Anders Breivik trial
I remember when news of the car bomb in Oslo last July first appeared in the news. Like others I was unaware of the gravity of the situation even as Anders Breivik went on his rampage against youth participants of the Labour Party on the island of Utoeya, Norway. His trial (currently on-going) will determine whether he is insane and committed to a mental institution, or sane and sentenced to prison (Norway does not have a death penalty).
Personally, I believe he is sane. His thought process and ability to present information in a logical manner is chilling, although he also mentioned "100 voices" in his head telling him not to shoot his first victims. He continues to describe how he shot people who were "begging for their lives" and "paralysed in fear" adding that he was "under normal circumstances a very nice person, very caring about those around me" and able to understand how his actions were "horrifying" to others. He also mentions that he is capable of feeling sadness, and his "saddest day" was the funeral of his best friend's brother.
This ability to feel empathy, if not remorse, as well as the ability to objectively understand why others do not support his actions, seems to me the thought process of a sane man. Obviously I am not certified to give a psychological evaluation but this is a place to assert my opinions, after all.
What I found interesting is that he claimed S. Korea and Japan were the ideal states, as they had "taken a stand against multiculturalism and Marxism in the 1970s". Although he denies he is a neo-Nazi, he has begun each trial proceeding with a right-wing salute against the wishes of his lawyers.
Reading the live tweets of the trial from Paul Brennan (who is reporting from the court room) is bizarre. To quote Breivik's testimony: "And I thought, do I really want to survive this? I will be the most hated man in Norway". If he really is sane, I think it would somehow make his crimes more atrocious, more horrifying. How could anyone delude themselves into thinking that the cold-blooded murder of youths could ever contribute to the glory of their countries? But do I even have to ask this question? We all know what kind of world we live in, a world that is good and kind but all too often unspeakably cruel beyond what the average person could imagine.
These are my thoughts.
Source: BBC News
The Guardian
Paul Brennan @ Twitter
Personally, I believe he is sane. His thought process and ability to present information in a logical manner is chilling, although he also mentioned "100 voices" in his head telling him not to shoot his first victims. He continues to describe how he shot people who were "begging for their lives" and "paralysed in fear" adding that he was "under normal circumstances a very nice person, very caring about those around me" and able to understand how his actions were "horrifying" to others. He also mentions that he is capable of feeling sadness, and his "saddest day" was the funeral of his best friend's brother.
This ability to feel empathy, if not remorse, as well as the ability to objectively understand why others do not support his actions, seems to me the thought process of a sane man. Obviously I am not certified to give a psychological evaluation but this is a place to assert my opinions, after all.
What I found interesting is that he claimed S. Korea and Japan were the ideal states, as they had "taken a stand against multiculturalism and Marxism in the 1970s". Although he denies he is a neo-Nazi, he has begun each trial proceeding with a right-wing salute against the wishes of his lawyers.
Reading the live tweets of the trial from Paul Brennan (who is reporting from the court room) is bizarre. To quote Breivik's testimony: "And I thought, do I really want to survive this? I will be the most hated man in Norway". If he really is sane, I think it would somehow make his crimes more atrocious, more horrifying. How could anyone delude themselves into thinking that the cold-blooded murder of youths could ever contribute to the glory of their countries? But do I even have to ask this question? We all know what kind of world we live in, a world that is good and kind but all too often unspeakably cruel beyond what the average person could imagine.
These are my thoughts.
Source: BBC News
The Guardian
Paul Brennan @ Twitter