Re: virus: Martyrdom

KMO prime (kmoprime@juno.com)
Fri, 25 Oct 1996 22:47:57 EDT


On Thu, 24 Oct 1996 19:32:42 -0500 David Leeper <dleeper@gte.net> writes:
> Notice
>that both the IRA and the PLO are defending their own land from
>unwanted outside domination.
>Their backs are up against a wall. Would they be so passionate if the
>stakes were lower?
>
>I think this is the way out of this example of the martyrdom meme.
>Here Martyrdom is the word
>used to describe the meme "Desperation".

I recommend that everyone listen to National Public Radio's "All Thing's
Considered." If you listen to it through a memetic filter, it is an
invaluable resource for generating concrete examples of the abstract
phenomena we talk about in this forum. Several months ago they had a
series of interviews with Hammas (sp) members who recruit young men and
prepare them for suicide bombing missions as well as with many of the
young recruits. They spend months painting vivid mental images in the
minds of those young men; images of the heavenly rewards which await the
heros who give their lives in the service of Allah. By the time those
men drive trucks packed with explosives into buildings or get on busses
as human bombs, they are far more focused on the martyr's reward which
awaits them in heaven then on the likelihood that their actions will
affect some political change.

Take care. -KMO