that, but in a way I could understand doing that to terrorists who have done that to our troops.