Stanley Milgrim's experiment sheds some much needed light on the human psyche. About 88% of us (both men and women) have fantasized about murdering someone. However, upon seeing the impact that violence has on the victims, the numbers decrease. Upon being told that they must continue to carry out the experiment, the numbers decrease further. Many different attributes can inflict a difference in the numbers, but statistics will remain statistics. But would this experiment change if the victim was someone so hated, that possibly a high-voltage electrical shock is deserved? A few names come to mind; Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, George W. Bush, or the New England Patriots when they lost the Superbowl (this is obviously a joke, the Patriots are an exceptional group of people). Would you be more inclined to press the button? Would you be inclined to press it repeatedly? Imagine the joy you can experience by avenging the many people that have been trampled on. Or you can imagine the tragic pain that you will be responsible for inflicting upon a fellow human being.
Let's use someone mentioned in the "The Bad Show"; Gary Ridgway, better known as the "Green River Killer." Presumed to have killed over 90 women, most of which were prostitutes, he has been given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Now, let's picture him as the victim of Milgrim's experiment. He no longer is bestowed the title of an "innocent victim." Perhaps the person conducting the experiment, and therefore presses the button, is given Ridgway's prior history and is well aware of his murders. They'd be more likely to press the button, and therefore uphold the pride in knowing they have avenged the many deaths that he has caused. Assume you were friends, or related to a female that was killed in Ridgway's actions. How would the typical human then react? Possibly even more willing to cause pain upon him, neglecting their morals and ethical integrity to redeem what has been lost. Pacifist views would likely be ignored, momentarily. As humans, we tend to feel a sense of guilt when watching one of our own kind suffer. But this can be altered with giving reason to cause violence, in an attempt for people to right a wrongdoing. Ironically, electrocuting a human with potentially enough power to kill him is not ethically right. "Two wrongs do not make a right," but as humans our willingness to do wrong is increased when we are given the potential to achieve revenge.
Maybe violence is not the answer to our problems. Some people have never harmed a fly, so to speak. In all seriousness, how reluctant is the human population to kill a fellow being? Milgrim's experiment would surely give people the overall power to kill; altering the victim to meet the needs of revenge could drastically change the overall aspect of murder being justified based on the victim's actions. Could you stand to watch another human suffer, foaming at the mouth and violently shaking from the impact of the electrical voltage? Or would you watch, satisfied with knowing that what you have done is in memory of the unfortunately murdered? Would you press the button and end the life of a human (a human with the possibility to change his actions and better himself while living in the custody of federal prison; a fate better than death)? Or would you be ready to press that button at any given moment, enthusiastic to send the bastard to hell where he belongs. Everyone is different, and has their own personal opinions. What they think, and what actions they would actually carry out is unknown.
What would you do?
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