“Pathology of power” and police brutality at “Occupy” protests

Philip Zimbardo: When a person feels “I am not personally responsible, I am not accountable; it’s the role I’m playing or these are the orders I’ve gotten,” then you allow yourself to do things you would never do under ordinary circumstances

Watching video of police officers beat, arrest, and pepper spray people – in response to Occupy Wall Street, and the protests it has inspired throughout the country – I can’t help but notice the similarities of the officers who have been violent and aggressive towards demonstrators. It’s almost as if they are acting like the military in foreign and hostile war zones, and less like civil-servants whose job it is to protect the citizens.