Williamsbridge Oval, the Bronx
The snow has mostly melted, a warm wind rattled our roof all night and on the way to work I thought not of deer but Shorty and the fun we had on my last visit to New York, and the can of white spray paint she always keeps in her purse. Imagine my joy when I found this in my e-mail this morning. What is that, synchronicity or serendipity? Both?
And, quick: without looking at a dictionary, what’s the difference between “amok” and “berserk”?
Duh. Amok starts with an ‘A’. Berserk starts with a ‘B’. Humph! And I called you one of the smart ones…
One “goes” beserk, any mode of transportation is allowed, whereas one must “run” amok.
Today while shaving (carefully) I wondered if the difference was that berserk is a release of violent emotions, while amok is a violent release of emotions? I have this mental image of a large Viking chopping up Irish priests vs a small-to-medium-sized Indonesian waving a keris in a crowded market place and running around…
Examples:
I run amok in Solonor’s comments.
I go beserk when Tim fails to leave a commnet in my blog two days running.
What’s a keris? I shall go berserk, not knowing.
It’s the Indonesian word for “kris”.
A sort of knife.
Amok is Malay and is a mental disorder. Berserk is Norse and is a kind of kamikaze military psychology, but less Zen than the kamikazes and more heavy-metalish. Both involve senseless killing, but going berserk is a good thing in the right situation. I think it means “bear shirt”.
amok just reminds me of hocus pocus, because one of the witches jumps around and goes “amok! amok amok amok!”
It sounds to me like berserk is goal-oriented, targeted behavior and the result of a decision, whereas amok is more “kablooey”.
Amok is definitely “kablooey” if you’re waving a keris around, for shit’s sake.
We have to remember that in some societies, raging around and hacking people to death with swords is not only allowed, but highly honored. We shouldn’t judge the Norse by our own standards. And BTW, how did they get so wimpy and nice anyway?
“run amok” sounds slightly bawdy, like benny hill, chicks with sprawling boobs in nurses uniforms being chased or something… beserk sounds slightly dangerous :)