----- Original Message ----- From: "Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2004 1:43 PM Subject: Re: Winning the War on Terror
> Really? That is a rather complex line of thought to go through before > taking action. It sounds carefully thought about and planned. In which > case I wonder about what you said earlier about them not considering > that it would defy Islamic law? It sounds like a better explanation > would be that these people simply weren't very religious. I think Trent was referring to something other than being a devout Muslim. Its more akin to having one's culture steeped with Muslim influence. There are several examples of this in our own culture. One atheist may tell another to "go to hell" in anger, without either of them really believing in damnation. Madonna certainly gives no indication that she's a devout Catholic, but one can clearly see the influence of the Catholic church in her body of work. Sartre, a well known atheist, has stated that the Catholic church has defined him. His opposition to much of what the church stands for shows how important those ideas are to him. He is relatively indifferent to the concept of Zen Buddhism, on the other hand, because he did not grow up in that culture. So, a non-devout person growing up in a culture that is heavily influenced by Islam would think of desecrating bodies as an extreme action. Even if they hadn't read the Koran, and didn't even pray once a day, and just slept in on Fridays, they could very well have this attitude. So, when they are very angry and cannot kill an American because they are already dead, they can still drag the body and desecrate it to express that anger. Everyone knows that's an extreme action, so doing so will be a valid way of expressing their extreme anger. With regard to the ideas of Americans as cowards who run away when they are shamed by having bodies desecrated, this type of thought does not need to take place as the mob starts to move. Rather, the people in town are likely to have talked about the Americans for at least the last year. Stories about them are likely to have been told and retold. Stereotypes are also likely to have been formed. When the opportunity presented itself, the mob was likely to contain people for whom stories about the inherent cowardliness of Americans were heard for months. This provided a backdrop for their decision making. Since the stories were shared, it could be seen to be at the foundation of the mob groupthink. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
