The Nutter Around Us

On July 22nd 2011, Anders Behring Breivik made world headlines. Described as 'the worst atrocities after WWII' being committed in Norway, he confessed to detonating a bomb in downtown Oslo and shooting youngsters in a nearby island camp.

Taking away human lives, no matter in what form or in what manner, can never be justified. No words really can describe such sickening, maddening deprivation of young, innocent souls in such enormity.

In what was conceived as an act of a person with 'extreme right-wing' views, however, some very chilling facts should be observed beyond a simple mask.

No doubt he is a nutter. A completely out-of-the-world but, unfortunately, heavily-armed nutter. But he is also an intelligent and educated nutter. According to reports, he has a business degree, an agricultural business (perhaps, in retrospect though, this could now have been a disguise for him to purchase fertilisers as explosives), and led a somewhat normal life. And only now did we discover his 1500-page 'manifesto' on his right-wing views which may explain his motives. It probably would take weeks, if not months or at all, to comprehend what went on in his mind. News reporters and criminal psychologists would likely come up with a full alloy of stories.. maybe he wanted the attention of the whole world? Or he thought that, by such an act, that he would leave his name forever on 'something big' like Hitler? How about believer of the 'Armageddon'? And judging from history - a sadly long list including Dunblane, Oklahoma, 9-11 etc. - this trait is going to continue to live amongst us.

Now that is really a very, very worrying situation.

If a somewhat normal person, who is a native in his country, led an active social life, had had good education, exhibited no traits of extremist views but still has the mind of undergoing such atrocities, indiscriminately and against his own people, the society at large is at a huge risk.

That is, the risk of the unknown nutter.

Anyone of us could have been Anders Breivik. Unless one has the X-men ability of Prof Xavier who can read minds of any given unknown stranger, there is virtually no way at all to tell who will be the next madman detonating the next bomb, shooting the next gun shot (obtained, most likely, legally), performing other inhuman and despicable acts to innocent human lives.

When the nutter around us could have been you or me, how on earth could we find security?

The answer would truly be hard to find.