Help Wanted ads for Torturer, Abuser, Kidnapper

Above, an ad that recently ran in The Guardian newspaper. “The government of a Middle Eastern state is recruiting a senior torturer to work in a well-equipped prison. Our ideal candidate would be prepared to inflict extreme pain and suffering… Candidates will be expected to inspire a small but enthusiastic team." The ad is part of a new awareness campaign for the Freedom From Torture medical foundation. Other positions they are advertising for include Abuser and Kidnapper. Both of those pay much more than Torturer. "Career Prospects in the Pain Business" (Design Observer)

• [jandrese]

  Apparently torture doesn’t pay, you’re looking at just barely above minimum wage.  I guess you’d have to just love what you’re doing.

  It might also help if you’re sent to some third world country where your pound goes further. 

  • [bcsizemo]

    Agreed.  It could at least come with good medical benefits and a life insurance policy.

  • [Marc Mielke]

    I would imagine the few who are REALLY good at it make far more money. Just like any other artist. 

• [IamInnocent]

  16-21 000 £… apparently the work is its own reward.

• [Palefire]

  Do I have to work weekends?

• [igpajo]

  I was going to put my money on a “Dictator”/Sacha Baron Cohen prank on the media, but then I saw that it was an awareness campaign.

• [t3kna2007]

  I hope they don’t neglect the U.S. market.  I understand demand for waterboard operators is on the upswing.

  I wonder which U.S. publications would accept that kind of ad?  Mother Jones: yes.  Creative Loafing:  hmm maybe.  NYT: only if penned by Judith Miller.  WSJ: hahahahaha!

• [voiceinthedistance]

  No mention as to whether or not a higher degree is required.  I have my BT, but am still working on my MT from Liberty University. I still need to finish my “thesis” project.

  • [davidasposted]

    I wonder what that ethics board application/meeting looked like. :)

• [ChesterBushey]

  Look, everyone knows that the big money is in ‘Torture Apologist’. And for that you need a higher degree and a position at a place like Stanford, the Univ of Michigan or an Ivy.

• [Ben Harper]

  Would’ve been a stronger campaign if the employer weren’t “the government of a Middle Eastern state” but the American or British governments. It’s easy for people to think that torture is just something that those damned brown savages do, even these days, when abuse encouraged or performed by Western governments is so thoroughly documented. This campaign is admirable, but it does very little to force its audience to examine its own complicity.

  • [Eager2Learn]

    No need, like many other dirty and difficult jobs, this one has been outsourced to friendly trade (military)  partners.  

• [humanresource]

  I’m just imagining questions during the job interview…
  Are you a people person?
  Are you prepared to get your hands dirty?
  Are you the kind of person who doesn’t take no for an answer?

  Incidentally, the best argument for torture is the hypothetical: “What if there was a nuke hidden in the city, and no other way to find it?” . Whenever you hear this, respond with the hypothetical: “What if our government, after acquiring the right to torture, unleashed that power on all its domestic opponents, and extinguished democracy altogether?”After all, the second scenario has happened more times than any of us can count, and the first scenario has never happened at all.

• [Beezy]

  How come I haven’t seen this yet on Linkedin? 

• [pjcamp]

  Wouldn’t Level 1 be an apprentice torturer?

• [llazy8]

  Isn’t everyone already ‘aware’ that small middle-eastern states have been accused of torturing people? Why not somewhere closer to home, eh? 

• [koko szanel]

  Didnt know US was a “Middle Eastern state”, or did they mean “US Government facility located in the Middle Eastern state”? Screams Stare Kiejkuty

• [Andrew Champ]

  Thought it may be related to “Snuff Box” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snuff_Box_%28TV_series%29

  Damn I miss that show.

• [Megan Knight]

  Wonderful: the ad just to the right of that one is for my new boss. Should I be worried?