Sunday, October 02, 2005

THE MURDERS IN BALI OF FOLKS SIMPLY ENJOYING THEMSELVES

reminded me of an essay by Richard Dawkins:

"I was prompted to write this article by the smiling face of a very happy man in Bali... He was ecstatically greeting the news that he was to be executed by firing squad for the brutal murder of large numbers of innocent holidaymakers whom he had never met. Some people in the court were shocked at his lack of remorse. But far from remorseful, his mood was one of obvious exhilaration. He punched the air, delirious with joy that he was to be "martyred," to use the jargon of his particular sub-culture of Gerin oil substance-abusers. For, make no mistake about it, this beatific smile, looking forward with unalloyed pleasure to the firing squad, is the smile of a junkie. Here we have the archetypal mainliner, doped up with hard, unrefined, unadulterated, high-octane Gerin oil."

From Opiate of the masses
"It is a highly addictive drug, but governments everywhere encourage its use"

Richard Dawkins

5 comments:

Chancy said...

Gerin oil (or Geriniol anagram for "religion"

Clever

Robert Brady said...

If only there was a cure, or a Geriniolics Anonymous...

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, didn't particularly appreciate the anagram, though I suppose it's important not to confuse "religion" with "spirituality".

Isn't the real problem widespread global poverty, an underclass of billions in their late teens and twenties with nothing going on in their lives, and political movements that offer some sort of purpose (or, in the case of Hamas act as de facto social service providers)...

Robert Brady said...

Heard of any merely poor suicide bombers lately?

Tabor said...

Gee, I knew there was something to the Gerinoil name---but too stupid and busy to try to figure it out!