[Tennisnut]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

What terrorist group poses the greatest risk to Americans? Your question is a red herring.

To be politically correct, we divert our selves from identifying the people who want to hurt us.

I ask you, if you entered a plane if anyone would cause you by their appearance some apprehension? NO, then..if your daughter were flying, or your grandson? Perhaps you would be wrong...but...I ask you honestly. We are people, and we try to be fair, BUT....sometimes we just are afraid.

The title of this thread is "O.K. Let's be honest."

If he is dark skinned and has a turban, " Scream and run". However, he may be a Sikh who has little history of terrorism.

[tucson]

Originally Posted by Tennisnut

This is a "private" investigative team of dubious credibility. I wonder if our Public Homeland Security is aware of the results of this investigative reporting.

Here's a better and more up to date one.
http://www.allenwestrepublic.com/201...mps-in-america

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by bimmertl

As expected, another non answer to a simple question. Oh well.

What does a terrorist look like? Tough question, but the answers are tougher. Especially to people who have been taught to be kind and fair. You didn't answer my question, HONESTLY. Would YOU be a little apprehensive???

What Does a Terrorist Look Like? - CBS News

[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by karostay

Acctualy your post should have read

I will probably get beat up for this and the post will surely be taken down,but why does the majority of the terrorists and the attacks on the world stem from people of religion. It Doesn't matter what faith you are since man has been on this earth I would guess 95% of all wars, terrorist attacks are over one form of religion or another

Originally Posted by graciegirl

What does a terrorist look like? Tough question, but the answers are tougher. Especially to people who have been taught to be kind and fair. You didn't answer my question, HONESTLY. Would YOU be a little apprehensive???

What Does a Terrorist Look Like? - CBS News

When I was in Israel, I felt most safe when I could see an armed soldier in Israel's army nearby.

[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by karostay

Acctualy your post should have read

I will probably get beat up for this and the post will surely be taken down,but why does the majority of the terrorists and the attacks on the world stem from people of religion. It Doesn't matter what faith you are since man has been on this earth I would guess 95% of all wars, terrorist attacks are over one form of religion or another

Originally Posted by kittygilchrist

What if earth was created by a loving God who wanted to enjoy relationship with man? What if a fallen angel tempted man to have a relationship with him, rather than with God? What if that is the whole story of the earth: good and evil, love and hate, peace and war?

What if there is a final battle coming between God and the fallen angel over the earth acted out through human agents? And what if that battle centers on The holy land, and pits the offspring of Abraham, one conceived in rebellion, who is Ishmael, father of the Arabic nations, against the other son, conceived according to God's promise, who is Isaac, father of the Jewish nation, and by grafting into that root, believers in their Messiah?

Any comments on this?

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by eweissenbach

What faith was Timothy McVeigh? What faith was Adolph Hitler? What faith was Joseph Stalin? What faith was Pol Pot? What faith was Idi Amin? What faith was Benito Mussollini? What faith was Jim Jones? Evil comes I all forms and faiths. RADICAL Muslims are dangerous, as are radical Christians, radical Buddhists, radical Jews, radical atheists, and on and on.

Good post. I did a little Googling and was surprised at which group had done the most terrorist acts in the past 20 years or so. Try it. Of course, these are often skewed by how the writers of the articles define "terrorism" "religion" and the like.

Most of these people though seem to be working against the most basic tenets of the religions they seem to support. It is more about one of the seven deadly sins when they carry out these acts rather than the Golden Rule.

[quirky3]

All extremists are scary. Some posts remind me of this favorite from "South Pacific":
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by quirky3

All extremists are scary. Some posts remind me of this favorite from "South Pacific":
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

I love that song too, Quirky and it is right.

That is the reason this subject is so fraught with anxiety for most of us.

We have to have common sense too, and some advocates of political correctness take it WAY too far.

Stay moderate in your thinking. That's my advice and keep an open mind even if what you used to think is in question. Define the problem and gather ALL facts. And don't throw out the baby with the bath water.

Do NOT preach the rhetoric of any faction. Think for yourself.

And that is why I am afraid of all extreme Islamic terrorists, more afraid than I am of any other group.

My parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, didn't know any Islamic people at all, so that song doesn't fit this situation.

The topic of this thread is Let's be honest. Are you afraid of extreme Islamic terrorists, Quirky?

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by quirky3

All extremists are scary. Some posts remind me of this favorite from "South Pacific":
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

That seems to be so true. My gentle friend Mahmood from Iraq was a fellow MA student at the University of Denver in Librarianship visiting from the University of Mosul. When I knew him in 1983-1984 he was open to new ideas and experiences. As soon as he got back to Iraq in 1984, he became radicalized against the West. I tried reasoning with him in some letters but the indoctrination of hatred just took over. His country was deep into the Iran-Iraq War and his brother was high up in the army of Saddam Hussein. It is hard to reason when you face the prospect of a death on the battlefield. I will bet that Mahmood was one of the University of Mosul Library employees who took their library's books home to save some of them from plunderers.

[Tennisnut]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

I love that song too, Quirky and it is right.

That is the reason this subject is so fraught with anxiety for most of us.

We have to have common sense too, and some advocates of political correctness take it WAY too far.

Stay moderate in your thinking. That's my advice and keep an open mind even if what you used to think is in question. Define the problem and gather ALL facts. And don't throw out the baby with the bath water.

Do NOT preach the rhetoric of any faction. Think for yourself.

And that is why I am afraid of all extreme Islamic terrorists, more afraid than I am of any other group.




My parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, didn't know any Islamic people at all, so that song doesn't fit this situation.

The topic of this thread is Let's be honest. Are you afraid of extreme Islamic terrorists, Quirky?

Sorry you live in such fear. There are so many other things to fear as well. Some are afraid to fly but will drive a car which has higher probability of death. Some are afraid to live near a Nuclear power plant but readily live near a coal power plant which is much more detrimental to one's health. Fear is often times not rational. I flew to Turkey on Turkish airlines out of JFK one month after 9/11. Should I have been afraid?

[quirky3]

As I said in my earlier posts, "All extremists are scary."
One of my friends grew up in an internment camp in California in WWII and for those years, people were afraid of her family and other internees. It is important to maintain balance and perspective.

[onslowe]

Originally Posted by bimmertl

Let's simplify things. Nobody defends any kind of terrorists, whatever their affiliation is. So no need to keep beating that dead horse.

Still waiting for your answer as to how you recognize radical Muslims, which you clearly stated you are capable of in post #16. Give us all insight as to what to look for so we may all gain from your knowledge.

One problem with the 'question' posed is its seeming simplicity when, in fact, it avoids the real problem of the clear and present danger that radical Islamists pose to those of us who are not of their religion. After the fact identification is almost worthless. It certainly does no good to the victims or their families. But studying these creatures' history can yield information which may help us to stave off future World Trade Centers or massacres at Christian churches.

How do doctors 'recognize' a person with pre-diagnosed cancer? Its all too often invisible to the untrained or unequipped eye. What does the doctor do? Seeks its location and and aggressively attack the cancer at its source and destroy it if possible before it kills the patient. That is sensible. That is plain self preservation which is a basic human necessity and quality.

I believe the analogy is on point when talking about that percentage of Muslims who are radicalized and bent on primitive ways of violence towards us.

How do I 'recognize' a radical Muslim? Neither I nor Gracie nor any of us can do so physically, and to ask us how seems to be intentionally coy and without valid purpose.

We rely on those who do have the intelligence gathering capabilities and analytical wherewithal to "identify" those who teach hate and spread the hate and act in manners consistent with evil motives. If some person openly advocates killing 'infidels', well yes I can identify him or her as a terrorist. But they don't do that, do they?

This is a crisis unfortunately and in a crisis a democracy may be compelled to do things out of the ordinary. Lincoln abandoned habeas corpus and FDR countenanced the odious internment of our Japanese fellow Americans.

I'd rather intelligence based 'profiling' with some mistakes than trying to occupy some fantasy land 'moral high ground' which is neither really moral nor based in reality.

And for those who parrot the Rosie O'Donnell "Oh yeah? How about the Crusades?" sound bytes - please, actually read the history and see how silly and embarrassing that stance is.

[Suzi]

As a young white woman traveling London many years ago, I was "profiled" as looking suspicious and taken to the police station and searched. This was during the "Irish" problem in the mid-70's. I never considered it a problem - people were being bombed and they were protecting themselves, besides, they drove me home after that and they were very courteous.

I am for profiling. I want to feel and be safe. When I go on a plane....ALWAYS......I look at all the people who will be boarding with me. If I see some one who has been obviously drinking or someone who has a bad cold (coughing, sneezing) I will ask to have my seat moved if I am close to them. I am protecting my own safety and health. I am looking out for myself as much as I can. If I see someone with darker skin, I will observe them very closely. Are they alone? Do they have hand luggage? How is their behavior? Are they traveling with family? Children?
You might ask....what would you do if you felt something was "off". Well, several years ago I changed my flight in Africa because it was during the "bird flu" breakout and someone who was obviously ill was being allowed on my flight.

What bothers me the most is that the "peaceful" muslims here in US and around the world are doing and saying little to condemn the fanatic Islamic terrorists. Where is their distain? I want to see groups of peaceful muslims all over the world put an end to people of their faith doing such horrible things. Yes that is what we need. Yes, that is what I want.

[DDoug]

I know of no other religion in modern day (key word modern)that tells the masses of a specific area to convert to our faith or move or die. Now I'm sorry but this is fact. So what do you want people to see. Stereo typing is bad, I totally agree, but come on now.

[Tennisnut]

Originally Posted by Suzi

As a young white woman traveling London many years ago, I was "profiled" as looking suspicious and taken to the police station and searched. This was during the "Irish" problem in the mid-70's. I never considered it a problem - people were being bombed and they were protecting themselves, besides, they drove me home after that and they were very courteous.

I am for profiling. I want to feel and be safe. When I go on a plane....ALWAYS......I look at all the people who will be boarding with me. If I see some one who has been obviously drinking or someone who has a bad cold (coughing, sneezing) I will ask to have my seat moved if I am close to them. I am protecting my own safety and health. I am looking out for myself as much as I can. If I see someone with darker skin, I will observe them very closely. Are they alone? Do they have hand luggage? How is their behavior? Are they traveling with family? Children?
You might ask....what would you do if you felt something was "off". Well, several years ago I changed my flight in Africa because it was during the "bird flu" breakout and someone who was obviously ill was being allowed on my flight.

What bothers me the most is that the "peaceful" muslims here in US and around the world are doing and saying little to condemn the fanatic Islamic terrorists. Where is their distain? I want to see groups of peaceful muslims all over the world put an end to people of their faith doing such horrible things. Yes that is what we need. Yes, that is what I want.

Although this is fairly left wing site. it does identify the myth of a lack of condemnation of terrorism by Muslims. I am sure you can find several other examples. It is probably due to the fairly common practice of the silent majority.


Ali Eteraz: The Myth of Muslim Condemnation of Terror