tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post8005148708407814244..comments2024-03-29T05:19:36.748+00:00Comments on Shadows & Light: On Adventurism and FightingSteve Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684120060438252945noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-42380155927967861592015-02-28T22:40:35.548+00:002015-02-28T22:40:35.548+00:00um, have you met any humans lately? we have been ...um, have you met any humans lately? we have been engaged in war, murder, torture, and mayhem since we first picked up a stick. it doesn't help that our culture here glorifies war and guns and blowing shit up. and the movies, fer cryin' out loud. I heard recently about some citizen christian militia that either has or is getting ready to go over and fight ISIS. Because, ya know, the NRA has convinced every gun owner that just having a gun makes them indestructible. ellen abbotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00535475792150335186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-88152433430278828772015-02-28T07:48:58.540+00:002015-02-28T07:48:58.540+00:00I have nothing to add to this conversation. The wh...I have nothing to add to this conversation. The whole issue stumps me. I'm also stumped by people who climb glaciers, though -- "because they are there." Plus, I would actually love a little humdrum, to tell you the truth.<br /><br />I love how you meandered toward the dogwalker story, though. I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the photo, too!Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03313726816776097840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-12799563224980189202015-02-28T07:24:02.278+00:002015-02-28T07:24:02.278+00:00I get that there is a yearning going on here -- a ...I get that there is a yearning going on here -- a desire for a life of meaning and consequence. But, you know, go work in the soup kitchen! Go to college! Join a refugee relief organization! There are constructive ways to build a more meaningful and consequential life.<br /><br />At least the French Foreign Legion and mercenary soldiers are being PAID. This guy was doing it for nothing.<br /><br />And if I'm not mistaken, the mall kiosk manager at least shared some ethnic and religious roots with those he was trying to assist. The guy in the New Yorker story shared neither. He was of European heritage and faked Lebanese ancestry in order to gain legitimacy in the eyes of other fighters.<br /><br />Perhaps Ms Moon is right -- that certain people are born with a fighting gene that must be acted upon.<br /><br />I think we'd all like a life of less tedium. But part of life is tedium, isn't it?Steve Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11684120060438252945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-30247430075267434772015-02-28T05:49:23.809+00:002015-02-28T05:49:23.809+00:00I get the fighting bit, but you wouldn't find ...I get the fighting bit, but you wouldn't find me there in a million years.<br /><br />Just as you wouldn't find me on the mission to Mars that has no return trip.<br /><br />Ms Soupalphabet souphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11744905399607433764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-77831695607545594992015-02-27T23:56:44.448+00:002015-02-27T23:56:44.448+00:00I am QUITE content to sit at home & read murde...I am QUITE content to sit at home & read murder mysteries instead of seeking adventure. And on that note, I wonder if the dog walker is involved in something sinister... :)The Bughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07509037206264761261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-56031448309366083042015-02-27T21:42:43.604+00:002015-02-27T21:42:43.604+00:00I am surprised that a man walking a group of dogs ...I am surprised that a man walking a group of dogs would be mugged. I would expect the muggers to assume that they may be attacked by the dogs and to find a safer target. But maybe like the people who join wars that have nothing to do with them, they were looking for the excitement they weren't getting with soft targets.JennieBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06470756350440304293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-72081788043406097082015-02-27T21:15:33.313+00:002015-02-27T21:15:33.313+00:00I don't get the fighting either. But the idea ...I don't get the fighting either. But the idea that one might yearn for a life of less tedium, more meaning, that I kind of understand. 37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-32771638384899163112015-02-27T17:23:05.504+00:002015-02-27T17:23:05.504+00:00I agree with Mary that the urge to fight and to ha...I agree with Mary that the urge to fight and to have adventure is part of human evolution: I have another word or two for you : Mercenary soldier. Your brother also makes a good point...ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11376645220662546020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-6008340520474979272015-02-27T16:26:05.192+00:002015-02-27T16:26:05.192+00:00I have been trying to understand what would entice...I have been trying to understand what would entice people to go to such places and moreover what would entice someone to butcher other human beings. I've read a lot and listened to stories on NPR but, there doesn't seem to be any pattern. At first you might think it's the disenfranchised but the guy they revealed yesterday who is in the beheading videos was middle class and well educated. Then there are those two 15 year old girls...what on earth? How could any girl want to be "owned" by a group like that? I don't understand and I'm not sure I ever will. <br />So sorry to hear about the dog walker. That is troubling. I wonder if Olga would have reacted differently if you or Dave were attacked. Sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645915869786296771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-67496871388427166712015-02-27T14:56:00.327+00:002015-02-27T14:56:00.327+00:00I must have missed that story in the New Yorker. I...I must have missed that story in the New Yorker. I can't imagine my life being so aimless that I'd feel the need to risk my life for someone else's cause. <br />Martyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02366449267039641100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-5518224040725309002015-02-27T14:53:03.648+00:002015-02-27T14:53:03.648+00:00I think it is less that people want to go someplac...I think it is less that people want to go someplace and fight, and more that people believe, as many young folks have always felt, that they are destined for something more that what they see as the path they are on. The man who was arrested here locally for aiding people trying to go overseas to fight, for example. He was a kiosk manager in the local shopping mall. It is easier to see how somebody would seek out a cause to embrace when their day to day consists of such a meaningless job and really no hope for something better.utahDOG!https://www.blogger.com/profile/04574614138539392895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-35610741824361258262015-02-27T14:19:56.895+00:002015-02-27T14:19:56.895+00:00I have three words for you:
French Foreign Legion....I have three words for you:<br />French Foreign Legion.<br /><br />Some people are born to be warriors. I truly believe that. Part of our evolution. <br /><br />Poor Olga- I hope she isn't traumatized. Ms. Moonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09776404747858099919noreply@blogger.com