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the stanford prison experiment

MsSage

Well-known member
Ya know correctional officers do a very hard job. If you ask any police/sheriff if they would work down in the pods they will tell you VERY FAST not no but Hail NO.
Yes part of the "experiment" is correct BUT to paint with such a wide brush only puts co's under more stress and negitive sterotype.
If you want to "call attention" to the problems of working in a prison how about working a week in one. Hail depending on the week you could only work 3 days. At the most it will be 4 unless you want to work Over time. Most shifts are 12 hours but really come out to 13.5-15.
You will have to deal with drug addicts who are either high or coming down looking for their next fix...YES there are drugs in prison. So have issues with dealing with anger...LOL they want to do what they want WHEN THEY want to NOT when it is schedualed or if they are even allowed. You can deal with drunks who can and do get poisoned and your the one who has to do cpr .....have you ever seen someone who dies/ dying from drug or achohol poisoning? They foam at the mouth and have convoltions. You had also better have atleast 2 other officers watching your back or you will end up laying next to the inmate.

Now you have to deal with the public who thinks your nothing more than a hired thug who takes great delight in bullying misunderstood young men.

For all the officers out there who keep these convicted felons where they belong and YOU safe do a bit more checking and talk to a few CO's who have walked the runs and keep going back to keep your family safe.
 

MsSage

Well-known member
It was required reading when I went to High School along with Slaughterhouse-Five, and Fahrenheit 451.

But I also know that its a persons CHOICE how to act and react.
All you have to do is THINK and look around to see the big picture.
 

beethoven

Well-known member
how people act and react is sometimes influenced by the context. that is the point here. how people behave by themselves vs. in small groups, in society, it may be situational. or not.

some people may be more or less prone to situational ethics or values in their conduct or behaviour, esp. in some environments where one has more power and the other, less.
 

MsSage

Well-known member
aaaahhhhh yeah, so if people are in a situation and others are doing wrong it relives them of personal responsiblity so they can do the same even knowing its wrong............
 

beethoven

Well-known member
perhaps you are missing the point, i cant be sure.

what works for you may not work for me. sarcasm on serious subjects is not my thing.
 

MsSage

Well-known member
I get the point very well.
I am not being sarcastic.
I know my job and I know what gets officers hurt. I have seen many officers walked off due to "situational ethics" I have seen officers beat down for power trips. I have also seen harden long time convicts protect officers.

It takes a very strong ethical person to be a good officer and there are many who walk the runs everyday. Those who can not remain consistant even in the face of constant influence by master manipulators put officers and the public in danger.

You are using a wide brush and excusses to allow the removal of personal responsiblity.

When you have sworn to protect life you have a greater responsiblity and have to keep constant vigil on your actions and put yourself aside.
This is not some game or experiment. There are real life consequences to your actions......it could cost someone thier life.
 

beethoven

Well-known member
people who mind their manners get along much better.

what i may feel about morals or ethics hasnt been stated as you imply.

go read elsewhere.
 

C-E

Well-known member
HeI personally find this study a joke. How can you compare this to a real prison? Gaurds have no training and get to make their own rules with no one to answer to. The only "consultant" is an ex-con. I do realize a lot of things changed between the time this study was conducted and the time I was a correctional officer (2005-2008), which greatly improved prisoner rights and treatment. To me this study is about power management, only prison correlation I see is bars, uniforms and numbers.

CO's have a hard and thankless job. And are often misunderstood (most people only see the inside of a prison on tv.) There are bad gaurds however they are weeded out very fast and are loathed by good gaurds. I believe anyone who wants to criticize CO's should spend an 8 hour shift in uniform on the yard.

I also find it very funny you post on a public forum yet when someone disagrees with you, your feelings get hurt and you tell them to "go read elsewhere"
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
Mr. Lilly has been a correctional officer for almost 19 years now. The main thing he's learned thru out this whole experience is...."if you treat them as you would want to be treated, no matter what they are in there for, then everthing works out a whole lot better" Kinda has the ring of....."Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" doesnt it? Does he give preferencial treatment...? NO he does not.... everyone has to follow the rules. He just treats them all as people instead of a number. He's had a few run ins over the years, but nothing major, even tho he worked for years in the segregation (where alot of the higher up gang members are kept along with the worst of the worst in prison) Yes in that department things are done differently. On a daily basis inmates chunk on you.....along with numerous other nasty stuff. He worked seg for 9 years I think it was.... He went from there to the trustee camp....big difference there. Now he supervises inmates that work in the machine shop. Actually likes his position now, but will be real glad when another 13 or so months have passed and he has his 20 years in. Will be the day he leaves with full retirement.

What alot of people find hard to believe is....prison officers don't carry billy clubs, or guns. They are un armed. (yes picket guards on the corners of the buildings have guns, mounted guards with inmates working out in the fields have guns, and the guys in the buses that transport them from one place to another have a gun) But other than those....there are no officers inside the prison with a gun.

I did read the 'study' posted....and personally think it was not in any way shape or form an accurate study since none of the 'officers' were trained. There were alot of things that they did to the inmates that is not 'standard proceedure'(at least not now days when someone enters a prison facility) maybe it was back then...... But it more reminds me of the "reality" shows that I've seen where 10 people are put together in a house and they become totally different, arguing, fighting, just downright nasty to each other.
 

burnt

Well-known member
the_jersey_lilly_2000 said:
,..... But it more reminds me of the "reality" shows that I've seen where 10 people are put together in a house and they become totally different, arguing, fighting, just downright nasty to each other.

From reading how the experiment was set up and conducted, it was indeed closer to a "reality show" than a scientific experiment. Practically worthless, really, in demonstrating anything.
 

kris

Well-known member
Lilly---I am with you!!! My dad (RIP, pappy!!) was a Correctional Officer at Montana's maximum security facility for 23 years before he was forced into retirement due to health reasons!! He was there the day of the 1991 riot that left 5 inmates dead, numerous injured and a half a dozen other officers (who were holed up for their own safety) emotionally scarred!! He was assaulted, spit on, called names, had feces flung his way.....i could go on and on and on and on!!! He stayed with the job for 23 years because it was good, honest, hard work that paid the mortgage and kept food in the bellies of his kids!! Yes, he worked with other officers who tried to live up to the image of a "thug", but most were honest men and women who just wanted to do their job and go home to their families at the end of the shift!! My dad was a good, fair, honest man who also lived by the motto "do unto others...."....he did not believe that his job was to "punish" the inmate!! He was simply there to make sure they stayed where they belonged....behind bars!! He was firm, fair and consistent with the inmates and eventually earned their respect! Yes, you have "bad apples" in EACH AND EVERY OCCUPATION (this nurse has seen her fair share of these rotten fruit), but the rest should NOT be judged by the few!!! Mr Lilly---keep your chin up and stay the course!!! Lilly----be proud of the fact that your man HAS a job (not something that everyone can claim in this economy) and that he does it well and fairly!!!!
 

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