Reply #257: that was the first thing I was thinking, too [View All]

You can really write! (And I've been teaching at a university for more than a decade, so I've met lots of people who THINK they can express themselves -- and you are way better than most of them.)

By the way, when you said the man looke like he was enraptured by God -- I know you mentioned earlier that you were uncertain whether it was the right description, but it sounds very true to me. There are historical accounts, as far back as the first Crusade, where soldiers had convinced themselves, or been brainwashed, into thinking they were doing "holy work". And they had weird peaceful smiles -- some of them even sang! -- as they killed their victims. In the case of the Crusaders, they had been immersed in brutality, and in a strange new land -- plus the preachers had told them that they would be absolved of all their sins, just because of who they were and what they were doing.

I've been told that suicide bombers, prior to going on their missions, have a similar sense of intense calm about them. Creepy to think that they, and that man, have so much in common.