Bible-beater pilots

Rob Perkins wrote:

Second, I don't think you'd have the suicide bombers without the

desparate poverty of the common people in those areas, especially
Palestine. But the same thugs who foment Islamofascism are largely
responsible for keeping those people impoverished anyway, precisely
because they take hopeless people and brainwash them with a very false
interpretation of an otherwise peaceful religious belief system.



Does anyone honestly think there would be suicide attacks WITHOUT religion
assuring them of "eternal life"?



Yes. A charismatic person reasoning under a humanistic belief system
could tell hopeless people that their sacrifices are for the "good of
Mankind", (or the "Good of the Fatherland", or "the Motherland") and
that they must spend their lives to ensure it.

Reading this suggests that you are making the assumption that the
suicide bombers
come from the down-trodden, hopeless members of Islamic society. I've
seen several
reports recently, though, that challenge this idea. I don't have any
citations handy, but
from what I remember it's the more affluent segment of the society
that's providing the
zealots.

This actually makes sense, looking back at this countries own
turbulent history. There
were the occasional riots (like Watts) where most of the participants
were from the
"oppressed" segments of our society, but the real "outlaw" groups (SDS,
Weather
Underground, etc) were made up mostly of middle-class kids who felt the
country
was wrong, and that violence was the only answer.

When you think about it, the down-trodden really don't have a lot of
opportunity to
become revolutionaries. They're too busy just trying to stay alive. They
might go into
crime, but they don't have the time, energy, or education to become
revolutionaries.
The middle class kids, though, have lots of free time to "think grand
thoughts" since
"mommy and daddy" are footing the bill. They also have the education to
know that
a successful revolution is possible, and to figure out how to carry if off.

Rich Lemert