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The Islamic Dilemma

you've gotta proofread your posts, knowell
 
You can't really blame the 24/7 news cycle for hyping one news story over other news stories. They're always looking for content. The question is why Islamic domestic terrorist moves the news needle more than the myriad of deaths caused by Americans unaffiliated with or not motivated by a terrorist organization.

Because it is easier to hate and blame one big concentrated "bad guy" than a whole bunch of smaller unrelated bad guys. Every hero needs a villain. Would GI Joe be much of anything without COBRA? The cold war Russians were a single-point bad guy; Khadafi and Saddam Hussein were both single-point bad guys; Bin Ladin was a single-point bad guy; Mike Kryzewski is a single-point bad guy. ISIS has taken over the role of the bad guy. It's easier and more fun to hold them up to blame for all of the world's problems than to try to address more complex issues, because it allows Americans to firmly assume the good guy role in their minds.
 
Good post, 2&2.
 
That website seems legit. Even if true, that number is still smaller than the percentage of Americans who supported the War in Iraq, and likely smaller than the percentage of Americans that want to see America wage a war against the Middle East.

I think it would be more accurate to say that Islam has an American dilemma.

Please explain that theory to the French. And the Russians. And the Brits. And the Israelis. And most of Islam. Other than that, you're all over it.
 
Expecting some sort of watershed moment to move the meter on ISIS is weird since Sandy Hook didn't move the meter on guns. Is there some fundamental reason that's the case?
 
You can't really blame the 24/7 news cycle for hyping one news story over other news stories. They're always looking for content. The question is why Islamic domestic terrorist moves the news needle more than the myriad of deaths caused by Americans unaffiliated with or not motivated by a terrorist organization.
Other than the fact that ISIS just killed >500 people in 6 countries in attacks that are escalating? Radical Islam is a serious threat to the Liberal fundamentals we believe in, and the global economy. I think it's fairly obvious why that moves the needle.

As far as non-Islamic terrorist mass deaths are concerned, the gun control lobby uses every one of them to get rid of guns. It's pretty obvious that for them, there will never be enough gun control until all guns are gone. All that does is ratchet up the opposition. Apparently guns rights even expanded after Sandy Hook....in response to the reaction by the gun control lobby. If the press pushes the needle on this too hard, lots of people will stop watching.

http://www.wral.com/states-expanded-gun-rights-after-sandy-hook-school-massacre/15174833/
 
Other than the fact that ISIS just killed >500 people in 6 countries in attacks that are escalating? Radical Islam is a serious threat to the Liberal fundamentals we believe in, and the global economy. I think it's fairly obvious why that moves the needle.

As far as non-Islamic terrorist mass deaths are concerned, the gun control lobby uses every one of them to get rid of guns. It's pretty obvious that for them, there will never be enough gun control until all guns are gone. All that does is ratchet up the opposition. Apparently guns rights even expanded after Sandy Hook....in response to the reaction by the gun control lobby. If the press pushes the needle on this too hard, lots of people will stop watching.

http://www.wral.com/states-expanded-gun-rights-after-sandy-hook-school-massacre/15174833/

This guy gets it.
 
Even looking at this from a completely parochial point of view, there is much more than just number of deaths to look at. How much money and freedom has been spent to keep this low death number so low. ISIS would like to kill every single American. Sometimes, what makes your enemy dangerous is what length are they willing to go to cause your death. Most people will stop somewhere shy of actually dying themselves or at a minimum not having there children die. When an ideology exalts the death of their own children if they can take out the enemy by strapping bombs on themselves, they are dangerous.

It is not only, how many people have died to date, but how many might die if we ignore the problem. We pretty much ignored Al queda and we got 911. ISIS has territory and is bringing in millions of dollars in oil money. How far fetched would it be for N. Korea to sell ISIS a nuclear weapon? N Koprea hates the US and need money badly. ISIS would just need to get it here and detonate it. I would imagine a shipping container would be a reasonable option. Detonate in San Fran harbor. How about germ warfare. If they can get there hands on something or entice an agreeable scientist, what would keep them from releasing something? Most countries would be concerned about their own people dying, but if you are part of a death cult... it's all good.

If that doesn't move you at all, at least consider the amount of people dying around the world because they do not believe in the right form of the Muslim religion.

I do not think that means that we should go to war alone or maybe even at all, but we should have some kind of strategy or plan to defeat this. Ignore the problem and it will grow.

I thought you were of the point of view that the Obama administration wasn't doing enough to stop ISIS? You can't argue it both ways, saying that we're not doing enough to stop them, but that they have been essentially stopped in the US because of what we've been doing

All I'm saying is that I don't believe ISIS is operationally capable of any attacks in the United States beyond attacks by small-scale individuals a la San Bernadino. It's a completely different situation than in Europe, and its silly to lump the threat we face in with the threat Europe faces.

If the choice is living with one San Bernadino per year or banning all Muslims or all Syrian refugees or whatever from entering the United States, it seems like a pretty obvious choice to me.

You better not be willing to sacrifice the values that make our country fundamentally what it is without a serious, definite and tangible threat.
 
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Because it is easier to hate and blame one big concentrated "bad guy" than a whole bunch of smaller unrelated bad guys. Every hero needs a villain. Would GI Joe be much of anything without COBRA? The cold war Russians were a single-point bad guy; Khadafi and Saddam Hussein were both single-point bad guys; Bin Ladin was a single-point bad guy; Mike Kryzewski is a single-point bad guy. ISIS has taken over the role of the bad guy. It's easier and more fun to hold them up to blame for all of the world's problems than to try to address more complex issues, because it allows Americans to firmly assume the good guy role in their minds.
Or to blame the NRA.....instead of addressing the complex issues of violent gun use in this country, which would include the expansion of gun free zones where most of these mass killings occur and/or the racial aspect of the issue in general. Being PC means not addressing complex issues.
 
ha, pour with bullshit red herring. No one is blaming the NRA solely for our gun problems.
 
Or to blame the NRA.....instead of addressing the complex issues of violent gun use in this country, which would include the expansion of gun free zones where most of these mass killings occur and/or the racial aspect of the issue in general. Being PC means not addressing complex issues.

or simply trying to stigmatize views different from PC so that complex issues will not have to be addressed
 
Or to blame the NRA.....instead of addressing the complex issues of violent gun use in this country, which would include the expansion of gun free zones where most of these mass killings occur and/or the racial aspect of the issue in general. Being PC means not addressing complex issues.

Who is stigmatizing different views again, sailor?
 
ha, pour with bullshit red herring. No one is blaming the NRA solely for our gun problems.
No one blamed Russia for all our global threat issues either. The point 2&2 made was, certain entities becomes a focus. So....yeah, nice uber bullshit red herring dude.
 
Or to blame the NRA.....instead of addressing the complex issues of violent gun use in this country, which would include the expansion of gun free zones where most of these mass killings occur and/or the racial aspect of the issue in general. Being PC means not addressing complex issues.

It's pretty naive or willfully ignorant to suggest we don't have a gun problem in the US.
 
It's pretty naive or willfully ignorant to suggest we don't have a gun problem in the US.

He thinks the problem is gun free zones and "racial."
 
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