When reason stops

As he was waiting for the arrival of the mass-killer, a Norwegian man outside the court in Oslo said that he “just wants to have a glimpse of evil”.

A small, peacefull nation drown into a 666-orgy of insanity beyond comprehension. When hatred slides over the edge.

But the murdering man was not mentally stupid. No low IQ. He put together an astonishing 1500 page document about his thoughts and opinons. A long, dark tunnel. And it lead to a day of utter insanity. But the document is heavily on serious research. Without a doubt research inspired by certain thinking processes and research done to look for explanations for his visions. The research didn’t lead to a conclusion. The conclusion was searching for reasons. But for sure he went far back in world history to fuel his fear that the world keeps changing and it was change he didn’t like. And it was change he wanted to stop there and then. By a killing spree.

A document that became his bible for action. Guidebook to slaughter. Narrow minded fear + narrow minded visions + fear of tomorrow + guns = scary options.

A bible indeed. His deep rooted, conservative Christianity pushed his thoughts deeper and deeper into a certain tunnel. Religion is the opium of the masses, as Marx said. Probably the only thing Marx was spot on with, because his other theories were used in the former Soviet Union and the former Eastern Europe to turn states into prisons without hope. Left wing dictatorships. The area where extremisms – left or right – touches each other. Copy each other under a different banner. The goelags of Stalin and the concentration camps of Hitler. Same with religions. The conservative Christian massmurderer in Norway is the same evil as the 9/11 hijackers. Same terrorists. When reason stops, demons dance.

Human behaviour can easily slide into hell. Fear is a massive catalyst.

History is a tool that can be spinned and used and analysed by all to proof anything. But history is also there to show the undeniable, neutral fact that things change. They come and go. History – as the future will be – is not stable nor fully predictable and never (for anybody) as hoped and expected and planned.

The birth of the human race is traced back to Africa. But that continent is now the most tragic. The Egyptians ruled once. And the Romans conquered. And the Vikings caused fear as far as Paris. There was the Portuguese empire. And the Spanish one. And the British one. And the French one. And the Austrian-Hungarian one. And the Ottoman one. And the Third Reich. And the Soviet Union. And the Dutch ruled the old trade routes at one time. And the Indians (the red skins, not the Asians) where once the free roamers of what is now America. Things change. For better and for worse. It’s the unstoppable pendilum of time. And it’s clear that the economic might of China is slowly taking over global trade power. And it’s clear that Muslim faith is growing while Christianity is declining. All of the above have reasons. Mostly social-economic reasons. And always a multiple avalanche of reasons. Developments. Actions. Events.

But throughout the centuries there is the clear thread of mistrust. Of fear of the unknown. Fear of the future – which is a normal human response. Change is too often feared and disliked. Change is a rupture of comfort. Change – once again – can be good and bad. Can have good and bad consequences for humans and animals. And for the environment generally.

Fear is what make humans edgy. And in fact, what makes animals edgy too.

Christians hate Muslims. Muslims hate Jews. Blacks hate whites and whites hate blacks. Brits hate Polish. French dislike the English. Scots feel hated by the English. The Welsh feel forgotten. South and North Italians dislike each other. Gypsies are hated by all. Russians hate Georgians. Zulus hate Xhosas. Commies hate capitalists. Capitalists hate the left wing. CEOs dislike the unions. The Oklahoma bomber hated the State. The Romans hated Jesus. Lenin hated the monarchs. City dwellers hate farmers. Rural folks dislike the city slickers. Old people don’t understand the young. The young think the oldies are ‘funny’. Basks hate Madrid. Bosnians hate Serbs and Serbs hate them too. And the Kosovars. Tutsis don’t trust Hutus. Afrikaners and South African blacks have a history of hatred. Liberals and Conservatives can’t stand each other. The Flemish dislike the Walloons, and the Walloons think all Flemish are fascists. The Chinese hate the Tibetans. And the Taiwanese. The Japanese and the Chinese don’t really like each other. North and South Korea are the ultimate paranoid brothers. NY doesn’t like LA. Firemen hate pyromaniacs. Cows fear the butcher. Cats and dogs can’t stand each other. The Sunnis hate the Shi’ites. Hamas and Fatah don’t get along. The Tea Party followers hate Obama. Big business hate enviromentalists. Israelis and Palestinians have been at each other throats for too many years. Vegetarians hate McDonalds. Anarchists hate the banks. Fish hate fishermen. Sharks fear the Chinese. Whales hide for the Japanese. The river fish fears the eagle. The spider fears the scorpion. The bok fears the lion. The elephant hates the ivory traders. Northern Nigerians dislike southerners. Same north-south divide in Ivory Coast. Record labels hate (illegal) downloaders. Real Madrid supporters hate Barcelona fans. Decent journalists hate tabloid ones. India hate Pakistan, and vice versa.

And on and on goes the carousel of hate, dislike, distrust, fear, and un-understanding.

And as the blood in Norway was drying up, came the news that singer Amy Winehouse was no more.

A young girl full of possibilities and opportunities that went over the edge. Self-destructive behaviour. A great voice. A great performer. Deep, meaningfull lyrics. But with a very dark side. Internal torment. And it ended as many feared. Alone in her flat. The heart gave up. It couldn’t handle the self-abuse anymore.

Wondering if Elton John will re-write his Princess Diana-tribute song “Candle In The Wind” for Amy: “Candle Under The Spoon”.

Wondering what Amy says when she knocked at heaven’s gate: “Is this rehab?”

Yes it is. The ultimate rehab. No return anymore. No falling back to dark habbits. No more back to black.

Human behaviour can be a sadly affair.

The US budget fights are technical and nearly ridiculous. The US is broke and thus something needs to be done. One is laughing with the Greeks, but the US is far far far far deeper in the red than anybody else. And in fact lots of the US debt is held by Chinese banks. Speaking of times’ changing!

The debates often sound like a domestic dispute. The mother screams at the father that he spends too much on gambling and on a new TV set. The father screams back saying she didn’t need a new oven nor a weekly hairdo.

Wondering if a US economist is about to enter a Chinese bank with Uzis, AK47s and semtex? Conservative capitalist mass-murderer causes havoc and death in a state-controlled, communist-named-but-capitalist-acting bank in the business district of Beijing. Nothing is what is was, nor what it will be.

Nobody is safe anymore. Nowhere. Never.

Throw out. Brian Fallon from Gaslight Anthems fame is soon releasing an album with his side-project The Horrible Crowes. The recordings are done. The album title unknown for now. The exact release date unknown for now. High expectations.

C -Ya

collateral – July 2011 is a cracker