Re: “Black Dolphin”
Anonymous,
The reason even the most violent, vicious criminal will cooperate is because there are many things much worse than dying. Many guards at this prison were former Soviet prison guards and they were specially trained to inflict unimaginable pain without killing the subject. Americans have a “can do” attitude and even a refusal to surrender but almost no American has been subject to this type of torture (there are a few). If you would learn of it, read, “tortured for Christ” by Richard Wurmbrand. It is one thing to tell oneself that you will attack a guard and die, but it is another entirely to tell oneself, “I will attack a guard and then be subject to hours of torture and not die”.
I once attended a speech by a man who was imprisoned by the Nazi’s in WWII and watched as they murdered his father, his uncle and his brothers. I asked him a question similar to yours – “if you knew you were going to die, why did you all just attack the guards whom you outnumbered?” He didn’t seem surprised by this, but his reply was, “because the guards would not kill you. They would kill another random person while you watched. Then they might send you to the torturers”. Because of Hollywood, many Americans assume they can withstand anything. This is simply not true. Russians have a history of understanding that there are many things worse than death which gives them what Americans call a “fatalistic” attitude. Their attitude is more akin to the second writer who attributed it to survival.
Regardless of why they do it, let’s be glad we’re not there!
