Suicide is a mystery. It is a collective experience as ancient as death. Unlike death, however, suicide is a surreptitious as the person that engages it. Several ancient Asian civilizations revered it as an honorable end. Others have not, however. Many African Tribes believed suicide to be accursed. Still others elsewhere throughout time remain ambivalent towards the praxis of taking one’s own life. The motivation and consequences of suicide vary drastically, making it a difficult subject to rationalize.
Though it is an old human behavior, suicide has a fairly young definition. It “is based on the Latin pronoun sui, meaning ‘self,’ and the Latin verb cide, ‘to kill’” (Curra, 2017, p. 248). Renowned sociologists like Durkheim and Douglas have defined this relative conception to the best of their ability. While Durkheim’s noble attempts to remain completely objective are revered, he failed to factor in the variables of motive and intent. Douglas believed in the …show more content…
Suicide terrorism is unique in that the target is not as much about the self-killer, but rather those who are forced to witness it. “While the goal of a suicide attack is to physically destroy an initial target, it is used primarily as a weapon of psychological warfare intended to influence the larger public audience” (Noor, 2011). Against popular thought, suicide terrorists are rarely poverty stricken psychopaths struggling with feelings of worthlessness. Instead, research shows that they are typically well educated, middle class, “normal” looking people (Thio, Taylor, & Schwartz, 2013.p.159). These type of individuals view themselves as neither suicide victims nor terrorists. Rather, they believe themselves to be martyrs. Similar to the Samurai, suicide terrorists are dedicated to a fanatical creed. Their loyalty unto death marks them as heroes amongst their families and
Though it is an old human behavior, suicide has a fairly young definition. It “is based on the Latin pronoun sui, meaning ‘self,’ and the Latin verb cide, ‘to kill’” (Curra, 2017, p. 248). Renowned sociologists like Durkheim and Douglas have defined this relative conception to the best of their ability. While Durkheim’s noble attempts to remain completely objective are revered, he failed to factor in the variables of motive and intent. Douglas believed in the …show more content…
Suicide terrorism is unique in that the target is not as much about the self-killer, but rather those who are forced to witness it. “While the goal of a suicide attack is to physically destroy an initial target, it is used primarily as a weapon of psychological warfare intended to influence the larger public audience” (Noor, 2011). Against popular thought, suicide terrorists are rarely poverty stricken psychopaths struggling with feelings of worthlessness. Instead, research shows that they are typically well educated, middle class, “normal” looking people (Thio, Taylor, & Schwartz, 2013.p.159). These type of individuals view themselves as neither suicide victims nor terrorists. Rather, they believe themselves to be martyrs. Similar to the Samurai, suicide terrorists are dedicated to a fanatical creed. Their loyalty unto death marks them as heroes amongst their families and