hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
I think it appropriate to point out that the "children" dying in these instances...teenagers...are a particularly malleable and incendiary group. In the United States, the "children" getting killed by guns average about fifteen to sixteen years of age and live in the inner city.
We all recall being that age...when you're a teenager you're immortal...death itself isn't a real thing. Its something that happens to somebody else. Notions of glory and heroism have great appeal and provide ample balm to any fears that death might offer.
Youngsters of such an age are easy marks for the seduction of suicide. Hamas dresses it up, lavishes the kid with promises of glory, gives him attention and center stage for a bit...and sends him on to his doom.
In our own culture children kill themselves every day when faced with their teenage angst...and they have very little to gain other than oblivion or revenge. Imagine if someone...a "nutjob" were to tap into that with a notion that has popular cultural appeal. We are fortunate that we don't have the concept of Jihad rooted in our worldview, and our children have no militant yearning for the attainment of paradise and the service of God.
As for the "nutjobs", the older Arabs who take up the gun and strap on the bombs, we need to recognize that shame is a critical and motivating factor in causing them to face the prospects of a violent end. The very emotion that causes a Marine to jump on a grenade to save his comrades gives Jihadists impetus to unwisely attack a platoon Marines. It is the same driving factor that causes an out of work alcoholic to go "Postal" and strike out blindly at his perceived persecutors.
Shame is so painful, so diminishing, that a man will often die rather than face it. The Marine would rather be shredded by the grenade than face the fact that he didn't do everything in his power to save his comrades. The child hangs himself rather than face the taunts of his peers at school. The gang member draws down on five cops rather than face the disrespect of his peers. The Arab male, allready burdened with a lifetime of reversals and lack of respect...a man unable to provide any hope or future to his children...takes up the gun.
Shame is enduring. It sticks tighter than any glue, and yields compounding interest.
Regards,
Steve
We all recall being that age...when you're a teenager you're immortal...death itself isn't a real thing. Its something that happens to somebody else. Notions of glory and heroism have great appeal and provide ample balm to any fears that death might offer.
Youngsters of such an age are easy marks for the seduction of suicide. Hamas dresses it up, lavishes the kid with promises of glory, gives him attention and center stage for a bit...and sends him on to his doom.
In our own culture children kill themselves every day when faced with their teenage angst...and they have very little to gain other than oblivion or revenge. Imagine if someone...a "nutjob" were to tap into that with a notion that has popular cultural appeal. We are fortunate that we don't have the concept of Jihad rooted in our worldview, and our children have no militant yearning for the attainment of paradise and the service of God.
As for the "nutjobs", the older Arabs who take up the gun and strap on the bombs, we need to recognize that shame is a critical and motivating factor in causing them to face the prospects of a violent end. The very emotion that causes a Marine to jump on a grenade to save his comrades gives Jihadists impetus to unwisely attack a platoon Marines. It is the same driving factor that causes an out of work alcoholic to go "Postal" and strike out blindly at his perceived persecutors.
Shame is so painful, so diminishing, that a man will often die rather than face it. The Marine would rather be shredded by the grenade than face the fact that he didn't do everything in his power to save his comrades. The child hangs himself rather than face the taunts of his peers at school. The gang member draws down on five cops rather than face the disrespect of his peers. The Arab male, allready burdened with a lifetime of reversals and lack of respect...a man unable to provide any hope or future to his children...takes up the gun.
Shame is enduring. It sticks tighter than any glue, and yields compounding interest.
Regards,
Steve
