A bit too close to home

And Also: All the talk about the power of blogs in politics these days made me consider political pamphlet in the days before the Revolutionary War. Bernard Bailyn is famous for his analysis of the ideology of the period, focusing largely on such rich source material. Cheap pamphlets, broadsides, and similar published works were very important, and often not exactly known for their rich political analysis. And, they responded to/quoted each other and communication improvements led to easier mass distribution. A sort of 18th Century blogosphere, perhaps?

A few thoughts on a piece by Dahlia Lithwick on Teenage Terrorists:

The criminal tends to share basic human tendencies of the group s/he comes from. These teenage criminals seem to share typical teenage tendencies.

Teenagers often tend not to be that original ... they aim not to be different. Teenage guys tend to be interested in girlfriends.* [The idea that repression of the urge can have negative effects makes sense and is not limited to this area.] They often are stressed/depressed. And, many -- especially those anti-social -- have grudges against others, but deep down (like us all) want to be part of the crowd.

But, such information is important. It underlines that the people we must face up to here are not alien beings, not other "non-humans," but are more like us and others of their group than we might wish to accept. Perhaps, this lesson is too often ignored when dealing with foreign terrorists.

It also seems like a good idea to recognize that teen criminals share various traits with their adult opposite members. There surely are differences, but when a teenage kills, steals, rapes, etc. they are not somehow so different from adults. Different enough in some ways, but not in others.

It adds to the scary nature of such acts. Btw perhaps lawful criminal justice does have a place these days, huh? And, working with other countries. Who knew? Well ...

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* "One of the most pathetic details that emerged ... was this: Sandwiched between the hatred and loneliness and alienation was a simple yet acute longing for girlfriends." What is so "pathetic" about this typical teenage longing [change the sex, and it is shared by girls too]?

It sounds like the movie Permanent Record involving a teenage suicide -- his classmates were very stressed. The guy was an A student and "perfect" in so many ways. Who would be next if he killed himself? "Pathetic?" Well, teenage guys (guys in general) often are, I guess.