The Stanford Experiment

“Never again,” we say.

Those things can’t be repeated.

“We set our face against him,

and Hitler was defeated.”

 

Are you sure?

 

If sweet-talking you

could make it come true,

I would hand you the world

on a silver platter …

but what would it matter?

 

Life isn’t always Garry Keillor.

It’s Rwanda, too.  Sabra and Shatila.

The key you’re holding

won’t fit my door.

And you’re not welcome

any more.

 

Just picture this, my friend.

Almost in sight of the Alcatraz ferry,

the sunny August of seventy-one,

a couple miles from Haight-Ashbury

something heavy has begun

-- and we’re not talking Tom and Jerry.

 

You used me and abused me

till I felt like I wanted to die.

You created a need in me

that only you can satisfy.

 

Well-heeled campus kids

make fifteen bucks a day

playing guards and prisoners

-- but is it really play?

 

I wondered hard

‘tween twelve and one:

I asked my God,

“What have I done?”

 

These guards love Cohen, Dylan,

Che Guevarra, Mao, Durruti --

but now they’re volunteering

for unpaid extra duty.

 

He spits into my food tray

for nothing more than spite.

Hear him whip the women

just around midnight.

 

You’d be surprised

what humans do.

Hippies can be Nazis, too.

 

Author's Note

(1) The Stanford Experiment: For six days in mid-August, 1971, at Stanford University near San Francisco, a psychological experiment was conducted in which students took on the roles of prisoners and prison guards. The experiment had to be cut short, because the guards were indulging in unhealthily sadistic behavior.
(2) Garry Keillor: The humorist Garrison Keillor is probably best-known for his comic novel “Lake Wobegon Days” (1985), a gentle and affectionate study of a small Midwestern town.
(3) Rwanda: In this African state, in 1994, the Tutsi tribe was massacred by its enemies, the Hutus. Estimates vary as to the extent of the genocide, but the number of murdered people cannot be less than half a million. What did we do about it?
(4) Sabra and Shatila: Over a period of 50 hours in mid-Spetember, 1981, some 3,500 Shi’ites were butchered to death in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, Lebanon. The Israeli armed forces connived at the slaughter. No-one has ever faced genocide or war crimes charges.
(5) Haight-Ashbury: This is the neighborhood of San Francisco where the “summer of love” hippie phenomenon occurred in 1967.
(6) Durruti: Buenaventura Durruti (1896-1936) was a leading Spanish anarchist and participant in that country’s civil war.
(7) How many hit songs from 1971 did you spot?

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A interesting poem.
"You’d be surprised
what humans do.
Hippies can be Nazis, too."
I remember the experience. Showed how we can fall to the wrong things. Human nature can be black and cold. Great meaning and thoughts create by the amazing poetry.
Coyote

[Arezzo]

I want to thank you for this very nice, generous review. And yes, we have a dark side ... something we should try not to forget. Thanks again: I appreciate your comments!

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome. A amazing write.