terrorist

 terrorist

On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman stepped up the stairs to the University of Texas Tower. The 25-year-old climbed three floors to the top. He had a bag of weapons with him. Going upstairs, he first shot the receptionist with the butt of a gun. Shoot the two families upstairs. Shot a pregnant woman. Then shoot at those who help him. He started firing on passersby on the road. Then also the oncoming ambulance.

Hours later, three police officers and a civilian came up and shot Whitman dead. In those hours, Whitman killed 15 people and injured 31 others. Whitman wrote this on his typewriter the night before.

"I do not understand what is happening to me. I should have been an intelligent and wise young man but I have terrible thoughts today. I don't remember when it started but these thoughts keep coming back. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get them out of your mind. I can't concentrate on any good work. ”

The story of the shooting became big national news. Another horrific revelation came when police arrived home for questioning. Whitman killed his mother and wife. With a knife in bed. He later wrote in his suicide note.

"I am deliberately killing my wife. I love it so much You can't find a good wife. I don't know why I'm doing this. "

There were many strange twists in this story. Whitman was a scout. After spending 18 months in the army and becoming an excellent sniper, the army had to give up gambling. After that he worked as a cashier in a bank and also volunteered. Extremely intelligent in childhood and an IQ of 138 which is one in a thousand children. An ordinary childhood spent with a gun-hardened father. A good student who studied at school as well as sold newspapers and bought a motorcycle. I used to go to church every Sunday. His wife was a biology teacher at a school. The four-year marriage was a happy one overall.

Why did this happen? Everyone wanted an answer. Even Whitman himself.

In his suicide note, he wrote that something had changed in his mind. This was an entry in a diary written a few months ago.

"I talked to the doctor for two hours. Express your fears. Think of the violence that comes with it. I am fighting with myself at the moment. I didn't get help from the doctor. I'm afraid I am terrified I will not give up. ”

According to Whitman's will, he was taken for an autopsy. To analyze the brain of death. It was discovered that Whitman had a coin-sized tumor in his brain. This tuber called globlastoma was a brain structure under the thalamus and suppressed the hypothalamus and amygdala. Amgadala is used to regulate our emotions. Especially with regard to fear and aggression. If it is removed in monkeys, it can lead to emotional incoherence, overreaction and loss of fear. Mothers begin to harm their children. There are many social phobias in humans.

Whitman was right in thinking that something in his mind was changing him. In the suicide note

"I have brutally killed my loved ones. But I did it by hurting them the least. If my life insurance pays me, my debt will be paid off first. The rest of the money and my brain should be given to a mental health institution. This research could help prevent such tragedies in the future. ”

It was written on an envelope. "Enough is enough. I can't compete anymore. "

Whitman's changes were noticed by others. A close friend said, "Many times he seemed normal from above but he was trying to control something inside himself." Whitney's brain anger and aggression programs competed with cold and emotion control programs, but this brain tumor changed the balance of the fight. A coin-sized tumor turned an intelligent young man into a terrorist.

Are we separate from our biology? Not at all

What else is behind our attitudes? From brain connections and DNA to passport colors, childhood reprimands and today's pressures and incentives in its next episodes.

The important thing to understand is that if you think about any incident that "I wouldn't do it if I were in his place" then it is absolutely wrong. You can't be in someone else's place. Neither your biology is that of a person nor have you been through such an environment. The cards you get to play the game of life are just yours. The other hand is different from yours.