[lbo-talk] Re: The bomber's psyche (was Bombs in London

BklynMagus magcomm at ix.netcom.com
Thu Jul 28 14:34:01 PDT 2005


Dear List:

James writes:


> Rather, it seems to me that the psychology of volunteering
and civic activism is not so very distant from that of the incendiarist. The same narcissistic preoccupation with sacrificing oneself to a 'higher cause' informs voluntary work and terror.

A few comments:

1) Your idea depends on the acceptance of a notion of self, a dubious notion to try and defend at the best of times.

2) Voluntary work is not necessarily informed always by the concept of a "higher cause" and does not always involve a sacrifice of the "self" or anything else.

3) Why would a narcissistic preoccupation lead to the sacrificing of the self? That seems wrong. The preoccupation loses its object if the self is annihilated. But then again, I understand so little about what others so blithely refer to as "the self."

Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Resister



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