January 18, 2009
I wonder if there is an underlying cognitive equivalence in these two tragic events [below]. At Islam’s holiest site, religious zealots en masse are so emotionally overwhelmed by the symbolism of a black building, as they partake in the tradition of circumambulation. Sadly, the sum of all these individuals’ spontaneous passions and groupthink inevitably leads to participants being trampled to death.
Oddly, five thousand miles away a similar group mentality of passionate dedication leads to the same morbid conclusion. That same sense of hyper-importance and urgency prompts individuals to push and shove those in front of them and prompts the herd to clear any obstacles in its path to attainment.
As these distinct events imply, the object of attainment can be either physical or metaphysical and still lead to that repulsive drive in the human psyche and its fatal unintended consequences. In Mecca, it is an other-worldly spiritual connection that is sought: a delusional and yet deeply-seeded belief that this location represents something greater than oneself, greater than what the eyes can see, and greater than the temporal world. On the south shore of Long Island, a slightly smaller cell phone will do.
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Stampede During Pilgrimage to Mecca Kills 345
By HASSAN M. FATTAH
Published: January 13, 2006
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 12 – A stampede on Thursday at the annual pilgrimage to Mecca killed 345 people, the Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry said, the deadliest such event since 1990. The Saudi Red Crescent Society said as many as 1,000 had been injured.
Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death
By ROBERT D. McFADDEN and ANGELA MACROPOULOS
Published: November 28, 2008
Suddenly, witnesses and the police said, the doors shattered, and the shrieking mob surged through in a blind rush for holiday bargains. One worker, Jdimytai Damour, 34, was thrown back onto the black linoleum tiles and trampled in the stampede that streamed over and around him. Others who had stood alongside Mr. Damour trying to hold the doors were also hurled back and run over, witnesses said