> My experiences led me to believe that, while this can be effective, it only works on certain classes of people. That is, I think a person needs a certain amou

> My experiences led me to believe that, while this can be effective, it only works on certain classes of people. That is, I think a person needs a certain amount of naïveté to be drawn in by schemes like this. They need to already be willing to buy into some litany of conquest and glory. To be young and/or dumb. Only if the ritual is superficial. When we're talking self-flagellation, or hunting elephants as a group, things operate on a quite different level.