My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 634

“It’s not that I’m saying anything, I just really don’t understand. Nothing changes by doing something like that, and I don’t know why they’re saying such things.”

“They want to feel superior.”

Better than them. I am a superior human being. Not the same as them, I am a chosen one.

…Because they want to feel that way, they attack others and enjoy the fact that their victims cannot resist.

“And considering that, the criminal is likely a very wealthy person.”

“A wealthy person?”

“But shouldn’t they have social grievances to the point of committing terrorism?”

“That doesn’t necessarily follow.”

Everyone paused, realizing their statements seemed contradictory. Then, Park Do-joon interjected with a single sentence.

“Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, was the head of a famous oil conglomerate in the United States.”

“What?”

“Most of Al-Qaeda’s expenses were paid by bin Laden himself. What complaints could he possibly have had about his lifestyle?”

“That’s…”

“Grievances are personal.”

Of course, money generally has a great influence on society, so socially, financial inequality is often a major cause of discontent.

“But it’s not the *only* cause.”

And if that discontent hardens into a belief, from that moment on, they become a lone wolf, a homegrown terrorist.

“The characteristic of homegrown terrorists is that they hide their intentions and aim to kill as many targets as possible. This is different from random killings.”

Random killings have no long-term goal. It feels like giving up everything, killing everyone, and ending one’s own life, but terrorism is not like that. Because terrorists are trying to kill for a specific purpose, terrorism tends to be carefully concealed. Random killings have no future, but terrorism envisions a future of revenge on the world.

“Of course, there are ideological suicide bombings, but that usually happens when individuals become mere tools of a larger group.”

It’s never easy to convince someone to commit suicide bombing. In fact, it’s no secret that many terrorist groups brainwash people before they carry out such attacks.

In the past, when the old Japanese army operated the Kamikaze [suicide pilots], the Emperor gave them alcohol to drink before they took off, and there were rumors that it was actually drugs. Suicide bombing is never an easy choice.

“Furthermore, hate crimes are different from ideological terrorism.”

In the case of ideological terrorism, perpetrators often believe their actions are a noble sacrifice, committing crimes for the sake of a particular ideology. So, in those cases, brainwashing is relatively easy.

“But hate terrorism is not like that.”

Terrorism that isn’t driven by a cause, but by hatred and resentment toward a certain target, with the goal of eliminating that target.

“Basically, there is a selfish motivation hidden beneath the surface.”

In this case, if the targets are poor, ordinary people, will the world suddenly improve if they disappear? No. Even if they are gone, the world will not change.

“Is it a kind of venting, then?”

“Yes.”

They know it won’t change anything. However, they are not trying to reveal their presence or prove their loyalty to an ideology by eliminating them.

“They will try to kill their targets as a way of venting and releasing their hateful feelings.”

“Hmm.”

“And considering that, the criminal is likely to be quite selfish, highly intelligent, and also possess a personality with extreme interpersonal problems.”

“I can understand being selfish, but highly intelligent?”

“As you all know, potassium cyanide is more difficult to acquire than you might think.”

Not just anyone can get their hands on it. Even in factories, only a very few trained people are authorized to handle it.

“Considering that, the criminal is likely to be a researcher or a current worker in a related field. Personally, I think they are a researcher or a graduate student.”

“And?”

“And they probably have extremely limited communication skills. In fact, it should be seen as a destructive area for them.”

“Destructive?”

“Yes, there are more cases like that than you think. In fact, such symptoms often occur among judges and prosecutors.”

“Even so, it’s a bit much to generalize about the judiciary like that…”

Park Do-joon openly refuted the uncomfortable remark.

“Denying it doesn’t make the reality disappear. Some people who only study have poor communication skills.”

That’s why some judges and prosecutors often make judgments that the average person doesn’t understand.

“The only difference is that this person became a terrorist.”

“Hmm.”

No one could argue with that. They’d been fighting all along, but this was the first time the target of their chase had been narrowed down this much.

“But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any problems. There aren’t just one or two research institutes in the country.”

Furthermore, potassium cyanide is one of the most commonly used substances in experiments. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that almost every research institute has it.

Of course, they require researchers to use a set amount for each experiment and meticulously record the usage details, but it is impossible to track if they report using 11 grams but only use 10, embezzling about 1 gram.

“Next, we need to track their internet activity.”

“The internet?”

“Yes, think about it. Where did they learn the hatred, no, the *justification* for hating the poor? That’s not as simple as you think.”

One of the first things that happens when a war starts is the demonization of the enemy. It is difficult for ordinary people to kill someone without feeling remorse.

In fact, during the Vietnam War, draftees often wasted bullets, unable to bring themselves to aim at the enemy.

So, it is common for the U.S. military to go through a process of demonizing and brainwashing the target before a war.

“But can someone develop enough confirmation bias [the tendency to favor information that confirms existing beliefs] to kill someone just by thinking about it themselves?”

Unless they are a fanatic or a madman, the possibility is not high.

“Then where do they get it?”

“SNS.”

“SNS?”

“Social Network Service.”

“It’s not that I don’t know what it is, but does it cause confirmation bias at the level of brainwashing?”

Park Do-joon clicked his tongue at the police officers who seemed unaware of the situation. It seemed they really didn’t understand.

“SNS has an algorithm that shows people what they want to see. And the more you watch something, the more it shows you videos related to it. That’s usually called brainwashing when someone else does it, and self-confirmation when you do it yourself.”

You see what you want to see, you hear what you want to hear, and you judge based on that. Other perspectives are ignored, and judgments are made based only on what the algorithm shows on the internet.

“Will that really happen?”

“Confirmation bias.”

“That’s right.”

If the criminal starts talking about hating poor people and starts looking for related materials, the algorithm starts showing content related to it. Even if it’s not exactly what they’re looking for, if the algorithm presents it, they become convinced that the world thinks that way.

“This algorithm is a system created for profit, but structurally, it naturally becomes similar to the learning process of brainwashing.”

The only difference is that brainwashing is done involuntarily, while this algorithm-driven learning is done voluntarily.

“In the case of voluntary learning, brainwashing is easier, and confirmation bias is stronger.”

“Hmm…”

“But even if you learn that way, would you actually commit terrorism?”

“It depends on the learning situation, but contrary to what people think, the possibility of terrorism is higher when learning through the internet.”

“What?”

What does that mean? They learn from the internet and commit terrorism against people they have never met? That’s because people don’t understand, but in reality, those who learn the wrong things on the internet are more dangerous than those who learn by interacting with the world.

“On the internet, the target is consumed as an object or thing, not as a person.”

“I don’t understand?”

“Think about cursing poor people on the internet. When you talk about them, do you talk about how hard they have lived, how much they have suffered, or how much they are trying to improve their situation? Of course not.”

What they say is mostly the same: Poor people are parasites. They are social cancers that suck up taxes in the name of basic livelihood security without even trying.

“Those people gather and reinforce each other’s views.”

If someone tries to point out that they also have families and lives and that they are also trying, that person is not a subject of conversation but a target for blocking.

“Disconnection of conversation happens easily. If you’re uncomfortable, you can just ignore it.”

That’s how confirmation happens, and conviction develops into belief.

“That might be the case overseas, but there’s still a sense of community and empathy in Korea…”

Park Do-joon snorted at that, seeing it as a naive statement.

“Isn’t Korea the same? You can tell just by looking at the political landscape right now.”

On the internet, there are tons of people who say others deserve to be beaten to death simply because their political positions are different. If it’s not a party they support, they don’t even treat them like human beings, viewing them as cancerous existences.

Even the internet sites they use differ depending on the party they support.

“But have you seen people acting like that in real life? No, can such people even survive in society?”

“That’s true.”

They can’t survive. You can’t survive in the real world if you act like that.

Of course, I understand that political positions differ. Not everyone can have the same thoughts and ideas. However, apart from that, if a person with a specific ideology attacks a person with a different ideology, they will almost certainly face negative consequences.

“They will definitely cause social problems and eventually be ostracized.”

Even people with the same ideology as them will not treat them well, because there’s nothing to gain from it.

“There’s a social brake.”

“Yes, social life encourages moderation.”

But what if that brake doesn’t work, and they end up committing extreme crimes?

“But doesn’t that contradict what you said earlier?”

At that moment, one of the profilers tilted his head, looking confused.

“You said there’s a high possibility that they are a researcher or a graduate student with a research job?”

“Of course.”

“But I’m sorry to say this, but that industry is not that isolated.”