Stanford Prison Experiment Thursday, July 19, 2007
Posted by Lars Almquist in Justice.add a comment
Oh man, how unchecked power corrupts….Here are two videos chronicling the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo. Note the striking Guantanamo / Abu Ghraib similarities in the captives’ response to their captivity in the face of the abuse of power…. it’s sickening what evil ‘good’ people can unleash on each other, justified under the guise of authority and legitimacy.
You can create in the prisoners feelings of boredom, a sense of fear to some degree, you can create a notion of arbitrariness that their life is totally controlled by us, by the system, you, me, and they’ll have no privacy… We’re going to take away their individuality in various ways. In general what all this leads to is a sense of powerlessness. That is, in this situation we’ll have all the power and they’ll have none.
— The Stanford Prison Study video, quoted in Haslam & Reicher, 2003.
Obama’s Opening Statement at NAACP Annual Convention Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Posted by Lars Almquist in Obama.add a comment
Jim Valvano on Life, Cancer Sunday, July 15, 2007
Posted by Lars Almquist in Health.add a comment
Tonight were ESPN’s ESPY Awards. Fourteen years ago, Jim Valvano gave the following amazing speech in the midst of his battle with cancer. Valvano passed away two months later. May his passion for life and for fighting cancer continue through us.
This Week in God Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Posted by Lars Almquist in Humor, Uncategorized.add a comment
Voluntary Displacement Monday, July 9, 2007
Posted by Lars Almquist in Global Interest, Jesus.add a comment
It’s not really that hard. It just requires a bit of self awareness mixed with a little compassion and a willingness to live for something greater than yourself. And for a brief theological view of displacement, consult Philippians 2.
The Most Interesting Man in the World Saturday, July 7, 2007
Posted by Lars Almquist in Humor.1 comment so far
I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. Ok, so Dos Equis is a crappy beer, but perhaps putting out the best commercial on television. Way to redeem manhood consumeristic-beer-advertisers… But seriously, look at the trend in commercials to define manliness via consumer-oriented products and the identity conferred upon men who consume them. Unbelievable the depths to which companies will go to manipulate the identities of consumers, and the reality that we as consumers learn to associate ourselves with products to validate who we are…or at least who we want to be. What a vicious cycle. Yet it produces some damn good commercials… And in another tribute to manliness… Feel the man-power… And one of my favorites. This must have cost $6 to make, but it’s a glorious commercial….in the manipulative ‘what it means to be a commodified corporate-defined man’ sort of way. I’m still looking for an online copy of the new attempt by Dial (the soap company), to man-ify body wash in their “Maintenance for Your Mansuit” commercial….to be updated later…
