posted May 05, 2007 06:24 PM              

---

this is something i've been thinking about for a while, especially today when my mom and i were watching United 93.

personally i feel it may be a psychological thing, i'm no 'going to be' psychology major, but suicide (ex. suicide bombers) is related to depression isn't it?

knowing that only humans inhabitat our world today, it's hard for me to understand, their value systems.

I guess you can say i just want to know why they do what they do? and my main concern is how do they justify taking someone's life to honor God, i thought God universally meant giving life?

IP: Logged

Posts: 95
From:
Registered: Apr 2009

posted May 05, 2007 06:46 PM            

---

The core of suicide bombing is not depression.

Suicide bombimg has very little to do with your typical suicide.

A person who committs a suicide bombin may be depressed, and want to commit suicide anyway, but most often a form of brainwash is what convinces people to become suicide bombers. It's cult mentalitity. This is actually a social psychological phenomenon in which going against the group is nearly impossible. They beat you over the same rhetoric over and over again until you actually believe you are dying for a just cause, and may just go to the land of virgins and honey when you die.

You can try to explain away why people hurt, maim and kill eachother but its a fairly complex problem. My argument is that it's in our genetics, that men especially have a genetic tendency to make war and kill others of the same species. You can see this behavior in our closest relative, the chimpanzee, who regularly conduct raids of neighboring chimp groups, killing their children, females, and males too. People too easily forget that human are animals, we just have evolved language and techonology, but we're still animals.

IP: Logged

posted May 05, 2007 06:53 PM              

---

wow, thats devestating, well thats for filling me in. i love to stay informed, as usual.

IP: Logged

posted May 05, 2007 11:58 PM              

---

why is there Christian extremists, Buddhist extremists? Hindu? Sikh? ad nausea?

Like the Muslim extremists, there are always a small sect of violent people no matter the religion.

With an extremist sect, I don't know about depression as someone stated, but the people are paid well and many promises are made to them. weather those promises are fulfilled is another story. But like any other group: they are told they are fighting for the common cause of the group and against evil, ect. they are told they are on the good side. It really is simple as that once you are brain washed.

IP: Logged

Posts: 275
From: Canada
Registered: Apr 2009

posted May 06, 2007 01:13 PM            

---

It goes much more beyond just brain washing. Notice who the target of most extremist recruiters are; Impressionable youth or those who have suffered greatly under clashes in disputed areas. These people out there are trying to put meaning to all that they see and well... they fall easily to the preachings of extremists since they underline every problem in one simple statement; "Blame the infidels."

And as such their lost lives end up having a focus.

IP: Logged

Posts: 7
From: The Asylum, NC
Registered: Apr 2009

posted May 06, 2007 03:11 PM            

---

All this is true but besides the brainwashing cult-mentality-thingy; one would have to consider the "audience" that radicals and extremists target. Notice that the Suicide bombers are usually the young men or even women. Usually the impressionable, the ones with no cause, or the ones who have suffered greatly from violent disputes and need an outlet for their anger......unfotunately they stumble upon the wrong outlet.

IP: Logged

Posts: 95
From:
Registered: Apr 2009

posted May 06, 2007 03:34 PM            

---

Xodian what you described is brainwash. Brainwash just means indoctrinating someone with a set of ideals through force or coercion. As a child you don't really have a will to resist this, so it really is a form of brainwash.

I plan on brainwashing my children with whatever values I feel are important.

IP: Logged

Posts: 49
From:
Registered: Jun 2009

posted May 06, 2007 04:46 PM            

---

Actually recruiters pray on poor families. The one's that are mostly hurt by the government. They do offer them a lot of money but also fame. They promise the suicide bomber that he will be famous (something he has not other chance of doing with other means) and that his family will be forever taken care of. The recruiters are usually part of humanitarian programs in poor towns that provide hospitals and schools so there is also a sense of obligation. Usually has nothing to do with depression. But it could do with the fact that the promise of a better life in paradise is very appealing to those whose life here is less than wonderful. Its an interesting psychological phenomena really.

IP: Logged