There was another good letter (see post of May 7, 2004) today--this one in one of my local newspapers--about the American thirst for violence and humiliation. The writer wondered why the administration and others are saying that the Iraq prison abuse (and torture, and worse, we have discovered) is "un-American."

He cited the local strip-searching of persons arrested for misdemeanors, the beatings and rapes of American prisoners by guards, a recent incident in which sorority girls made a pledge eat vomit, and the American obsession with reality television shows, which are all about public humiliation.

If you add to his list our long history of finding entertainment in the humiliation of non-white citizens and women, it is easy to understand why many Americans have no problem with what is going on in the Iraq prison. (Recall how many Americans were eager to see Michael Fay be caned by the government of Singapore.) According to both the International Red Cross and Amnesty International, there are atrocities and abuses taking place outside of the prisons, too, and not just in Iraq.