[lbo-talk] Motives of the London bombers

[ravi]

Thus spake Wojtek Sokolowski (8/2/05 12:29 PM):
> Ravi:
> 
>>[i do not agree with the general notion, advanced both in the piece
>>below and in the debate at large, that one can leap glibly between al
>>qaeda, their propaganda and motivations and those of the perpetrators of
>>various acts and their supporters. nonetheless, i forward material such
>>as the below to counteract the 'bambi' offence. --ravi]
> 
> While Pape's argument does a good job explaining the motivation of the
> organizers of suicide attacks, it is not very effective in explaining the
> motivation of people of people who actually participate in them.  It makes
> sense when, say, a villager from Guatemala or Iraq, whose family was
> murdered by the Americans or their henchmen, joins a guerilla group.  But
> what motivates a second-generation Pakistani or Egyptian student or a social
> worker living in Amsterdam or London?

for one thing, identity? for that matter, what motivates well-to-do
lefties to pursue causes that go against their own immediate interests?
(short-term negative returns are predictable while any holistic argument
about long-term benefits remains incomplete). what motivates me to march
against the US invasion of iraq?

well there is also the words of those involved in the bombing. or the
reports of british intelligence and other sources.


> I think that my argument linking machismo and the hatred of "castrating"
> Western liberalism and feminism does a better job explaining that
> motivation.  Please also note that this motivation dove-tails that of the
> terror organizers.  The latter are motivated by tactical objectives of
> driving oreign troops out, but they need bodies to carry out their plans.
> The machismo cum hatred of Western liberal feminism motivates some to become
> such bodies.

i am afraid this is at best a hypothesis. i am always wary of
psychoanalytical explanations, especially when more
parsimonious/mechanistic ones are available.

india is not part of the west and i do not see similar acts of castrated
frustration there. nor do i see western men without resentment towards
feminism or lacking in machismo (in fact more so the latter than most
other cultures i have witnessed). minus an ideological/axiomatic
commitment to western supremacy/glorification, i do not see the basis here.

	--ravi

p.s: last section probably needs further fleshing out... well its 11pm,
perhaps tomorrow...