Read On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society Online
Authors: Dave Grossman
Tags: #Military, #war, #killing
nonfirers in, 17-27
through atrocities, 210-11, 214-15
social support for, 279-80
Borowski, Tadeusz, 102-04
civil wars, 25, 160, 166
Bosnia, 211, 215
classical conditioning, 252-53, 255, 317
Bray, D., 198, 238
in military, 306-08
Brennan, Matt, 92
by movies and television, 302, 308-11
Bridger, Barry, 110
Clausewitz, Carl von, 13, 71, 96, 128
British Airborne Brigade, 82
close-range assault, 80, 81
British army, class structure in, 168
close-range killing, 110, 114-37, 341-42.
British Defense Operational Analysis
See also
executions
Establishment, 16
of civilians.
See
civilians, close-range British Gurkha battalions, 126
killing of
British Royal Air Force, 100
remorse for, 236-37
Broadfoot, Barry, 70
Cold Harbor, Battle of, 25-27
Brown, R. K., 335
combat addiction, 234-36
buck fever, 29, 231
combat simulators, 177-78
356
I N D E X
commandos, 129, 180
cultural distance, 158, 160-64, 188, 190,
compulsive states, 47
209
comrades, accountability to, 149-51,
Custer's cavalry, 57
152—53, 173, 233.
See also
bonding;
peer pressure
darkness, effect of, 72, 169, 172
comrades, recent loss of, 179, 189, 330, 342
Davidson, S., 335
concentration camps.
See
Nazi
Dearden, Harold, 200
concentration camps
death
condemnation, of Vietnam veterans, 250,
empowerment through, 206
276-80, 288-89, 290
instinct (Thanatos), 37, 332
conditioning.
See also
drill, military obsession with, 47
for ambush or raid patrols, 61
democracies, 340
of assassins, 161, 306-07
Dengler, Dieter, 117
authority, role of, 260-61, 303, 314,319
denial, 137, 237, 279
effectiveness of, 257-59, 341
of atrocities, 211-13, 215
for hand-to-hand combat, 132, 190
cracks in veil of, 156—58
to increase firing rate, 18, 35, 177-79,
in executions, 201
181, 189, 233
by firing squads, 343
to increase firing rates, 334
by leaders, 148
post-traumatic stress disorder and,
of mass murders, 209
283-84, 291
of midrange killing, 111-12
posturing, effect on, 13
as response to killing, 91-93
in Vietnam era, 178, 250, 252-55
social distance and, 168
violence in U.S. and, 302-03,
denial defense mechanisms, 255-56, 260, 261
306-16, 325
depression, 84-85, 149, 150
confusional states, 45-46
desensitization, 161, 256, 307—08
Congo, atrocities in, 217-21
Vietnam era, 161, 251-52, 259-60, 304
Conrad, Joseph, 214, 342
violence in U.S. and, 261, 304, 311, 328
conscientious objectors, 1, 25, 29
Detmer, Douglas, 278, 280
continuous combat, 43—45, 48, 84
Devereux, James, 147
exhaustion and, 69
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
fraternization with enemy during,
Disorders (DSM-III-R),
77, 84, 182,
158-60
282, 340
Contras, 14, 224
Dilulio.JohnJ., 301
conversion hysteria, 46—47
Dinter, E., 92, 149
convulsive attacks, 46
Disraeli, Benjamin, 339
cooldown period, 271-73, 285-86, 293
distance, effect of, 97-99, 188-89, 341
Cooper, Jeff, 207
American violence and, 303
courage, 83-84, 224
emotional distance, 98, 156-70, 303
cowardice, 31, 84
in executions, 201
Cramer, Chuck, 254
face of victim as factor in, 128
crew-served weapons, 153, 340.
See also
physical distance.
See
physical distance, artillery; bomber crews
effect of
Crimean War, 122, 144
divorce, effect of, 290, 291, 322, 345
Crook, General, 12
Douhet, Giulio, 55
cult killings, 210, 211
Doyle, Edward, 197
I N D E X
357
Dresden, firebombing of, 101
epileptoid character reactions, 48
drill, military, 17-18, 20, 24, 27
Eros (life instinct), 37, 332
drill sergeants, 190, 317-19
euphoria, post-killing.
See
exhilaration, of drug use
killing
American violence and, 303, 304
evacuation syndrome, 48-49
by Vietnam veterans, 290, 345
executions, 128, 191-92, 201-02
in Vietnam War, 269, 270-71, 345
defined, 201
DSM-III-R. See Diagnostic and Statistical
mass, 208-10
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-
of prisoners, 201, 209, 216
III-R)
refusal to participate in, 224, 225-26
Du Picq, Ardant, 9-10, 12, 21, 23, 107,
resistance to killing and, 209
125, 127, 128, 131, 143, 150, 151,
of surrendering soldiers, 199-202
171, 333
exhaustion
Dupuy, Trevor, 161
combat, 44, 51, 54, 67-73, 94
Dye, Dale, 255
emotional, 83-85, 94
Dyer, Gwynne, 6, 15-16, 18, 30, 59, 61,
in Nazi death camps, 78
79, 91, 100, 101, 102, 107-08, 110,
in training, 67-68
150, 164, 180, 181, 184, 191, 199,
Well of Fortitude and, 83-86
209, 250, 251-52, 265, 302, 312,
exhilaration, of killing, 111-12, 115, 231,
333, 344
234-36, 241, 242, 243-45
expectancy of return to combat, 49, 269
Early, John, 90
edged-weapons range, 120—30
ego, 37
Falklands War, 13, 126, 136, 178, 256,
Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I., 343
257-58, 273, 293
1812, War of, 166
families, dissolution of, 322, 323
elation, post-killing.
See
exhilaration, of fatigue cases, 45
killing
fear, 30, 51-66
elderly, return of memories to, 75
of atrocities, 207
elements, effect of.
See
weather, effect of by civilian victims, 54-57, 65
emotional distance, effect of, 98, 156-70,
of death and injury, 52-54
303.
See also
psychological distance
of facing aggression, 76-78
emotional exhaustion, 83-85, 94
fortitude to face, 83
emotional hypertension, 47
of medical personnel, 62-64
emotional response to killing.
See
killing of naval personnel, 58-59, 65
response stages
of not supporting comrades, 53, 90
empathic distance, effect of, 97, 98
of officers, 64-65
empathy
patrols behind enemy lines and,
absence of, 182-83
60-62, 65
aggression and, 160
of prisoners of war, 57-58, 65
for soldiers, 105
fearlessness, 84
for victims, 105, 106, 237
Fergusson, General, 94
enemy
fighter pilots.
See
pilots
fraternization with, 158-60
fight-or-flight dichotomy, 5-9, 21, 69,
identification with, 110, 237, 238, 244
71, 94
enemy lines, patrols behind, 60-62
firing, ineffective, 9-15.
See also
nonfirers 358
I N D E X
firing rates.
See also
hit rates, of soldiers; GI Bill, 287
kill rates
Goodwin, Jim, 268, 276, 286
Korean War.
See
Korean War
Graham, Douglas, 12
training to increase, 35, 177—78, 189,
Grant, Robert, 63
334
Grant, Ulysses S., 25
Vietnam War.
See
Vietnam War
Graves, Jim, 208
World War II.
See
World War II
Gray, J. Glenn, 17, 33, 38, 96, 97,105, 107,
firing squads, 191-92, 224, 225, 343
137, 194, 223, 225, 227
fixation, 343
Greek military forces, 145-46
on killing, 233, 234-36, 344
Greene, Bob, 276, 278, 279
on not killing, 233
Grenada conflict, 273
flight, 5-9, 21, 57
Griffith, Paddy, 7, 10, 20, 21, 24, 118, 126,
back stabbing during, 127-29, 173
127, 184, 333, 344
from bayonets, 122, 125-27
group, role of, 149-51, 263-64, 268-70,
exhaustion and, 69, 71, 94
293, 334, 340.
See also
peer pressure food deprivation, 69, 72, 94
group absolution, 108, 109, 110, 149-55,
forebrain, 8
187-88, 209, 341.
See also
fortitude, 51, 83-86
responsibility, diffusion of
depression and, 84—85
anonymity and, 151-53
individuals and, 83-84
in atrocities, 224-25
replenishment of, 85
guerrilla warfare, 163, 194, 196-99
units, depletion in, 85—86
guilt, 51, 53, 54, 87-89, 111, 112,115, 231,
forward treatment, 49, 269
235, 236-37, 289, 343
Foster, John, 237
ability to kill without, 180
4-F, classification as, 43
for atrocities, 223
Fowler, Bob, 179
for comrades' deaths, 75
Frank, Jerome, 25
condemnation and, 279
Frankl, Victor, 78, 335
for enemy deaths, 75
fraternization with enemy, 158—60
exhilaration and, 243-45
Frederick the Great, 17
fortitude to face, 83
Freeman, John Barry, 146
of leaders, 90-91, 147-48
French Dahomey expedition, 175
of mass murders, 209
Freud, Sigmund, 31, 32, 37, 142, 324, 337
murder-suicides, 241
Fromm, Erich, 160
of nations, 242
Fussell, Paul, 80, 104
of nonkillers, 89-91, 260
psychologists' inadequate response to,
Gabriel, Richard, 12, 21, 30, 41, 43, 45, 47,
96, 293
48,49, 57-58,94,149,272,276-77,
Gulf War, 169, 242, 273, 293, 342, 344
333, 334, 345
gunpowder, 9, 154
gain through illness theory, 56-57, 59, 61
guns.
See also
specific guns, e.g., muskets gang leaders, 145, 210, 303
role in American violence, 303—04, 347
gangs, behavior of, 6-7, 211, 303, 321, 342
sex-aggression linkage, 135
Ganzer syndrome, 45-46
gas, use of, 95, 331
Hadley, Arthur, 271
Gavin, James, 174
hallucinations, 67-68, 71
Geneva conventions, 203, 204, 263
Hamburg, bombing of, 100-01, 104-05
Gettysburg, Battle of, 21-22, 24, 25
hand-grenade killing, 112-13
INDEX
359
hand-to-hand combat, 98, 131-33, 337
Japan, treatment of Chinese prisoners by,
Harris, Bob, 68
209
Hartmann, Erich, 181-82
Jenkins, Simon, 327
Harvey, J. Douglas, 104
John, Dr., 15
hate, 51, 54, 80-81, 126.
See also
Wind Jordan, Bill, 256
of Hate
Jung, Carl, 184
in daily lives, 76-78
Junger, Ernst, 200
fortitude to face, 82, 83
in Nazi death camps, 78-79
karate, 131-32, 337
Hathcock, Carlos, 254
Kathman, Michael, 2, 155
hearing, sense of, 74
Keegan, John, 10, 87, 88, 113, 114, 115,
Heckler, Richard, 5, 100, 137, 184, 241,
118, 122, 130, 223,344
299, 330, 331
Keen, Sam, 12
Heinlein, Robert, 3
Keenan, George, 83
helmets, 174
Kent, J. A., 234
heroism, 83
killing
Hiroshima, bombing of, 102, 105, 108
empowerment by, 208—10
Hider, Adolf, 161
murder-suicides, 241—43
hit rates, of soldiers, 10—12.
See also
firing obsession with, 233, 234-36
rates; kill rates
societal fascination with, 3
Civil War, 19, 24-25, 25-27
killing, burden of, 87-93, 95
Hobbes, Thomas, 324
killing, enabling of, 187
Holmes, Richard, 10, 11-12, 38, 71, 75,
American violence and, 303—05
84, 87, 88, 94-95, 108, 111, 112,
conditioning, effect of.
See
conditioning 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 123, 125,
distance as factor in.
See
distance, effect of 130, 136, 160, 165, 169, 170, 175,
groups, effect of, 149-55
178, 186, 195, 199-200, 223, 232,
leadership, effect of, 143-46
235, 252, 256, 258, 282, 333, 344
in media, 328, 331
homelessness, of Vietnam veterans, 290
peer pressure effect on.
See
peer pressure honors, value of, 91, 263, 264
recent loss, effect of, 179, 189
Horowitz, David, 212
target attractiveness, model of, 171, 189
horror, of combat, 31, 51, 54, 74-75, 83,
killing, in combat, 2,3-4,30-31,32-34,66
94-95, 290
distance, effect of.
See
distance, effect of hostile intent, in war, 105-06
means and opportunity, 171-73, 189
hostility.
See
aggression
model of, 341-42
hypertension, emotional, 47
motive for, 171, 173-76, 189
hysteria, 46-47, 47
murder distinguished from, 195
of noble enemy, 195-96
id, 37
predisposition to, 124, 176-85, 187,
illness, gain through.
See
gain through 189, 340, 341, 342
illness theory
to preserve freedom, 226-27