- 21 Apr 2017 16:08
#14799110
The west is certainly not perfect, but when it comes to self-criticism, especially of our past, we are world champions. We even have countries like Germany, where less than a decade of its history and the associated guilt is defining its identity more than anything else. And while this is strongest with our past, it isn't confined to it. Again, we have no problem identifying religious motivations among fundamentalist Christians (i.e. "our own" religion), yet we go out of our way to deny it if Islam is involved even if the perpetrators themselves identify religion as one or the factor. The mental gymnastics involved in our denial are absolutely hilarious.
It is fairly easy to disprove your theory, since the same or similar circumstances did not and do not lead other groups to blow themselves up or commit atrocities at an accelerating rate. You really have to be willfully blind to refuse to identify the common denominator in these terrorist attacks.
MadMonk wrote:One of the greatest flaws in human consciousness is its inability to rationally critique ones own beliefs without undermining ones identity and self-confidence. A sociologist would say that we almost naturally form groups and loyalties based thereof. To critique the larger group that one has either been born into or chosen, becomes almost treacherous and forbidden for oneself. Group pressure and approval become powerful weapons in its aim of uniformity in search for a common goal. The greater self-assurance and invulnerability one feels, the less one is reliant on something greater than oneself.
This is true in the West, it is true in every corner of the globe.
The west is certainly not perfect, but when it comes to self-criticism, especially of our past, we are world champions. We even have countries like Germany, where less than a decade of its history and the associated guilt is defining its identity more than anything else. And while this is strongest with our past, it isn't confined to it. Again, we have no problem identifying religious motivations among fundamentalist Christians (i.e. "our own" religion), yet we go out of our way to deny it if Islam is involved even if the perpetrators themselves identify religion as one or the factor. The mental gymnastics involved in our denial are absolutely hilarious.
MadMonk wrote:It is much easier to find flaws in what we hate than it is in what we love. Fear is what binds us; without it there is no meaning, too much of it and it becomes your greatest enemy, taking over every aspect of your life.
What I'm trying to get at is to defeat an enemy, either real or imaginary, one must first understand ones enemy. We are seeing a disproportionate number of Muslim youths being radicalized in Europe in comparison to other stated groups. The common denominator is low social status and alienation coupled with greater events happening in the wider world. Any critique from an outsider of said group is perceived as an attack on the very core tenets of the shared formed identity, strengthening it and making it more resolved, meaning any reformation of beliefs/behaviour/attitudes must come from within instead of an outside source to be effective.
Unlike many Leftist/Social-Liberals I recognize that this sentiment goes both ways and terror-attacks like this hardens the position of everyone involved.
It is fairly easy to disprove your theory, since the same or similar circumstances did not and do not lead other groups to blow themselves up or commit atrocities at an accelerating rate. You really have to be willfully blind to refuse to identify the common denominator in these terrorist attacks.
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts"
Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman