Death Du Jour

I waited while Red considered Kathryn’s words. When I switched hands I could see a print where my palm had sweated onto the plastic.

“I don’t know, Tempe. It’s a tough call. How can we ever know when a group will turn violent? Some of these marginal religious movements are extremely volatile. Others are harmless.”

“Are there no predictors?”

What if my baby dies?

“There are a number of factors that feed back on each other. First there’s the sect itself, its beliefs and rituals, its organization and, of course, its leader. Then there are the outside forces. How much hostility is directed toward the members? How stigmatized are they by society? And the mistreatment doesn’t have to be real. Even perceived persecution can cause an organization to become violent.”

He just wants to transport us out of the destruction.

“What types of beliefs push these groups over the line?”

“That’s what concerns me about your young lady. Sounds like she’s talking about a voyage. About going somewhere for eternal life. That sounds apocalyptic.”

He’s just trying to protect us and get us across.

“The end of the world.”

“Exactly. The last days. Armageddon.”

“That’s not new. Why does an apocalyptic worldview encourage violence? Why not just hunker in and wait?”

“Don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t always. But these groups believe the last days are imminent, and they see themselves as having a key role in the events that are about to unfold. They’re the chosen ones who will give birth to the new order.”

She was terrified because the baby wouldn’t be sanctified.

“So what develops is a kind of dualism in their thinking. They are good, and all others are hopelessly corrupt, totally lacking in moral virtue. Outsiders come to be demonized.”

“You’re with me or you’re against me.”

“Exactly. According to these visions the last days are going to be characterized by violence. Some groups go into a sort of survivalist mode, stockpiling weapons and setting up elaborate surveillance systems against the evil social order that’s out to get them. Or the Antichrist, or Satan, or whatever they see as the perceived threat.”

Dom doesn’t believe in Antichrists.

“Apocalyptic beliefs can be especially volatile when embodied in a charismatic leader. Koresh saw himself as the Lord’s appointed.”

“Go on.”

“You see, one of the problems for a self-appointed prophet is that he has to constantly reinvent himself. There’s no institutional support for his long-term authority. There are also no institutional restraints on his behavior. The leader runs the show, but only as long as his disciples follow. So these guys can be very volatile. And they can do whatever they choose within their sphere of power.

“Some of the more paranoid respond to perceived threats to their authority by becoming oppressively dictatorial. They make increasingly bizarre demands, insisting their followers comply in order to show loyalty.”

“Such as?”

“Jim Jones had tests of faith, as he called them. Members of the People’s Temple would be forced to sign confessions or suffer public humiliations to prove their devotion. One little ritual required the participant to drink unidentified liquids. When told it was poison, the testee wasn’t supposed to show fear.”

“Charming.”

“Vasectomy is another favorite. It’s said that the leadership of Synanon required some of the male members to go under the knife.”

Her procreation partner was Jason.

“What about arranging marriages?”

“Jouret and DiMambro, Jim Jones, David Koresh, Charles Manson. They all used controlled coupling. Diet, sex, abortion, dress, sleep. It really doesn’t matter what the idiosyncrasy is. As a leader conditions his followers to abide by his rules he breaks down their inhibitions. Eventually this unquestioning acceptance of bizarre behaviors may habituate them to the idea of violence. At first it’s small acts of devotion, seemingly harmless requirements like hairstyles or meditation at midnight, or sex with the messiah. Later his demands may become more lethal.”

“Sounds like the deification of insanity.”

“Well put. The process has another advantage for the leader. It weeds out the less committed, since they get fed up and leave.”

“O.K., fine. You have these fringe groups living a life orchestrated by some nutcase. What makes them turn violent at any given time? Why today and not next month?”

It’s too soon. It can’t be now.

“Most outbreaks of violence involve what sociologists refer to as ‘escalating boundary tensions.’ ”

“Don’t feed me jargon, Red.”

“O.K. These fringe groups usually are concerned with two things, getting members and keeping members. But