Voices
collection of the condemning photos. I believe I was able to show,
to demonstrate, with a variety of
evidence, how Sgt. Chip Frederick, like the other MPs, fell under
the spell of a situation that was
created by some “Bad Barrel Makers.” This was a system of power
that mismanaged the prison, combined with a narrow-minded military leadership and a war-focused
presidential cabinet. All the MPs
received dishonorable discharges,
some with long prison sentences,
while their officers were never
tried. They did not even receive
letters of reprimand for their
“command complicity” in abuses
that went on under their watch
for three solid months.
I summarized all that I had
learned about this torture center,
as well as the first full presentation of the Stanford Prison Experiment in my 2008 book, The Lucifer Effect. That same year, I was
invited to present my ideas (worth
spreading) at the TED Conference.
It was difficult to contain all these
ideas into the tight, 18-minute
limit that is the TED signature,
despite practicing on the main
stage earlier. I am a 60-minute
academic dude, but I would try
my best to squeeze into that slot.
DR. PHILIP
ZIMBARDO
HUFFINGTON
03.17.13
But, just as I was racing toward
the end, shifting focus and asking
the audience how ordinary people
can act heroically, the bell sounded with no time on the clock.
I swear that I felt the audience
simultaneously hold a collective
inhalation. Just then my deus ex
machina ascended the stage to tell
the audience that he had heard
the rehearsal and that what was
Would an evil place that
was populated with only good
people dominate and corrupt
them, or would humanity win
out and keep them decent and
caring despite such a situation?”
coming was too important to stop
now, so he would violate policy
and allow me a few more minutes.
With that temporal reprieve from
Chris Anderson, TED major domo,
the audience exhaled and I raced
on for five more minutes with
the good news ending: that it was
possible to inspire people, especially our youth, to learn how to
transform compassion into heroic
action. Standing ovation.
Having nearly fainted from hy-