35. Last Resort

Synopsis - Winston feels his country is going nowhere in the war with Germany. Hitler was going to win and he would be subject to the menace of the Third Reich. He had to do something, anything to create a devastating blow to the enemy forces. He decides that he should be a suicide bomber.

People behave strangely in times if crisis. Given that most of us do not live in a crisis most of the time, such behaviour appears irrational and perhaps inhumane. Here's where we must put ourselves into the shoes of others and walk a mile. As circumstances change dramatically, from peaceful to war-torn, from stocked larder to empty, dusty shelves, we begin to sympathize and understand the root cause of their actions. It is deplorable that people use, perhaps even manipulate, others to turn themselves into human bombs. Their motivations are higher. They fight not for a job in an office, they fight for their lives, water, food and freedom. They fight for their religion. On a daily basis no less. These situations are difficult to comprehend outright. Many in developed and developing countries would not last a day in Palestine yet we decry the actions of those with no homes and food for their families, no jobs to earn money from, no room to move. It's a sad, desperate situation. And we all know what desperate times call for.

In the example of the dangerous air force bombing missions, honour was bestowed on those who were successful and those who perished on their missions. The Japanese kamikaze missions had the blessings of their emperor and these pilots knew they would be revered honourably. The case seems similar for suicide bombers. Most Palestinians think that a strike, any strike, against the enemy is a noble deed. Once again, it requires a measure of empathy to agree with their methods.

On TV, we're bombarded with images of death and destruction on an almost daily basis. The guns, bombs anx violence genre does very well at the cinemas too. We hear of destruction and violence on the news all the time. Parents buy their kids toy guns and shhot em up computer games. Our modern lives are inundated with such imagery and savagery. We don't need special wartime circumstances to envision suicide bombers wiping out scores if innocents in a market. Many of us are perfectly desensitized. That's sad too. Does it mean we'd turn into suicide bombers at a moment's thought?Maybe. Perhaps impressionable teens who like vampire movies might perceive this as a chance for immortality. I think there's a need for us to acknowledge the perceptions of reality and fantasy among some of our youth before they start treading on loose ground.