Revenge and War

Via Bruce Schneier I came across this very interesting (if long) article about warfare and revenge in the New Guinea highlands. As background, the tribes up there are in nearly continuous war with each other. They use mostly traditional weapons, arrows and the like, but considering the population density, there's a high rate of violent death. The article covers one three-year-long war with at least thirty deaths and a number of serious maimings.

What I found interesting, as did Jared Diamond, the author, was the mentality of the combatants. Most of the fighting is for revenge, and the warriors, who are trying to kill war "owners," don't appear to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Killing for revenge is not abnormal - it's part of their daily life.

Diamond is also interested in the development of nation-states, and wonders how we get from this "revenge is normal" phase to the "call the cops" phase. He notes, using a personal story of his in-laws, that not getting revenge can bother somebody just as much as doing a violent deed. In this case, Diamond's father-in-law had an opportunity to kill the people who murdered his family during WWII (they were Jews, hiding from the Nazis) but didn't.

This last part, about revenge not being served, I think will work its way into my writing. At any event, go read the whole article.