Re: To Robin, Applied Memetics, was: Memetic Parasitism

From: Scott Chase (osteopilus@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat 30 Jul 2005 - 15:34:48 GMT

  • Next message: Robin Faichney: "Re: To Robin, Applied Memetics, was: Memetic Parasitism"

    --- Kenneth Van Oost <kennethvanoost@belgacom.net> wrote:
    >
    [snip]
    >
    > The idea of getting 72 virgins is useful because it
    > reinforces the desired
    > behavior of those send out to kill innocent
    > bystanders.
    >
    The Norse warriors of yesterday thought of Valkyries flying over the battlefield choosing slain brave warriors to cart off to Valhalla. The Valkyries were virgins IIRC and they served mead to the warriors as they feasted and awaited the day of reckoning. This notion of Vakyries might have comforted the warriors on the battlefield, knowing that they might die valiantly in battle and fulfill their destiny instead of awaiting the lesser "straw death".

    This Valkyrie myth (if I'm remembering it correctly) isn't identical by any means to that attributed to the form of Islam floating around the noggins of suicide bombers, but there do seem to be minor parallels, plus, looking at a dead religious belief that influenced the actions of long dead Vikings and other assorted north Europeans isn't as much a hot button as looking at what's going on now. None of us is likely to get as upset about it, although one could trace connections between Wagnerized Norse and German myth and the rise of the Reich in the 20th century.

    BTW they did play Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" during one major scene in "Apocalypse Now", so the
    "Valkyrie meme" has filtered down from the old Germanic and Norse legends, through Wagner's syncretic Volkish distortions. Many people remember that song perhaps more due to the popular movie than intense personal suffering through excruciating hours of nightmarish German opera. No wonder Nietzsche finally decided he had had enough of Wagner ;-)

    __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

    =============================================================== This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit

    This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat 30 Jul 2005 - 15:50:51 GMT