tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post5159576179704087025..comments2023-10-10T08:02:18.073-04:00Comments on Rationally Speaking: Crying for Suharto?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-87394673554318862008-02-01T12:57:00.000-05:002008-02-01T12:57:00.000-05:00Isn't hero worship an expression of pure animal be...Isn't hero worship an expression of pure animal behavior? We submit to the alpha male/female and the alpha makes us safe. The alpha dies; we are afraid. We cry.<BR/>Excellent, rational behavior for a chimpanzee in the wild.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-63011174156180275512008-01-31T13:15:00.000-05:002008-01-31T13:15:00.000-05:00Well, if it's any consolation, I'm sure a lot of o...Well, if it's any consolation, I'm sure a lot of other people brought out the bad stuff this guy did, even (or especially?) people in his own country. That's one problem for the famous, they hear good and bad about them when they die (ridiculous, but you know what I mean). <BR/><BR/>Why do we have this need to create iconic people, who are really not people like us but demi-gods who have surpassed in their existence what we have done? We want to make objects of belief out of them and wash away their imperfections. So we put them on Mt. Rushmore and teach children that they are flawless heroes. Or we make pilgimages to honor them in their shrines, such as Graceland.WillDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08991177702623617103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-39559187326978575972008-01-30T16:02:00.000-05:002008-01-30T16:02:00.000-05:00Look who's the hero of a good half of the italian...Look who's the hero of a good half of the italian population...Weissbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01811698308229903136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-45444123670104556882008-01-30T15:51:00.000-05:002008-01-30T15:51:00.000-05:00Thanks for writing about something that I've long ...Thanks for writing about something that I've long wondered about. Having never been drawn to any kind of "hero" worship I could never figure out why it was such a big deal to others. Still don't understand it, but glad to see I'm not alone in my ponderings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-69290653304753721432008-01-29T20:32:00.000-05:002008-01-29T20:32:00.000-05:00A recent paper on FEBS shows that both romantic an...A recent paper on FEBS shows that both romantic and maternal love "both deactivate a common set of (brain) regions associated with negative emotions, social judgment and ‘mentalizing’ that is, the assessment of other people’s intentions and emotions". <BR/><BR/>i.e. you become irrational.<BR/><BR/>I guess the same thing would happen with these 'idols' or 'cult figures'. At least that's a hypothesis.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-67719711470952194042008-01-29T10:08:00.000-05:002008-01-29T10:08:00.000-05:00As for mourning dictators, tyrants, and bad presid...As for mourning dictators, tyrants, and bad presidents, there are always significant factions of people in society who wholeheartedly supported what these people did.<BR/><BR/>Then there seems to be a knee-jerk tendency to name people heros if they die in our over sea military operations. And naming people heros if they are star athletes, and then people are overly dissapointed when their behaviour is less than pefect.Sheldonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03743116454273042629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-40654584971933350332008-01-28T16:50:00.000-05:002008-01-28T16:50:00.000-05:00I was astonished when some people argued that Mike...I was astonished when some people argued that Mike Tyson should not go to jail for rape because he was a hero to so many young people. Uh, do you think a better hero might be in order?John Krehbielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10078079001156415151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-13975057594771742412008-01-28T14:23:00.000-05:002008-01-28T14:23:00.000-05:00On this subject we certainly agree. I have never ...On this subject we certainly agree. I have never understood the public's facination with personality cults. There are a few famous people whom I would enjoy meeting but if I saw them on the street I would not rush over to paw at them or grab a used napkin off their table. What is it within some people that makes them behave that way? Is it good that I don't have it, or am I missing some essential human attribute?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-59623445363669014002008-01-28T11:16:00.000-05:002008-01-28T11:16:00.000-05:00But where are the role models today?Not on the tel...<I>But where are the role models today?</I><BR/><BR/>Not on the television screen. They're usually our peers, people we know in person, not over-hyped celebrities.<BR/><BR/>Massimo, you make an interesting observation, but without a hypothesis it won't sway anyone in any direction :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03877117916846565598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-73282682324770899962008-01-28T10:21:00.000-05:002008-01-28T10:21:00.000-05:00But where are the role models today? Maybe hero wo...But where are the role models today? Maybe hero worship is a symptom of the lack.CS McClellan/Catanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12528100633458181090noreply@blogger.com