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A group of French psychologists recently recruited 80 volunteers for
what they claimed was a pilot for a new TV show. The game involved
posing questions to another "player" -- in reality, an actor -- who was
purportedly tortured with as much as 460 volts of electricity for each
wrong answer as a roaring crowd screamed "Punishment!" Of the 80
volunteers, only 16 refused to participate and walked out. The other 80
percent went all the way until the actor appeared to have died. One of
those who participated admitted that she was the granddaughter of a
Jewish couple who were tortured and persecuted by the Nazis in World
War II.

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Fear also plays a huge factor. Imagine a basiji faced with an angry crowd screaming, "Mikosham! Mikosham! Anke Baradaram Kosht!"
(I will kill, I will kill, that who killed my brother). Even if that
basiji has not killed anyone himself, he begins to see his commission
of violence as an act of self-defense. After all, he wonders, is there
any chance that such a crowd would afford him clemency should they
succeed in bringing change?

Another crucial factor is the respect for authority and pressure to
conform whose power the French psychologists revealed in the torture
game. When a member of the Sepah or Basij receives an order to crush
the protesters with full force, an... >>>