That was the name of my 2009 rap album, written and produced in my own head, to convince people that torture is wrong. Who doesn't believe in the healing power of rap? My rapper name was Golddiggah.
It was a joke concept between a friend and I, to cope with my very difficult job at an agency called The Program for Torture Victims in Los Angeles which served an asylum-seeking population who fled state-sponsored torture in their home countries. I was witness to some pretty dramatic PTSD, people with severe emotional and physical scars, and I worked alongside people who dedicated their professional lives to providing medical care and therapy to these victims. The clinicians provided detailed research and reports to agencies studying the use of torture, the after-effects, and the potential for recovery. Torture has been studied extensively around the world, so there is excellent and legitimate proof that it's not a necessary tactic and benefits don't outweigh repercussions. Not even close.
One of the most important factoids that human rights activists attempt to convey is that torture rarely works. Information gleaned from torture sessions is information given out in desperation and under extreme duress. That would have been the most important message from my rap album, too. Golddiggah had much to say about the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 and the Geneva Convention.
Example: if my husband thinks I'm angry with something he's done, he will literally offer up anything to make that go away, even preposterous things like getting me a pet monkey or moving to Mongolia to spice up our lives, and it's the same concept.
While difficult, I encourage people to pay attention to the CIA report released revealing details about our own government's use of torture and why it's so awful and wrong and illegal. The Nazis used doctors, too. If you're tempted to defend America's use of torture tactics by explaining that doctors were in the room, play that game you play with Chinese fortune cookies by tacking on "in bed" at the end of your fortune--except say "just like the Nazis" and then tell me it was the right choice.
It's not surprising that it happened, but it's pretty surprising that they've all admitted it so soon. When you don't pay attention, or decide this shouldn't be publicly debated, it continues to be a part of normal practices and we don't want that. We want to be better people who don't abuse captives, and we don't want to live in fear that forces us to dehumanize others. What will Santa think?
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