Why don't americans care about prisoner abuse?

[zeek]

I understand why they didn't raise much of an eyebrow over Abu Graib. Bush and Rumsfeld successfully convinced americans that is was an isolated incedent perpetrated by rogue soldiers. A claim which I and most of the rest of the world don't believe.

That doesn't explain though why americans could care less about the prisoners in Cuba. The Red Cross (that organization formerly run by Senator Dole) said our interrogation techniques are abusive and USA today has a front page article which says the FBI warned the Pentagon the tactics were wrong. But no one seems to care.

The talk at work today centered around the steroid scandal, the problems with college football bowl system and next months porn convention in Vegas. The news shows have only given lip service to it.

Do amricans just not care any more?

[LoZoccolo]

1. They think it helps, plus it doesn't affect them.

Basic slob American mentality. They don't care about poor citizens - why would they care about people in jail?

[knowbody0]

7. IMHO usa jails mirror abu ghraib

[HR_Pufnstuf]

2. Americans don't like re-runs.

When it first broke 6 or so months ago, alot of peeps cared, but since the MSM didnt let it go too high up the chain of command, and blamed it on a few rogue pranksters, peeps forget. When it comes up again, its just a re-run. Americans live in a TV mentality.

[Disturbed]

4. They're all TERRORISTS!!!!

Why should good Amerikans care about those TERRORISTS?

[AwakeAtLast]

3. I've heard more than my share of people say

"They deserve it!" They say this without seeing the conditions under which these prisoners were taken. They say this without knowing who these people are. They say this without caring about them as individuals. They are brainwashed so much by our administration that they don't much care about anyone, let alone some brown person held in a federal prison. To them it's Geneva scmeneva!

[knowbody0]

5. at first they did

but were desensatized by the repeat repeat repeat.talking heads talking talking. the senate hearings received coverage, then it died. pentagon dealing with it keeps the public away. what we saw was minimal, hirsch says much much worse evidence not made public.
911 terrified americans, this was a blow, but with media coverage (psy-op) we are supposed to be lulled into submission. scott peterson, the NBA are diversions. la la la la la.
we care, the world cares. our elected officials are our employees but appear impotent these days.

[Solly Mack]

6. self-centered.callous.in denial.ignorant.vindictive.petty.cruel

many reasons....just none of them good.

[BlueEyedSon]

8. They don't care about much of anything

* Constitutional law like separation of church & state

* The environment/global warming

* the economy & the dollar

* civil rights (vs the PATRIOT ACT)

* Gov't corruption/crony capitalism

* whether they will have a Soc Sec check in their old age

etc......

[SlavesandBulldozers]

9. they attacked us on 9/11

so why should we care? These people are animals and we treat them likewise.

/knuckledragging freep mode off/

[atreides1]

10. Only The Beginning

What you and others are seeing now, is the same thing that the German people under Hitler saw, and the Russian people saw under Stalin.

Get used to it, because from here it will only get worse.

With the Bush Justice Department backing the displaying of the Ten Commandments, because of "religions defining affect on America", look
at an attempt to establish a state religion.

For all those who cannot see the writing on the wall, it's time to take off the rose colored glasses. If people still feel like the "true Republicans" are going to join with the Democrats in Congress to turn this whole mess around, then I have some beach front property I'd like to sell you here in Arizona, at least it will be beach front property when California falls into the sea.

Bush has the MSM, corporations, and even the so-called "true Republicans" locked up in his corner. And it won't be long before some Democrats jump ship to create an atmosphere of "bi-partisanship",
just so they can hold on to their seats in Congress.

I myself would like nothing better then to see everything I've said here disproven, but I really don't believe it will be. We won't move as fast as the Germans did, but we will be there before these next 4 years are over.

God help us all :(

[Skittles]

11. same reason they don't care about stolen elections and illegal wars

they don't know the real truth about what is going on and why they SHOULD care. Too busy watching reality TV and buying useless crap from Wal-mart.

[Ironpost]

12. We care we scream,

but few hear.

[mmonk]

13. Propaganda

All middle eastern people are terrorists who are going to attack us to the death (no co-existence) and they are doing it because they are Islamic. This is what they think. Thus, their humanity is gone.

[indepat]

14. Should your thesis be correct, what does it say about us as a people,

and we the people did indeed ratify this and all the rest of the entire kit and caboodle of Administration actions with a ringing, unambigous, and unmistaken clarity?

[shrike]

15. They're just a bunch of ragheads

I've heard people say that.

[amazona]

16. they don't care about prisoner abuse right here in the U.S.

Asking Americans to care about Iraqi or Afghani prisoners is a stretch, seeing as how most Americans could care less about prisoner abuse in their own hometowns. Most people laugh and joke about prisoners being raped and infected with HIV/AIDS. It is very discouraging.

[sweetheart]

26. American prisons are worse

God forbid the red cross inspect american prisons, where rape and
horrible human rights violations get the green light from a culture
of abuse. Them foreigners got it easy in them fancy digs in cuba...
regular 'merican folk are getting screwed in every prison in every
state... and nobody gives a toss.

Human rights watch has this report:
http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/usa/incarceration/

Its not particularly inspiring, to say the least.

[Hamlette]

17. it's humiliating, just like the whole war is humiliating

which is why they voted for Bush. They know in their hearts the war is wrong but they can't admit it, can't say it out loud. So, they vote for Bush in the off chance he's right and it was the right thing to do.

Same thing happened in Vietnam. 50% of us were against it from 1968 on but getting out, admitting you killed all those Americans, to say nothing of the innocent Vietnamese, for nothing is very difficult to do.

[theriverburns]

18. americans could care less about the prisoners in Cuba

American's couldn't care less about prisoners right here in the US.

If I were a US prisoner, I think I'd rather be in Abu Ghraib than a US maximum security hellhole.

[hollowdweller]

19. People say "that's war. It's always happened" but when it happens to our

guys they are outraged. People make me sick.

[bobthedrummer]

20. Torture can be used to detain U.S. enemies (Guardian)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4650168,00.html

Gonzales, the AG candidate, deemed The Geneva Conventions "quaint".

on edit: because we are now in the formation of a truly fascist empire.

[Protagoras]

21. Americans don't care about much

Torture, debt, lack of education, being hated around the world, losing their democracy....none of it matters.

Because we have our TV sets. Give us survivor and Desperate Housewives and we can worry about all that crap out there tomorrow...if it doesn't conflict with the regularly scheduled program.

Ever feel like the running man?

[Regedit]

22. Start with the facts if you wish to sway

Opinions...... Tell us when "Senator Dole" ran the the "Red Cross"???

If we wish to change minds, it would help if we knew what we are talking about.......

[bobthedrummer]

25. Well I'll be non-plussed, welcome to DU, Regedit!

:hi:

[ComerPerro]

34. Google is your friend

This was the very first result I returned.

http://www.iastate.edu/~cccatt/e%20dole.html

First paragraph of the first page of the first result returned by Google:

Elizabeth Hanford Dole has had a long career in public service. She has served in significant positions for five presidents, including being the first woman to hold the position of Secretary of Transportation. In 1991 Dole was appointed President of the American Red Cross, the world's foremost humanitarian organization. She resigned to seek the Republican nomination for president in 1999. In 2002, she is running in North Carolina for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

[newyawker99]

36. Hi Regedit!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[KnowerOfLogic]

23. Caring is silly and gay; didn't you get the memo? nt

[Regedit]

24. Again, facts matter

We gripe about "lack of education" then post 22 replys without noting that "Senator Dole" Never ran the Red Cross...... hhhhmmmm, who are we fooling?????

[bunkerbuster1]

27. major malfunction much?

Elizabeth Dole did run the Red Cross. She stepped down in '99 to run for Senator.

What's your problem?

[EstimatedProphet]

28. We have been getting indoctrinated that "arrest"="guilt"

through real-life crime shows like "COPS". Americans now typically have a gut-level feeling that if someone is arrested, they must be guilty, otherwise why would they have been arrested? Along with that is the unstated idea with many people that if someone has committed a crime, then they should be punished regardless of whether the punishment is unfair or inhumane, since people that commit crimes are by nature bad and committing a crime is therefore choosing to be bad. It's a very black/white simple stupidified way to think about the issues, and it leads people to not care about the ramifications of how justice is administered.

[DrWeird]

29. Bigotry. Plain and simple.

As long as it happens to muslims people are fine with it.

Same reason germans didn't care about the concentration camps.

[SmokingJacket]

30. Yes.

This is exactly it.

[Doomsayer13]

31. not white people = terrorist

the formula is simple and it's easier than rationalizing this goddamn travesty of a war.

[Catfight]

32. Caring is one thing, being helpless regarding the situation is another.

I care deeply, but what can I do about it? I've called my senators, I've complained to my congress representatives, and yet, it's never the leading story of the day. The leading story is something silly everyday and journalism has lost credibility.

[AmandaRuth]

33. my first reaction after reading your message

was because the right's control of the language and message is so great that even our side is falling it for it. Abuse? Animals are abused, we abuse our own bodies by smoking and eating junk food. Abuse (when compared to torture) is a nice and fluffy word that can mean anything on a scale of 1 to 10 and while it could be bad, at least it's not torture. Americans abuse, Nazi's torture, right?

[EstimatedProphet]

37. That's a really good point

I wonder about that myself when I hear about the prison "abuse" scandal. Abuse is bad, but come on! People DIED! That goes way past making them strip in public or something equivalent to "abuse".

[ComerPerro]

35. Because, they don't really care about Iraq anyway

They don't care about the people of Iraq. They don't care if we "liberate" them, and they sure as fuck didn't care when Saddam (as Reagan and Bush I's ally) was killing them. They didn't care about international terrorism until it hit us on 9/11. And they still don't care when terrorism strikes places other than the US.

They don't care about any of this. They don't give a shit. They only reason they like to pretend that they care about the Iraqi people is because it makes them feel good about themselves.