Festive occasions

Theodore Dalrymple on having a little fun:

One thing that unites the men who beheaded the American Nick Berg in Iraq, the soldiers who abused Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib, the Palestinians who have held on to Israeli body parts in Gaza City and the murderers of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan is that they all enjoyed what they did, and enjoyed it immensely.

There is almost no greater pleasure known to man than to commit great acts of cruelty in the belief that the cause of right and justice is being served. Anyone who has observed rioters will know that they are having a wonderful time: could there be a greater joy than vandalism with a social purpose?

(Via Cacciaguida.)

[Addendum: John Derbyshire on Dalrymple:

I had the pleasure of lunch with "Theodore Dalrymple" (Tony Daniels) on Monday. He is one of the funniest men I know, an imp of mirth, always chuckling and smiling, laugh lines all over his face. The regrettably-little-used English word "merry" kept coming to mind.
God chooses some odd messengers to bring us the bad news about humanity. I wonder if Dostoyevsky was as much fun to be around as Dalrymple.]

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