Thrill Ride, or Torture?

I recently read an article, on The Art Newspaper, about the form of interrogation called 'waterboarding' being demonstrated at the Park Avenue Armory, in New York, starting on September 21st. Waterboarding involves placing a towel into someone's mouth and nose, while water is poured over their faces. This simulates the feeling of drowning. For 1$ viewers can watch someone go through this interrogation system, thanks to an artist named Steve Powers. Steve Powers say's to the Art Newspaper, "Not calling waterboarding torture is to me as ridiculous as calling it a 'thrill ride'." Powers wanted people to have the experience of this form of interrogation, but since forcibly restraining people is illegal, itwas difficult, though the act of waterboarding is legal.

For the experiment Powers and several lawyers volunteered themselves to be restrained while ex interrogator, Mike Ritz, preformed the demonstration. Powers, nor any of the lawyers could handle the interrogation experience for more than ten seconds. They all came to the conclusion that if someone was really in that situation, they would be under so much stress that they would not have been able to let out any information anyways.

This article made me upset in a way, I don't know where people get off on putting a form of torture on display for the public. Even if it is a legal and preformed method of interrogation, it is still not something that should be open for public eyes to see, let alone for the people volunteering to go through. To me this can't even be written off as a form of art. What are we coming to, when we get to the point that public torture is a form of entertainment. I thought America was going forward, not falling back.

A picture of a waterboarding demonstration at Coney Island.