He served his term in various prisons, including on Robben Island, and was released on December 20 1982.
“For those of us who experienced solitary order, isolation in prison, we can be very useful in helping others during this time. Colleagues and family have asked us how we dealt with it.”
Cooper said his observation as a psychologist was that there was a marked difference between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in lockdown.
“Have-nots will have a more resilient psychological make-up to deal with this.”
He added that he was more concerned about law-enforcement’s heavy-handedness than he was about the psychological consequences of lockdown.
“It shows that we are a violent society. It is cowardly for a police officer to beat someone. Arrest people, don’t beat them up.”
The solution, he said, was for police officers and soldiers to undergo training to change their responses when enforcing the law.
We’re at war with our mental health and it’s ...