Funny or Offensive? “Guantánamo Detainee Ruled Not Mentally Fit To Testify About Psychological Torture”

Jun 2 2009 | Comments 6

From the Onion, so you know what I think:

WASHINGTON—In its first major hearing on the use of abusive interrogation tactics at Guantánamo Bay, a blue-ribbon panel found detainee Omar Khadr mentally unfit to testify … “Because of Mr. Khadr’s fragile state due to unknown hours spent under the most brutal, mentally straining conditions, he cannot be trusted to speak competently on his own behalf,” said Rep. Kit Bond (R-MO), the panel’s chairman. “It is unfortunate that someone with such intimate knowledge of the horrors of waterboarding, stress positions, and induced hypothermia is so emotionally unstable. He bursts into tears at even the mention of mock torture.” ….

liz | 2:51 PM | Funny or Offensive?

Mark Says:

That got a giggle out of me….

Jun 2 2:48 PM

heidisays Says:

this is not offensive in my opinion. the article does not appear to mock mental illness itself. it rather seems like a political satire that may carry a more serious underlying message, suggesting that various tactics could be used to block testimony by victims and witnesses of torture. the satire lies in the irony that the severity of the torture might itself be used as a justification to prevent the justice that would be due in remedy of such acts.

the article also does imply that prolonged terror as suffered by prisoners could instigate mental illness. that point may be debatable, but it seems plausible and likely that some sort of mental trauma will have been caused by torture. it is, after all, called torture.

Jun 2 4:32 PM

family member Says:

It’s called complex post traumatic stress – that is why the trigger of even talking about it is horrifying to him.

Jun 2 5:25 PM

Leslie in Toronto Says:

Dunno – as a Canadian, I am leaning toward offensive, but it would be mildly so. It could just be that I don’t think making fun of political prisoners is funny. My humour tends to lean more towards the LOLCAT variety