There, But For the Grace of God...

An article in Salon today asks, of the situation in the Abu Ghraib prison, "How Could Women Do That?"

Since it's the 21st century, can we just finally admit that women are not, as a group, any more or less civilized than men? That second X chromosome does not contain the polite gene. Ovaries do not inoculate against boorish behavior. For goodness sake, Comedy Central has an entire show devoted to "Girls Behaving Badly." The question we should be asking is not how women could do that, but how could anyone do that?

I have a very optimistic view of humanity on the whole. I believe that people will do what they believe is right. This is a belief borne out of denial; the idea that people would do something even if they knew it was not right has implications for society far beyond anything I am willing to consider. Dr. Stanley Milgram proved, using experiments later deemed unethical, that people will do pretty much whatever someone in a position of authority tells them to do, even if empirical observations indicate that doing so harms someone else. Of course, I will deny empirical evidence, too. I know about Dr. Milgram's results, and I've heard and seen some of the horrible things people do to one another. I know that the world is not necessarily a safe place, yet I continue to believe in the innate goodness of all humanity--not just women--because to stop believing that, I would have to admit that the only reason for my continued happy-go-lucky existence is that no one has decided to tell someone else to end it. If I had to admit that, I would never leave my house again.