Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id UAA28795 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk); Sun, 16 Sep 2001 20:09:59 +0100 Message-ID: <000701c13ee8$bb43c4c0$11a2bed4@default> From: "Kenneth Van Oost" <Kenneth.Van.Oost@village.uunet.be> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <F255gLthxWCELSnKVqj00010b02@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Dawkins View Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 21:48:49 +0200 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: Scott Chase <ecphoric@hotmail.com>
> I think he goes too far in attacking religion in general for what a rabid
> fundamentalist brand of a given religion is capable of, whether jihad
> fundamentalism leading to terrorist acts on the "Great Satan" of the west
or
> the X-ian fundamentalism which justifies murder of those involved with
> abortion.
Hi Scott,
I think that Dawkins, indeed goes too far blaming religion in general, but
I think he is right claiming that afterlife- obsessed suicidal brains are of
an immense power and danger.
You have two kinds of self- murderers, the ones who commit suicide on
their attic and the ones who are afraid to die alone.
The last are the ones who will take people with them in death, like the
motorists driving into oncoming traffic is one category.
Here you see this principle in a far more extreme way, probably, like
Dawkins says amplified with the religious underlying source.
Most self- murderers are trying to escape the hazzards of todays, modern
life in order to find a better one in the next.
Along testimonies of people surviving their attempt, in the afterlife it
seems that those problems are still there.
But what happened in the USA can 't be housed by such speculation.
This is something on a complete different scale.
Suicide is/ was here the only option, the quality of the survival is of
a critical nature and suicide would be above all the only manner to
escape the reaction of any collective. Remerber, a few years back
there were several incidents with pilots of airliners, committing
suicide for divers reasons. Committing suicide like this is not a very
new phenomenon only the reasons differs now.
But I agree, we should investigate this kind of behavior more in depht.
Dawkins is IMO, wrong too in another aspect of the problematic.
Naive, frustrated youngsters but not ' mindless ' !?
Not mindless yes indeed, but they were not naive, frustated perhaps,
but not for the reasons we all presume.
Luc De Vos, historican and military expert writes,
" Many observers claim religious fanatism. I think other forms of
fanatism are the bias for this tragedy. Many of the suspects are citizins
of the Emirates. That is not a surprise for me. Being a citizin of the
Emirates means you are rich. The ones who did this are wealthy,
well educated kids with an ideal. They know the West very well,
and they dissocited themselves from what they see as the perverse
West. The ones who did this were intellectuals and that explains a
little bit their fanatism. Intellectuals see everything in black and white."
Intellectual, yes indeed IMO. The date 11 September was not chosen
at random. 11 September is the date on which George Bush Senior
declared war on Irak and is also the date on which in Camp David,
Sadat, Carter and Begin signed a peace- treaty.
The WTC towers were in the eyes of the anti- globalist movement
the symbols of what can be called economical perversity.
In my mind there is no doubt that memetic determinsm played a role
in what moved this people. But is it certainly not religion alone, that's
for sure !!
And what is still a surprise for me, watching CNN, the Black Moslim
Movement is very quiet in the US.
And what is no surprise for me, in Belgium and throughout Europe, all
right- winged parties are very quiet also.
Best,
Kenneth
( I am, because we are)
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