Do you think there is anything that could not be tortured out of you?

cleanbluesky · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:20

An interesting question I often wonder about...

I figure it this way - if someone were to torture me I wouldn't want to co-operate simply because I don't like to give in but it would get to a point where I would think... is the information they want worth the punishment? If it was unimportant information I would give it up and walk free.

The question is... if the information WAS something you wanted to protect (even if it meant your life) - do you think that you could hold onto it?

Freefaller · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:21

To protect my family I'd give my life without question.

penski · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:22

What I got away with...

*n

iCraig · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:24

It is impossible to answer the question without experiencing the pain of the torture.

Sure I can say I wouldn't crack, in this comfy chair.

But could I say the same if my eyeballs were being pulled out with a hook?

PardonTheWait · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:24

Like Freefaller said, no doubt stuff to protect my family and other people I care very, very much about. That's probably about it tbh.

Dinomania · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:25

Under real torture I don't think your thoughts would be coherent enough to balance pros and cons like that. I think you're likely to be thinking only one of a few things:

1) Huuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttssss
2) Too much, too much, too much, *faint*
3) I hate them, hate them, they'll never get it out of me
4) They won't let me die, let me die please let me die
5) I can't take it any more, have it, have it all!

I've only just (for the first time) read 1984, and then Firestarter by SK, then I watched the films Brazil and V for Vendetta - all include some form of torture/incarceration/imprisonment/oppression. Torture's a horrific thing...

Stringy · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:26

I very much doubt that there are many people that could withhold information from a half decent interrogator (one that practises torture anyway).
There is a massive difference between giving your life to protect information and not giving it under torture, and I doubt many would be able to pull off the latter.

VIRII · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:26

Some people have managed to hold out against torture.
I suppose it depends upon how fierce the torture is and how imprtant the information is to the individual being tortured.
I personally doubt many people could withstand no holds barred torture.

Jokester · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:26

No, there's nothing under torture you won't reveal, it just depends on how long it takes.

Jokester

JohnnyG · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:27

If the fiends tickle the soles of my feet I'll tell them everything I know & make stuff up too.

Stringy · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:27

To quote a wise wise man

You're going to tell me what I want to know, it's just a question of how much you want it to hurt

Freefaller · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:29

Stringy said:
I very much doubt that there is anyone that could withhold information from a half decent interrogator.
There is a massive difference between giving your life to protect information and not giving it under torture.

Whilst this is true and I agree, you should not understimate the human mind. It has the ability of shutting away things under extreme conditions and circumstances. I'm not saying this applies to everyone. I would certainly hold out as much as I could to protect the ones close to me.

I guess the logic would be that if you can't hold out, why not just give the information in the first place? The reason, some people could very much well hold out if necessary.

Berserker · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:30

I'm a self-confessed wimp, so no, I'd blab it all for sure.

Freefaller · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:32

Berserker said:
I'm a self-confessed wimp, so no, I'd blab it all for sure.

Even if you parents life was the question of the torture? Surely you'd try and hold out a little?

Stringy · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:34

Freefaller said:
I guess the logic would be that if you can't hold out, why not just give the information in the first place? The reason, some people could very much well hold out if necessary.

You'd be in denial as to the level of torture they'd be willing to inflict. You'd think at some stage they'd give in to human decency and stop torturing you, or put you out of your misery. Also a sense of bravado that you'd have some sort of duty to whoever or whatever you were going to protect would lead you to believe that you could hold out for longer than you probably could. Most prisoners who withhold, SAS etc, only hold out because they're doing it for a set amount of time, at which point the information they give is pointless as contingency plans for the team member's capture have rendered the information obselete. I don't doubt that there are people capable of withholding information indefinitely, but they will be few and far between.

theleg · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:37

Everyone breaks eventually..

Anyone who thinks they could hold out should experience some pain...Ive had some pretty painful experiences in my life and I have no doubt that a trained torturer could do worse...I dont think I could hold out for very long, no matter how much I wanted to.

Freefaller · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:38

Stringy said:
You'd be in denial as to the level of torture they'd be willing to inflict. You'd think at some stage they'd give in to human decency and stop torturing you, or put you out of your misery. Also a sense of bravado that you'd have some sort of duty to whoever or whatever you were going to protect would lead you to believe that you could hold out for longer than you probably could. Most prisoners who withhold, SAS etc, only hold out because they're doing it for a set amount of time, at which point the information they give is pointless as contingency plans for the team member's capture have rendered the information obselete. I don't doubt that there are people capable of withholding information indefinitely, but they will be few and far between.

Yes, most army-type people (which is what it mainly deals with) would have a contigency plan that they would start kicking in after a "suitable" amount of torture I guess to make it look believeable. Obviously if someone just grabbed me now off the street I doubt I could come up with a suitable story...

I'd probably seek to end my life if I thought the torture was going to be "until I break".

Sequoia · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:41

Freefaller said:
To protect my family I'd give my life without question.

So would I, as would most people, but any competent torturer would make sure that croaking wasn't an option .... at least until they had what they wanted.

As for the original question .... dunno. I'd like to think so, if as FF says, my family was at stake ..... but I actually rather doubt it.

iCraig · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:41

Freefaller said:
Whilst this is true and I agree, you should not understimate the human mind. It has the ability of shutting away things under extreme conditions and circumstances. I'm not saying this applies to everyone. I would certainly hold out as much as I could to protect the ones close to me.

I guess the logic would be that if you can't hold out, why not just give the information in the first place? The reason, some people could very much well hold out if necessary.

I don't know, some people have more mental resiliance than others I agree, but I don't think anybody can say for certain that they could withstand torture.

Nix · 2 Apr 2006 at 22:42

Freefaller said:
Even if you parents life was the question of the torture? Surely you'd try and hold out a little?

Personally, i'd think it wise to never put myself into such a situation. Instinct is to save yourself, emotion is to save those you love. I'd hold out, but I know that once the pain got too severe i'd tell them what they wanted or enough to get out of that current situation.

Do you think there is anything that could not be tortured out of you?

Wise Guy