In the shadow of Fat Man and Little Boy: how the stigma of nuclear war was unravelled

Atomic bombs ‘Fat Man’ and ‘Little Boy’ exploded over Nagasaki and Hiroshima 72 years ago creating a lasting nuclear taboo – until now. What has changed?Until recently, a significant taboo has existed around the use ofnuclear weapons in war. However, we are now in a position wherethat taboo is being flagrantly disregarded by the leaders of themost powerful nation in the world, and atotalitarian dictatorship.Taboos offer a way for us to create overarching rules ofsocietal acceptability that transcend oursocial andcultural norms. Taboos prohibit behaviours that are not appropriate within and beyond themoral orethical framework of an individual community – scenarios that are sodangerous or perverse that they are almost unspeakable. Traditionally, those who engage in taboo activities, such asincest, arestigmatised andostracised by their society, as their breach or defiance of taboo could have significant and unacceptable repercussions. We had a taboo surrounding deploying nuclear weapons – out of respect for the devastation they can wreak – but it seems more and more fragile.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Nuclear weapons Science Kim Jong-un Donald Trump US news World news Source Type: news