The Lucifer Effect in Life, Not for Nothing

The story of 4th episode/2nd season of my new favorite TV drama, Life (episode title Not for Nothing)(CS-Origin, Ch31 Destiny Cable) is loosely based on the Phillipi Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment conducted in 1971. In the experiment the subjects (college students) were given roles either as guards or as prisoners. Zimbardo wanted to see how much the uniform and the stereotypical role affects normal people. Under minor pressure from their "warden," the "guards" quickly and inventively became abusive and sadistic. The "prisoners", who could have walked out at any time, showed extreme passivity and depression and put up with the abuse. The experiment was cut short because of the to brutality put upon on the "prisoners". In the Life episode a student-"guard" mysteriously got killed (remember that it is a crime drama).

The "guards" merely thought themselves to be "doing their jobs." The "prisoners" quickly came to see themselves as "helpless." Until consultant Christina Maslach condemned it and caused the end of the experiment, Zimbardo, the "warden," did not realize the abuse he was indirectly causing, thinking it was a voluntary behavior of students under contract to participate.

Zimbardo chronicled the experiment in his book The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil”.  He uses his findings to explain what makes good people do bad things, how moral people can be seduced to act immorally, where the line is that separates good from evil, and who is in danger of crossing it. He then uses his theories to explain some of the worst examples of man’s inhumanity to man -- the Rwanda massacre, and even more recently, the abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib.

Zimbardo says that the right “situational” forces and group dynamics can work in concert to make decent men and women abandon their moral scruples and cooperate in oppression and violence - bringing out the worst in them. Thus, the Lucifer Effect. The situational forces need not be of an extraordinary nature: wearing a uniform, or dressing in ways that conceal identity, and insecure individuals acquiring new found petty powers. We are reminded of Lord Acton's "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely".

There is a thin line line between good and evil. Every man has the potential for engaging in evil deeds despite a generally moral upbringing. There is also the “evil of inaction”, a new form of evil that supports its perpetrators, by knowing but not acting to challenge them. Which in turn reminds us of Edmund Burke's "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

Winnie Monsod looks at what is happening in the Philippines from a Lucifer Effect perspective. With non-stop news of corruption, military and police cruelty or indifference, there is a tendency to go with the flow. This may explain what some call the People Power fatigue.

Are we then hopeless? No, not at all. Zimbardo argues that not only are we capable of resisting evil, but that we can even teach ourselves to act heroically. We can resist unjust authorities, we can break corrupt systems - we can be heroes. Zimbardo gives us some tips on how to defy the Lucifer Effect. Here are rules 18-19.

 18. Rules are abstractions for controlling behavior and eliciting compliance and conformity – challenge them when necessary: ask, who made the rule? What purpose does it serve? Who maintains it? Does it make sense in this specific situation? What happens if you violate it? Insist that the rule be made explicit, so it cannot be modified and altered over time to suit the influence agent.

19. When developing causal attributions for unusual behavior – yours or others – never rush to the dispositional, always start by considering possible situational forces and variables that are the true causal agent, and seek to highlight them and to change them where possible.

Being an ordinary hero by defying the Lucifer Effect is doing the right thing when it is much easier to keep quiet. We need to have the stuff of which ordinary heroes are made of. There is hope. Be a hero.

Moon landing anniversary, moonwalker memorial

This month we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon. He uttered the historic words, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." It was a momentous event for mankind even as many doubt that the event actually took place. Conspiracy theorists say the moon landing is an elaborate hoax.

This month, too, a memorial will be held for the most popular Moonwalker of all time, Michael Jackson. whose sudden death brought a resurgent interest in his body of work. Just like when Elvis Presley died, many will cling to the belief that Michael faked his own death. There are many parallels in their lives. The drugs, the waning popularity, then the early death. It is also conceivable that many will think his death is a hoax.

Michael was clearly ahead of his time. I can think of many comments about his many firsts, but all are in bad taste now that he's dead. But I'm Bad so here goes. Michael could have been the first black man to become a white woman. Michael could have been the first commercial model for glutathione. Michael could have been the poster model for swine flu hygiene (with his disposable surgical mask and gloves). Michael could have been the first model of hair straightening salons. Michael should not have gone too soon, he could have touched many more (boys') lives.

Arghh, enough already, I'm not that bad. Just sad that the Thriller is gone.

Good Sport, bad sport, bad sports fan

Congrats to Roger Federer for once again making history by winning his 15th major. It's not his fault that Nadal's gimpy knees kept him from defending his title. Federer is not only good, the's the best, and on top of it all, he is lucky. Of the only one time that Roger will break Andy's serve, it will break Andy' heart as well. Roger won the 5 setter on a tie-breaker 16-14. But Andy Roddick is a good sport. And the crowd chanted his name to acknowledge the great effort.



Which cannot be said of Danny Ildefonso and a Ginebra fan. The fan heckled the entire San Miguel squad the whole game. After the game, Danny I went after the fan who initially stood his ground until he realized that Danny is not joking. That was when he scampered for safety, then cried afterwards. The TV coverage missed the action because it switched cameras.

Heckling is part of the game. It makes watching live games more exciting. Cursing, flashing the dirty finger sign, challenging the the players to fistfights - fans do what it takes to get the players off their game. What Danny I (and Pingris too) merited fines and suspension. For that, they were not able to play in their next game and their team lost.

But I can understand why Danny I acted that way. His daughter is gravely ill. He missed the all-star game just to be with her. When the fan shouted "ang yabang mo, kaya nagkakasakit ang anak mo, hindi na gagaling yun, gag0", he must have snapped. He must have thought, heckle me all you like, wish me to miss my shots, but don't wish my daughter dead.

Below are photos from Patricia Hizon's blog. The heckler at first stood his ground. He was not able to walk the talk. He ran after he talked.

My new criteria for choosing the next president

Why is it that all Philippine presidents, from Marcos to GMA, have children that cheapen themselves by joining showbiz?

In my youth, we had Imee Marcos. She was a TV and movie executive. She also tried theater acting. She was quite good, according to the controlled media. Was she really any good? If it's any indication, it must be pointed out that she's not making a living from showbiz.

Cory deposed Marcos, and in the process tossed Kris Aquino to the limelight. Kris is the quintessential trying hard showbiz wannabe. She threw away all class to appear with Rene Requiestas in Pido Dida movies where the characters are based on the comics Fido Dido. The cartoon character was created to make other people feel comfortable, but we never felt comfortable with Kris' acting. Thankfully she seemed to have found her niche as a gameshow host. But she's still all over the airwaves via CDs of her music, her showbiz talkshow, and commercials. Now she's making her son, less than 2 years old(?), the youngest Filipino with a music album.

Fidel Ramos. At first I thought Imee and Kris could learn some finesse from Ramos' daughters until Jo Ramos followed her predecessors and insinuated herself on showbiz by embarking on a singing career. He also married actor Lloyd Samartino. In the middle of her father's term, and we are again reminded of Michael Jackson's death, Jo Ramos lobbied to be the front act of Michael's 1996 concert here.

Then Joseph Estrada was swept into the presidency. We all know that the pudgy Jinggoy is not actor material but they were still able to cast him in lead roles. He won an acting award recently, but he's getting better press with his performance at the Senate.

Then Gloria Arroyo took over Erap, and to prove that the presidency emboldens one's kids to enter showbiz, Mikey Arroyo inflicted himself upon us. He appeared in such forgettable comedies that make watching paint dry less boring.

Now that elections are just around the corner, we may have another presidential offspring that will invade showbiz. If we want a stop to that, given the collective lack of talent of the previous ones, we should elect a childless candidate. Who might that be? A possibility would be Fr. Emong Panlilio. He's a priest. He should not have any children. Another possibility would be Mar Roxas. He's still single. Even if he ties the knot this year, I doubt if he will have a child anytime soon.

So if you're having a hard time taking your pick among the many presidentiables, you may want to consider the aforementioned criteria. That might just save our country.

White Hair Chronicles IV

I feel my white hairs reflect my age much more when icons from my youth are completely unknown to some who are just 10-15 years younger than me. This is especially true for people whose popularity did not transcend decades. Michael Jackson, for example, is still quite known to the 30s set, but few remember Farrah. And it is with celebrities like Farrah that the make the younger set they are that far detached from my generation.

My 12-year old son, Vito, knows Michael Jackson. He's never heard of Farrah. When told that Charlie's Angels is just a remake, he chuckled 'tanda mo na talaga Itay!'. But even people already in their 30s think my generation is way ahead in years. They do not know the Nicaraguan boxer Alexis Arguello, another icon, who died the other day. He was at his peak in the late 70's to early 80's. I remember him wanting to wage battle against the movement that toppled Somoza, their version of Marcos. Yesterday another icon passed away. Susan Fernandez Magno was a leading protest singer against the Marcos regime. Most younger people are clueless on who she was.

We have a curious situation in the country today. Activism is stronger in the 40+ age group than in the younger set. Those who were in EDSA in '86 are still the ones who will troop there when called. The 20s and the 30somethings are numbed to indifference and too distracted to carry the torch. It is today's children, Vito's generation, who will keep it burning. It is our task to stoke the flame alive.

What's good to note is that the kids are up to the challenge. Thanks to retro fashion, they are more open to things from the past. And maybe the values and ideals we cling on to. Vito likes the Led Zep. A daughter of a former classmate wrote him a sweet letter on father's day. We have taught our kids well. Tunay nga, ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan.