Transit Bombings Will Spread
For immediate release - For wide dissemination
COPYCAT EFFECT WILL SPREAD TRANSIT BOMBINGS ACROSS EUROPE
An international expert in behavioral contagion, Loren Coleman, author of The Copycat Effect (Paraview Pocket Books - Simon and Schuster, 2004), says the floodgates will now open to copycat acts of suicide bombers targeting mass transit systems and public gathering locations (e.g. malls) in Europe and North America. Such incidents as the 7/7 London, 3/11 Madrid, and 9/11 terror attacks serve as “celebrity events” that become models copied by vulnerable Islamic extremists. The shift from airplanes into building, to soft targets in the mass transit sphere, now appears complete, says Coleman who is predicting we will see copycat bombings within three months.
The news that the deadly London subway and bus bombings were caused by suicide bombers will have an immediate impact on the ranks of potential suicide bombers. More will come forward to die for their “cause.”
Coleman, who foresaw last summer that beheadings would be copied due to the mass electronic attention to them, says that while the media is not to blame, per se, it serves the objectives of the suicide bombers. Al-Qaeda and Hamas suicide bombers’ acts serve as models of acceptable behavior among their peers, spreading their membership via the copycat effect. In his book, he documented how suicidal-homicidal behavior requires a strong sense of purpose, which is in itself contagious, and leads to “volunteers” of this kind.
Coleman points out, that we did not always live in a world of suicide bombers. There is mounting evidence that suicide bombings, because of the media attention they receive, the fear factor they create, the terrorism and copycats they produce, achieve the goals of their suicidal-homicidal acts. The media--and how they can be used--has certainly become a part of the process. Today’s terrorists will use mass transit suicide bombings as publicity to recruit more activists, to gain attention to their grievances from softliners, and to “win” their war, from their point of view. Suicide bombers employ the media as horror-driven entertainment, to broaden their message.
Coleman notes that research shows potential terrorists become aroused by media presentations of terrorism, accept the violence as justified, and become tomorrow’s suicide bombers.
Contagion terrorism, unfortunately, makes compelling sense when we understand the simple but deadly psychology of the copycat effect. The global attention and blanket media coverage given the 7/7 London terrorist attacks will actually help create tomorrow’s suicide bombers who will feel fully legitimized in their future murder-suicides. It all is a sad irony, notes Coleman.
Contact: Loren Coleman via email at lcoleman@maine.rr.com
COPYCAT EFFECT WILL SPREAD TRANSIT BOMBINGS ACROSS EUROPE
An international expert in behavioral contagion, Loren Coleman, author of The Copycat Effect (Paraview Pocket Books - Simon and Schuster, 2004), says the floodgates will now open to copycat acts of suicide bombers targeting mass transit systems and public gathering locations (e.g. malls) in Europe and North America. Such incidents as the 7/7 London, 3/11 Madrid, and 9/11 terror attacks serve as “celebrity events” that become models copied by vulnerable Islamic extremists. The shift from airplanes into building, to soft targets in the mass transit sphere, now appears complete, says Coleman who is predicting we will see copycat bombings within three months.
The news that the deadly London subway and bus bombings were caused by suicide bombers will have an immediate impact on the ranks of potential suicide bombers. More will come forward to die for their “cause.”
Coleman, who foresaw last summer that beheadings would be copied due to the mass electronic attention to them, says that while the media is not to blame, per se, it serves the objectives of the suicide bombers. Al-Qaeda and Hamas suicide bombers’ acts serve as models of acceptable behavior among their peers, spreading their membership via the copycat effect. In his book, he documented how suicidal-homicidal behavior requires a strong sense of purpose, which is in itself contagious, and leads to “volunteers” of this kind.
Coleman points out, that we did not always live in a world of suicide bombers. There is mounting evidence that suicide bombings, because of the media attention they receive, the fear factor they create, the terrorism and copycats they produce, achieve the goals of their suicidal-homicidal acts. The media--and how they can be used--has certainly become a part of the process. Today’s terrorists will use mass transit suicide bombings as publicity to recruit more activists, to gain attention to their grievances from softliners, and to “win” their war, from their point of view. Suicide bombers employ the media as horror-driven entertainment, to broaden their message.
Coleman notes that research shows potential terrorists become aroused by media presentations of terrorism, accept the violence as justified, and become tomorrow’s suicide bombers.
Contagion terrorism, unfortunately, makes compelling sense when we understand the simple but deadly psychology of the copycat effect. The global attention and blanket media coverage given the 7/7 London terrorist attacks will actually help create tomorrow’s suicide bombers who will feel fully legitimized in their future murder-suicides. It all is a sad irony, notes Coleman.
Contact: Loren Coleman via email at lcoleman@maine.rr.com
