JPFO ALERT: Stop What You're Doing (and read this!)

[coltrane679]

Quote:
I don't think they are really a whole hell of a lot of "terrorists" in America

If it helps you sleep at night...

Yeah, I sleep quite soundly at night, knowing the odds are overwhelming I'm going to croak from natural causes, an accident, or even "run of the mill" homicide as opposed to some bogeyman "terrorist" offing me in spectacular fashion--and I am further comforted by the knowledge that same principle applies to everyone else I know here in the USA. Do the math during a commercial break from "24".

So what keeps you awake--all the constant terrorism around you?

When awareness and preparation lapses into paranoia, you've lost already.

 

[thexrayboy]

Could terrorists, of any political/religious persuasion mount an effective attack on a school? Of course. Just look what a couple of D- teen age slackers did at Columbine. They had no real training, improvised munitions and
firearms of only average performance compared to full autos. If a couple of well trained, well funded people chose to attempt a similar attack the outcome could be far far more horrific. Why hasn't it happened? Haven't a clue.

Those who say it won't because it wouldn't serve the purposes of "the terrorists" and would risk "making us angry" have it wrong. We are faced with a multitude of terrorist factions, most loosely allied,at best, under the idealogy of Islam. Many have conflicting agendas and conflicting goals. Many
simply do not care if an attack of this nature is not strategically wise. Their idea of strategy at times is very basic. Kill. The more the better. Strike fear into the enemy. What better way than to make us fear for our kids.

I have two teen age daughters in school. I worry everyday about this even though I know, logically that the odds of them being harmed at school by terrorists are theoretically millions to one. Parents worry about everything, even the nearly impossible. The tactical value of such an act is miniscule but the emotional toll it would take would be tremendous.

As for worrying about
"making America angry"...I doubt that they care one way or the other. Most terrorists are happy to die in this fight and they care nothing if a million of their innocent countrymen die from our response to their actions. So barring
us using our "nuclear deterrent" to glass over most of the Islamic world I don't think they fear us any more than they fear their neighbors of a different
sect or tribe.

A terrorist attack on a school is of no more strategic value than a terrorist attack on trains, subways or public buses. Ask Spain et.al. what they think about the subject.

 

[g5reality]

A Dare

I dare any terrorist to go into a South Los Angeles LA Unified High School and start trouble.

Liklehood is the students would blow them away before any police could get there.

Same goes for some schools in E LA and the San Fernando Valley.

 

[MacEntyre]

They will attack where there is no concealed carry law, and no hunting culture... Unfortunately, that doesn't make the rest of us much safer.

I wonder if there aren't a lot more infiltrators than we think. After 9/11, there were reports of arrests of middle easterners crossing the border from Mexico. Have there been any recent reports?

 

[ozarkhillbilly]

I agree that to the western mind it would make no sense to attack a school there would be massive outrage and retaliation. However it also makes no senses to the western mind to send your children out with bombs strapped on them to blow themselves up. What sane parent would send their child to kill themselves, while the parent sets at home without the guts to do it themselves. I do not know if there will be an attack on one of our schools or not but I do not put it past them either, we simply do not think the same way.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

However it also makes no senses to the western mind to send your children out with bombs strapped on them to blow themselves up. What sane parent would send their child to kill themselves, while the parent sets at home without the guts to do it themselves.

Parent signs approval for 17yr old to join U.S. military.

One year later, kid ships out to Iraq. Someone chucks a grenade into his hooch, kid dives on it to take the blast, saving the lives of his squadmates.

Parent receives the kid's posthumous Medal of Honor, kid is buried as a hero. We don't use the word "martyr", but it's the secular equivalent.



-MV

 

[carebear]

You realize that analogy only works if the parent solely intended the soldier to jump on the grenade? And even then, one intent is to take lives, the other to save them, which is a stark moral difference.

The analogy doesn't really work at all.

I would have gone after the word "children", which implies mother's are sending 10 year olds out to die in their (the mother's) place. It is young men doing the dying, not children.

 

[illspirit]

Sane people currently don't have a motive to target schools, so we'll continue to see nothing but crazies (of various colors and creeds) attacking schools, unless the world situation changes so as to make attacking schools helpful for jihadists or whatever future bogeymen we may encounter.

But to play devil's advocate, perhaps terrorists feel (like some here) that such an attack would provoke the government into issuing a total gun ban. One which they think might either A: cause a civil war/unrest as people resist, and/or B: leave the population defenseless so they can send in waves of gunmen across the southern border, unopposed, with arms from their pal Chavez. Both theoretical outcomes would be favorable to the mujahideen, would they not? If their ultimate goal is a global caliphate, it would probably be a lot easier for them to take over nations full of unarmed sheep.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

But to play devil's advocate, perhaps terrorists feel (like some here) that such an attack would provoke the government into issuing a total gun ban.

Not picking on you personally, but it is odd that many folks here tend to assume that, since RKBA is important to them, it must also be at the top of everyone else's priority list.

Democratic Party's top priority? Gun ban.
Mujihadeen's top priority? Gun ban.
UN's top priority? Gun ban.
Supervisor at 7-11s top priority? Gun ban.


I don't find the scenario you suggest particularly likely, and I'm not convinced that U.S. gun control would be the likely result of a Beslan-style massacre perpetrated by "outsiders". If perpetrated by the 1990's bogemen ("militias"), sure. However, IIRC 9/11 resulted in more gun sales, not fewer.

-MV

 

[ozarkhillbilly]

Parent signs approval for 17yr old to join U.S. military.

One year later, kid ships out to Iraq. Someone chucks a grenade into his hooch, kid dives on it to take the blast, saving the lives of his squadmates.

Parent receives the kid's posthumous Medal of Honor, kid is buried as a hero. We don't use the word "martyr", but it's the secular equivalent.

I am not sure whether you meant to compare U.S. troops with suicide bombers or not, but you must not have a very high opinion of the troops if you did.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

I am not sure whether you meant to compare U.S. troops with suicide bombers or not, but you must not have a very high opinion of the troops if you did.

I don't mean to "play the vet card" here, but I'm being repeatedly being accused of being anti-military or not understanding the Middle East. Therefore, in my defense, here's me: