Tamerlan Tsarnaev did not begin life as a terrorist, nor did he appear to entertain the goal of violence until certain events occurred, cutting his dreams short. The tragic trajectory led him to bomb the Boston Marathon with his younger brother, Dzhokhar, on April 15, killing three and wounding 260 people.
As I attempt to
understand the motives behind the terrorist acts of Mr. Tsarnaev, the theme of
hopelessness resonates like an
offending gong. He attempted to achieve the American dream. The reason he
failed was not as much the system itself as his interpretation of events. He
did not know how to follow the rules.
He is described
as an “underachiever” because he did not dedicate himself to the proper
training regimen. During a preliminary round of the New England Golden Gloves
in 2010, he breached boxing etiquette by entering the locker room, taunting his opponent as well as the
other fighter’s trainer. “You’re nothing,” he said disdainfully. “I’m taking
you down.” (Speaking in psychodynamic terms, he was most likely externalizing
his deepest unconscious fear-his lack of self esteem.)
The trainer was
furious and lodged a complaint, arguing that Mr. Tsarnaev should not be allowed
to participate. Soon after, non-citizens were barred from the competition. A
year away from citizenship, Mr. Tsarnaev was devastated. Perhaps he feared that his arrest for a
report of domestic violence would be an obstacle to citizenship, but this
charge was dismissed.
Soon after he
gave up boxing, he married the American woman, Katherine Russell, in a brief
Islamic ceremony. He took care of his three-year-old daughter while his wife
supported the family as a home health aide, supplemented by public assistance.
After he was
married with a child, he withdrew from his friends, and felt guilty for having
fun at the parties he had previously enjoyed. He dropped out of community
college and lost interest in boxing and in music. He worked sporadically and
seemed isolated. His mother returned to Dagestan soon after a felony arrest on
shoplifting charges. His brother had left for college at Dartmouth. He further
isolated himself, becoming an outsider with other Muslims; attending a mosque,
he interrupted the prayers on two occasions to denounce the idea that Muslims
should observe American secular holidays.
In early 2012,
he left his wife and child for a six-month visit to Russia and failed to claim
his renewed Russian passport and no longer had a valid passport in any country.
Conclusion: Some
of the billions of dollars we spend defending ourselves from “terrorists”
should be directed, not to stigmatization, but to engagement, to help “outsiders” address their hopelessness
and to find a way back to the mainstream, to connect to constructive bonds of
caring and concern.
Sadly our “free”
and “open” society at this point in history often gives us more freedom to kill
than to heal. But there are psychological tools we can
employ to accomplish this task without impinging on anyone’s civil liberties.
Dear Reader, I
look forward to hearing your opinions. Jsimon145@gmail.com
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