From Frustration to Fire: Understanding Terrorism
What can you do now?
Communication is like a Wi-Fi signal; a strong one will connect everyone, and a weak one will leave users buffering in misunderstandings. Among the many forms of communication, Terrorism is particularly a violent one. It emerges when individuals or groups feel persistently violated and threatened, resorting to violence as a last resort to make their grievances known.
It starts with frustration-aggression hypothesis where a goal achievement process interrupts with an obstacle and constant discomfort pushes the one to frustration. This amplifies enough to resort to aggression as the only means of resolution initiation. What makes terrorism potent is its collective nature — people identify with a cause and adopt it as a part of their social identity.
Roots of aggression and radicalization
When individuals face constant discomfort and frustration, they may begin to see aggression or violence as legitimate means of resolving their issues. This marks a significant shift in their moral system, where violence becomes a justifiable response. Over time, this mindset can evolve into radicalization, where dichotomous thinking — viewing issues in black and white terms — dominates. Such thinking fosters extremist behavior and a willingness to ignore the complex realities of situations.
The common source of action-consequence mapping is from what one sees in the world, these set an undefined set of rules to abide by. One may learn not to touch a hot pan after a burn to expressing anger is valid after a moment of distress. These imbibed learnings have stronger impressions because of the introduction to fear. Radicalization often thrives on fear. Fear can be a powerful motivator, imprinting stronger lessons and justifying extreme actions. Terrorism exploits this by embedding fear within its motivational framework, driving individuals towards violent actions in pursuit of perceived justice or change.
Motivation behind terrorism
Motivation can derive itself from various sources and hence in intense atrocities inflicted situation, if one is bred with certain moral values, thought cycles and unstable (peace is compromised with) surroundings — this unconscious motivation is built up that gets triggered then acknowledged and then validated with people resonating with like-minded people. The cause can range in religious, political, socioeconomic, criminal, psychological or pathological parallels, each one as potent as other to bring in a collective motive. Terrorist groups often frame their actions in terms of altruism, the greater good, or divine will, masking violent intentions behind seemingly noble causes.
‘Fight and flight’ response weighs different in different circumstances like in a political conundrum; intimidation is allegedly a weapon for communication. Often, terrorism acts as a form of passive-aggressive communication where the targets are not the primary audience. Instead, it is a psychological warfare strategy intended to convey a message to a broader or different audience, using fear and disruption as tools.
Personal impact of Terrorism
I belong to this middle-class family that strives on building a life and hence an easy soft target for terroristic attacks if not hard target. Among the many, soft targets-middle class crowd are one of the vulnerable ones. Take the story of my acquaintance, Smit, whose father was caught in a terrorist attack at a high-profile meeting. The trauma from this event left lingering scars, manifesting in PTSD and a pervasive sense of fear triggered by everyday sounds — mere metal cling sound by kitchen utensils fading away to scares from ambulance sounds and tire puncture noise.
It took Smit’s father over a year to accept and begin healing from this trauma. I have been to his place a few over 100 times and wasn’t aware of this phase the family had experienced until explicitly brought up.
Among the many pages of life, some aren’t visually drastic enough to make it to life’s difficult fallbacks but emotionally scarring enough to alter one’s perspective of life. On the wild opposite side of the river, societies are identifying causes to support by carrot or stick theory (साम दाम दंड भेद in Hindi) irrespective of the cost associated. They underscore the broader societal impact and the importance of addressing these issues at their roots.
Broader implications
Of the many political movements to gain national control, terrorism stands out to be easiest low blow to economy. All these ripples of fading loss to humanity are originating from lone offenders who found violence to be the final ultimate resort and/or collective motive for a mob of revolutionaries resonating on violence as the only trustworthy solution for change.
An average human life with all rights accessible has heard if not experienced about all types — state sponsored terrorism wherein the government sponsors or supports the cause (extreme cases of dictatorship), sub state level includes social revolutionaries, national separatists, religious fundamentals, new religion rights reservationists, religious fundamental activists, and social cause oriented. Needless to mention, not all revolutionists resort to violence, not all reactions are as devastating as terrorism does. However, extremely pressing to mention that the thin blurred line between acknowledging violence than consciously/ unconsciously supporting violence makes all the difference.
Terrorism is a complex and multifaceted issue that demands a nuanced understanding. It exploits vulnerabilities in societal structures and individual psyches, turning collective grievances into violent actions. It thrives in environments where fear, frustration, and radicalization can take root.
The economist quotes -
Liberty has been the first victim of the war fought in its name.
It’s a breathing proof of freedom paradox. ‘Harm by the people, for the people, of the people’ passes terrorism as the deadly avatar of democracy threatening democracy. Democracy indeed is the first victim of the terrorism faced in its name.
We are all quiet until the ripple effect scrapes us by, rather we must be mindful of the moral value system and thought process that we silently cultivate in all forms of societies through various conversations or engagements. By fostering open, nuanced conversations and rejecting simplistic, extremist viewpoints, we can work towards mitigating the conditions that lead to terrorism.
Terrorism is a deadly form of political communication that preys on fear and collective identity. To counter it, we need to build stronger, more resilient societies that address underlying grievances and promote peaceful resolution of conflicts. Let’s strive to understand and dismantle the root causes of terrorism rather than merely responding to its symptoms.
Disclaimer: This written piece is a mere analytical exploration of the psychological and social factors contributing to terrorism. It does not condone or justify any form of violence. The words though have various interpretations, are urged to be accepted in a neutral tone of reasoning.
