Terrorists: How different are they?
Ever since September 11th, terrorism has been on virtually all of our minds. And now, some eighteen months later, as the nation perches on the brink of war with Iraq, our fears remain. The frustration that most people experience in the aftermath of extreme violence is largely the result of the question why. Why would anyone want to commit so heinous a crime? How could they live with themselves? Terrorism is a widely researched topic, but it seems to be particularly salient now, as it hits closer to home. Are terrorists different than the rest of us? Are they different than serial killers? If brain equals behavior, then yes, they are. But perhaps that equation is only true in some cases.
Because the acts that terrorists execute are so disturbing, many people think they must be crazy - that there must be something fundamentally wrong with them or with their brains. There is an ongoing debate on this matter - especially since different research shows variations in the extent to which terrorists are perceived as "crazy." Clark McCauley, Professor of Psychology at Bryn Mawr maintains that terrorists are not crazy. In fact, they are quite normal and their psychology is normal. According to Professor McCauley, research has found "psychopathology and personality disorder no more likely among terrorists than among non-terrorists from the same background" (1). For most, this is an unfavorable result, for not only does it mean that anyone is capable of committing acts of terror, but it also means that there is little distinction between "us" and "them" - in fact, the "us and them" distinction may not really exist, at least not on a biological or psychological level (if we are truly essentially ...
... middle of paper ...
...Science Research Council website.
http://www.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/mccauley.htm
2) How a Terrorist Thinks , from Clear Direction, Inc. website.
http://www.cleardirection.com/docs/articles/terrorist.asp
3) The Mind of the Terrorist Fundamentalist , site is kind of scary looking.
http://www.meaningsoflife.com/book.htm
4) Long, David E. The Anatomy of Terrorism. New York: The Free Press, 1990.
5) Rapoport, David C. Inside Terrorist Organizations. London: Frank Cass Publishers, 2001.
6) What Makes Serial Killers Tick? , from Court TV's Crime Library website.
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/tick/victims_1.html
7) Freedman, Lawrence. Superterrorism Policy Responses. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2002.
8) Thought Police Peek Into Brains , from Wired News website.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47221,00.html
Michael Walzer is an esteemed retired professor from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Walzer has written many books, essays, and articles. His essay, Excusing Terror, is one that best relates to the current events happening around the world. In this essay, Walzer talks about different reasons that people would want to resort to terrorism. In this essay I will argue Walzers view on Terrorism is correct in that terrorism is wrong because it is akin to murder, it is random in who it targets, and no one has immunity. I will also offer an objection to Walzer’s theory and explain why it is not a valid one.
The development of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the late 1940s and early 1950s by young African Americans coincided with a sensitive time in America. Civil rights movements were under way around the country as African Americans struggles to gain equal treatment and the same access to resources as their white neighbors. As courts began to vote in favor of integration, tensions between whites and blacks escalated. As the catchy rhythm of Rock ‘n’ Roll began to cross racial boundaries many whites began to feel threatened by the music, claiming its role in promoting integration. This became especially problematic as their youth became especially drawn to ...
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
When the Rwandan Hutu majority betrayed the Tutsi minority, a destructive mass murdering broke out where neighbor turned on neighbor and teachers killed their students; this was the start of a genocide. In this paper I will tell you about the horrors the people of Rwanda had to face while genocide destroyed their homes, and I will also tell you about the mental trauma they still face today.
It is therefore imperative that the fight against terrorism focuses on preventive rather than reactive strategies that involve understanding how terrorism works and what can be done to prevent terror attacks. One way of achieving this is through learning the psychology of terrorist group recruitment. Understanding this psychology is important as it will raise awareness to the general public to understand how terrorists are recruited and how they can avoid being recruited into terrorist organizations. In addition, anti-terrorist groups and policy experts may use this knowledge to develop interventions or policies that discourage and prevent terrorist group recruitment. This paper will focus on the psychology of terrorist group recruitment and the discussions will be summarized at the end.
Claudius is seen in Hamlets eyes as a horrible person because he convicted murder and incest. Claudius had killed the king of Denmark, Old Hamlet, to obtain the position of the throne. He had been jealous of Old Hamlet’s wife Gertrude and wanted to marry her for her power. Although, such an act would be called incest and considered unnatural he did not care, all he had cared about was the power that he would be stealing from Hamlet and Old Hamlet, Gertrude’s son and husband (R). When Hamlet had talked to his f...
Reich, W. (1998). Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, States of Mind. Washington, D.C.: The Woodrow Wilson center Press.
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous work of tragedy. Throughout the play the title character, Hamlet, tends to seek revenge for his father’s death. Shakespeare achieved his work in Hamlet through his brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces that hunt Hamlet throughout the play: moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder. When Hamlet sets his mind to revenge his fathers’ death, he is faced with many challenges that delay him from committing murder to his uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlets’ father, the former king. During this delay, he harms others with his actions by acting irrationally, threatening Gertrude, his mother, and by killing Polonius which led into the madness and death of Ophelia. Hamlet ends up deceiving everyone around him, and also himself, by putting on a mask of insanity. In spite of the fact that Hamlet attempts to act morally in order to kill his uncle, he delays his revenge of his fathers’ death, harming others by his irritating actions. Despite Hamlets’ decisive character, he comes to a point where he realizes his tragic limits.
Terrorism has been significantly on the rise over the past several years, making it one of the major concerns for governments and security organizations. The identity of terrorists and the activities perpetrated by them have been associated with certain races, religious affiliations and other geographical parameters, with little concern to understand the development of these characteristics among humanity. Most individuals have classified terrorists as being members of specific races and hence developed fallacious theories that associate terrorism with genetic makeup and other mental problems.
With his thinking mind Hamlet does not become a typical vengeful character. Unlike most erratic behavior of individuals seeking revenge out of rage, Hamlet considers the consequences of his actions. What would the people think of their prince if he were to murder the king? What kind of effect would it have on his beloved mother? Hamlet considers questions of this type which in effect hasten his descision. After all, once his mother is dead and her feelings out of the picture , Hamlet is quick and aggressive in forcing poison into Claudius' mouth. Once Hamlet is certain that Claudius is the killer it is only after he himself is and and his empire falling that he can finally act.
Our entire lives have been shaped by the events happening around us. Along with us many factors in our day to day lives have evolved too, including musical genre. One such genre is rock. Rock is a genre for the youth, by the youth, it has evolved to stay with the times and stand up for what’s right. In this essay I will prove why rock is a good example to show how genre has been defined, maintained, constructed and negotiated through the past 60-70 years since the very first Proto Rock song came out.
When Rock arrived on the music charts in the 1950's, a merging of African-American and White music, it made a huge impact on society. As a general rule I am not heavily into music, but I was drawn to Rock for some inexplicable reason. It is just the music I like. This genre will be difficult to write about because the origin of Rock is unclear; there are traces of Rock's style back into the 19th Century. It is also a very broad subject and I will have to compress a lot of information into as few pages as possible. Be that as it may, Rock is, in my opinion the best music genre on the charts.
Under the Hutu’s government reign the people of Rwanda voted to become a republic. A year later on July 1, 1962 Ruanda-Urandi became two separate countries. Though Belgium was no longer in power over Rwanda, ethnic dissension continued to affect the people. At independence a Hutu was elected, and later on another Hutu whom favored his ethnicity came into power. Hutu’s continued to dominate the governme...
The theories of political terrorism in psychology have been frequently observed and analyzed over the years. Media spectacle and observance of the political ideology of Muslims have been the focal point of much research, yet what has not received much insight is the psychological understanding and motivations of a terrorist as an individual. In understanding this concept, we may be...
Davis, Paul B. "The Terrorist Mentality." Cerebrum: The Dana Forum on Brain Science 3.3 (2001): 22-23. The Dana Press. Web. 23 May 2011. .