Why did tens of thousands of North Koreans apparently sob uncontrollably at the death of brutal dictator Kim Jong-il? Ian Buruma has a theory:
We often suppress real pain, such as that caused by the loss of a family member. Numbness, rather than hysteria, is the norm. But our feelings must find an outlet somehow, and they can emerge when a celebrity dies.
All of the pent-up emotion of real personal bereavement comes gushing out on a public occasion. People who ostensibly are weeping for Princess Diana are actually mourning their own loved ones. The feeling is displaced – indeed, misplaced. Mourning of this kind is a form of sentimentality, but it can be heartfelt nonetheless.
Sometimes, a public figure’s death makes us mourn the passing of our own lives. Whether the person who has died is a beloved princess, a popular singer, or a bloody dictator, is irrelevant. We grew up with them; they are part of us. When they die, a little bit of us dies with them.
Buruma doesn't discount the possibility that North Koreans felt forced to cry by the totalitarian regime. John Sifton of Human Rights Watch thinks that's the real explanation:
It is a lamentable characteristic of totalitarian regimes that they often demand acts of deceit from those they oppress. Often it is a matter of simple survival. Those who hate the regime are obliged to demonstrate patriotism. To fail is to risk persecution. The only alternative is to flee, a choice made by tens of thousands of North Koreans in the past two decades.
Kim Jong-un might have his own reasons to cry. His father left him unready to rule.
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The public display of grief for these people may be that Kim Jong II was a known and the future is or could be worse. Cruel and uncaring about his people as he was, at least he was something familiar. For these people the real concern might be that things could become chaotic without him. Kim Jong II controlled everything and everyone in his secretive, closed society. No one knows who "knows" what and that factor could leave people feeling very frightened and insecure. A reason to cry.
They cried because if they didn't, they would be shot. Not because of some long, complicated, psychological problem.
Why would you "write" an article with just 6 sentances and the rest be from a guy that knows nothing about North Korea other than the books he has red about it? He writes about psycology theory this and that yet he is just talking out of your a$$. The North Koreans are crying hysterically because if they don't they will get shot. And if they don't get shot, their family members will get shot or sent to prison camps. Idiots like you are the reason why the rest of the world does not know of the horrors or injustices the north korean poplulation has to endure. I hope your bosses see this comment and you get repremanded for lazy journalism.
It's funny that you have the gall to call someone else lazy, when you cannot spell or punctuate correctly yourself. Aside from that, does anybody really know the truth behind North Korea, other than what they read? Even if someone is able to visit the country and see firsthand, it is all a show put on for them. It is not real. Pictures and videos which are released from the government are not real. Even nationals do not give real accounts of their situations, for fear that they, or their family, might be punished for it. Do YOU know of the horrors or injustices the North Korean poplulation has to endure? I don't think anybody really does. Ian Buruma's theory is just that... a theory, not fact. When you blame others for being the reason why the world has inaccurate knowledge, it is actually YOU who is the idiot for keeping such a closed mind and not being open to the fact that it is probably a combination of all of these ideas.
My mistake for quoting your own sentence... I should have known better! **Do YOU know of the horrors or injustices the North Korean poplulation have** to endure?
I had watched the funeral very closely. The live television coverage showed accidentally officials holding up cameras to get shots of the crowd standing near by. It seemed unlikely they were just capturing the mementos of the occasion. Anyone in the crowds who didn't seem to mourn would have been asking for trouble. One could sometimes see clearly that people were waiting for their cue to start weeping.
No doubt there were some who were genuinely sad, as they had done pretty well during Kim Jong-il's years in power and they were well dressed and fed by North Korean Standard. Those less privileged ones and those who hate him, were not among the crowds, who might feel a twinge of sadness over the death of someone known to them as a demigod,
Well if you knew anything about what was going on in North Korea, Kim Jong-Il was a god to them. They worshiped him as a god, and they pretty much told their people he was. He was who they worshiped. Not because he was a celebrity, not because he was a mind crazed dictator, it was because he was god to them. His dictatorship was a lot different than most. Its crazy over in NK.
Those are tears of joy!!!!!!! Hahahahahahahahaha.
..that's because..the peoples love and respect the regime as the founding father of their nation..but the media(from the country of their enemy)..create story that this is all are fake...what a pity!!..
They are coerced into cry!! They are always exposed to the scrutiny of secret police 24 hours out of 24. If they do not cry, they and their families will be sent to concentration camps.
Experts on North Korea and members of the LiNK Global organization have interviewed North Korean refugees and from their accounts and research on North Korea, they believe that yes, a good number are sobbing because of the sadness of their dear leader passing away, as this was also seen when the dear leader Kim Il Sung passed, but with the extremely harsh dictatorship in North Korea, it is imperative that one show respect for the leader through mourning and sobbing. Whether people truly feel sadness or not, one must cry to follow the law of the land. This may sound absurd considering the freedoms we have here in the states, but in North Korea, not only are wrong-doers punished, wrong-thinkers are punished.. From birth, it is engrained into all people that the leader is not only one who governs the country, but the leader is thought to be like God, one who provides food, shelter, and life to the people. The level of dedication and obedience to the leader is one that is learned the moment one is born and must be followed if you want to live.
Visit http://www.linkglobal.org to learn more.
North Korea is a case of Stockholm's Syndrome per nation. The people have totally brainwashed that they don't know any other way to express their feelings.Even if there are those who wish to celebrate the death of the Korean dictator, it will be silently in their heart in the depths of their bedroom!
جيفري فيلتمان نائب وزيرة الخارجية الأمريكية يؤكد اَن قادة العراق السياسيين قادرون على تدارك الازمة الراهنة في البلاد من دون اية مساعدة خارجية
نبيل العربي يحذر من القضاء على فرص تحقيق مصالحة حقيقية في العراق ويندد بتفجيرات الخميس الدامية
رئيس اقليم كردستان العراق يشدد على ان الاكراد لن يشاركوا في اي حكومة قائمة على اساس تهميش المكونات العراقية الاخرى
البارزاني يحذر من انه في حال إستمرت المشاكل السياسية ولم يجد الائتلاف الحاكم برئاسة المالكي حلولا سريعة فإن الاكراد سيقيّمون كل الاحتمالات
وكلاء المرجع الديني محمد صادق الصدر في النجف يحذرون من مغبة دخول عصائب أهل الحق في العملية السياسية ويتهموها بممارسة القتل حتى اليوم
وكلاء المرجع الديني محمد صادق الصدر في النجف يحذرون من مغبة دخول عصائب أهل الحق في العملية السياسية ويتهموها بممارسة القتل حتى اليوم
دبي-الشرقية 7 يناير: حذر عددٌ من وكلاءِ المَرجع الديني مُحمد محمد صادق الصدر في النجف من مغبةِ دخول ِ عصائب أهل الحق في العمليةِ السياسيةمشيرين إلى أن العصائبَ ارتكبت جرائمَ ومازالت تقتل وتُشرد وتُساوم وتَبتز.وقال عددٌ من وكلاء وطلبةِ السيد محمد الصدر في بيان ان الحديثَ عن المقاومة ومواجهةِ القوات المحتلة بعيدٌ كلَ البعد عن عصائبِ أهل الحق وأفعالِها وان العراقيين لن يَنسوْا ما فعلته العصائب من جرائمَ ومازالت تفعل من قتل ٍ وتشريدٍ ومساومة ووصفوهم بأنهم حية ٌ مَلمسُها ناعمٌ وسُمُها قاتل.. واتهم البيان العصائبَ بقتل ِ عددٍ من منتسبي الأجهزة الأمنية في النجف والديوانية بحجةِ حُرمةِ الانتماء فضلا على تنفيذِ 5337 عملية ً استهدفوا فيها الأبرياءَ بضمنِها اغتيالُ النائب عن الكتلة الصدرية صالح العكيلي.
Paid to cry...no cry, no eat! its simple.
There will be heavy politiking and gathering of support inside NK, behind all that noise about its future under Kim Jong Un.
I think Kim Jong Un is ready for change, but is presently not strong enough to do just that. There is a clan of old generals who are not keen about him being the new dear leader. So, KJU needs to gather andn win support from the army, and especially the younger commanders whom he is said to have a rapport with.
Give him 2 years and KJU should be strongly supported by the 'new' commanders to proceed with improving NK's international image. After the old generals are retired.
How is he going to do it? Well, there could be a recounciallation process with S Korea which will lead to SK's investment flowing into NK.
China would want to be present commercially in NK too, to counter S Korea (US backed) commercial initiatives in the 'new NKorea' .
So, I wont write off NK yet , because an exciting political evolution is about to take place around 2015. N Korea could become the world's new cheap labor factory for China , as Chinese salaries continue to rise, and the Yuan risding in tandem.
I like the writer's theory. But she overlooked the fact that this country was and still is into the cult established by the leadership.
So true. People act this way either because they are brain-washed, or they know that's how they are expected to act.