For the past several days I have been wanting to post something about the terror attacks in Norway, but I have had to really ponder if I should. Being a selfproclaimed aethist, I have no idea why someone would carry out the murders of children in the name of religion and basically an ethnic or political cleasing. I have the belief that if someone wants to believe in some supreme being, that's ok, I just do not believe it. I guess it comes down to how a person is raised by their parents and society as a whole. I thank my parents for having tolerance and giving me that gift to see people for who they are as a person and not what religious denomination they are affiliated with, or for that matter, I really do not care what nationality you are, or what political views you have, you have a right to have them.
I am now thinking that the murderer in Norway, Anders Behring Breivik, is not insane. He carried out is plan with terrifing precision without any help. It was premeditated plain and simple, and came from pure hatred of other people. There are some many thousands of things that could have triggered him to think differently from the rest of society, but is it insanity or is it just how our society has influenced him? Or is it fear of the unknown and fear of what may happen? Far too many people have died in the name of religion, politics and ethnic cleasing over the centuries, I would hope as a civilized culture this kind of waste of life would cease to exist and maybe we could work together as a culture and solve bigger problems like deseases, or climate change.
Well, we are obviously not there yet and have a long way to go! I think most of our dislike or in extreme cases hatred of other cultures is fear. Fear that our lives will change for the worse, that we will have to learn about something we don't understand. Even when I was younger, I felt sorry for members of the KKK, especially the children dressed in those outfits, being taught to hate other races. Why? Basically they were taught the hatred from elders before them that were taught it too. It just seemed to me to be a vicious cycle of ignorance and hatred. The murderer in Norway chose to hate, chose to fear others. And he chose to blame it on religion and politics, and now wants the authorities to believe he is insane. Just because he is "wired wrong" does not mean he is insane. He carried out his plan with precision, he wrote about his hatred, he planned his disguise and transportation, and in one report it was said he wondered why the authorities did not apprehend him sooner. Well he obviously knew he was doing wrong. We all make choices every day that effects our lives either positively or negatively. And although I am an aethist, Anders Behring Breivik I personally hope you will burn in hell for all eternity, sane or not. My heart goes out to any family members of the 76 young people that perished on Utoya Island in Norway. Your children deserved a long, healthy life, with loving families and a bright future: may they rest in peace, and may they get the justice they deserve.
