Shaker Aamer, a British citizen, who was recently released from Guantanamo talked about his experience in that hellish prison.
The psychological torture was the worst for Aamer. He mentioned the pain from physical torture would go away eventually. However, being psychologically manipulated, “You feel like every time they find something new to do.”This revealing testimony of his physical and mental torture over the past 14 years offers a graphic illustration of a fascist mindset that has infected the Empire's ruling class. It is challenging to read material like this without having a negative attitude toward the nature of humans. All sensitive humans are embarrassed by such reports. Yet, I think this taps into a profound and common orientation of humanity's relationship to the world that we simply must question.
“Their goal is to scare you, to make you submit, make you understand that if you refuse to comply with the orders it means you are going to get this punishment all the time,” Aamer additionally claimed.
“They want you to submit to them. They want you to understand that they are overpowering you and you have no right to say yes or no, just do what they tell you, even if its a silly thing, a little thing like an apple stem.”
Given this testimony, it makes sense that Aamer believes Guantanamo is run by doctors and psychologists.
“Guantanamo’s been built on how to destroy a human being totally, how to damage him mentally, physically, spiritually,” Aamer declared in the ITV interview. “It’s a program that’s been designed by psychologists. I assure you that I can prove to the world who runs Guantanamo is not a military administration. It’s doctors [and] psychologists.”
One effect that civilization has promoted is a deep detachment from other humans, and indeed from nature itself. Thus such a mindset easily succumbs to the use of force to dominate both other humans and nature that especially characterizes the worst aspects of civilization that we see reported daily. Such a perspective promotes sociopathy among the morally weakest, or least socialized, of humans.
This profound evil effect has been observed and commented on by many to the extent that some even condemn civilization itself and has caused them to argue that humans must return to some more idyllic primeval existence. This, to me, is a most foolish idea. Such people have very little idea of what life would be like under such conditions. No--it's too much like the idea of throwing out the baby with the bath water because the latter is soiled. However, we are left with what to do about this "soiled bath water". This concern is often expressed with variations on this theme: "Any society (one can substitute "civilization" or "government", etc) should be judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens", and then a moral condemnation is followed with reference to a specific entity.
I don't have a definitive answer to this question, but I think that the continued existence of humans depends on how, or if, this challenging question is solved. It appears to me that once one surrenders to the perspective that sees themselves and reality in terms of subject and object, one can easily succumb to a kind of pure utilitarian relationship to others and to nature. Then one can easily be led to engage in all kinds of horrible crimes against other humans and nature that is illustrated most dramatically in the history of fascism, the most extreme authoritarian form of capitalism. I think the general solution lies in our ability to see ourselves correctly as a part of the web of life and nature. Only then will we be able to treat each other and all of nature with respect. Only then can we humans live in peace with each other and survive in nature.
More specifically speaking, I am convinced that capitalism systematizes this utilitarian kind of relationship to the world, and that is why I have devoted most of my life to destroying the system of capitalism and replacing it with one that reflects the true reality of existence.
