TF:

Rhodes sounds like an interesting read,. thanks for the reference.

Violent behavior is netiher irrational nor rational in itself.

But if your man Rhodes tries to make a case that irrationality is an empty concept, or that brutality against the innocent is not irrational, I'm not going there. I believe there is a difference between rationality and irrationality, and that violence in places and against persons where it is not called for is throughly irrational. But I think you could make a case that there is a lot of confusion between rationality and cultural acceptability, and the two are not the same, although they are linked.

As for the topic being speculative -- it's about as concrete and meaningful as trying to define whether violence is 'the American Way'. But perhaps more helpful. Working toward answers that seem "more true" adds incrementally to some sense of understanding at least. Who knows where the benefits of that might appear?

A