Bruce Allen Scharlau PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

147
3.7 Available Options
The end of the 'world switching' exercise may be uncharted for the
individual and the group they have joined. Ideally there should always
be the option of exit for those who do not want to enter terrorism. They
should be able to disappear back into society without any attached
labels in order to take up subjectively acceptable alternatives. 156
On the individual level, the person must feel comfortable in their
identi ty . If not, then they will continue to change and adapt to find
one they are comfortable wi th. When they have been unable to acquire
their first option, especially the identity with positive overtones,
then negative ones become potentially viable. Posi ti ve and negative
refer to the person's viewpoint which may, or may not, coincide with
society's perspective. 157
The direction and options available to the person are dependent upon
and influenced by the social structure and the culture in which the
person finds him or herself. An influence on the person entering this
stage of terrorism would be a desire to end the indecision and
frustration they may have been experiencing with unacceptable roles and
identities, by making a clear decision to do something decisive both in
action and commitment. Peers and contacts may influence the individual's
decision, especially when they are all homogenous in orientation. To
this could be added outside pressures such as a police record, or the
potential for arrest (see chapter five). The identity the person chooses
will also be one that allows personal as well as poli tical (these may
also come later) needs to be met, and may follow a severe disappointment
of expectations 158 which was mentioned earlier as a time for identity
exploration.
Chapter two stated that Baader and Ensslin went to Frankfurt in 1968
after meeting two people acquitted of incitement to arson, while Meinhof
decided to join in the escape of Baader to signify her resolve for the
revolutionary ideas of the group. She was also seeking to overcome her
isolation since moving to West Berlin after her divorce by maintaining
contact with Baader and Ensslin who had recently moved to Berlin and
sought her assistance in finding accommodation. Mahler also helped in
this. Meinhof was also having difficulty in believing in the continued
156 Neidhardt (1981), 246-7.
157 Knutson (1981), 112.
158 ibid., 113, 115, 122. This is the thesis developed from a neomarxist
perspective in Micheal Horn, Sozialpsychologie der Terrorismus
(Frankfurt a.M.: Campus Verlag, 1982), which sees the 'career' option of
terrorism at the end of a series of closed options.