Anyone remember being lectured that poverty and/or a lack...

[USN_Hokie]

...of education was responsible for terrorism? Can we finally call that boogy man vanquished?

[RiverguyVT]

Global warming in San Bernardino. Want proof? Well, I haven't seen any polar bears there, have you?

[awesome guy]

That was crushed when it came out.

[USN_Hokie]

That was crushed when it came out.

Maybe I'm missing it, but the only common denominator in these incidents is a devotion to islam.

[awesome guy]

That was crushed when it came out.

Maybe I'm missing it, but the only common denominator in these incidents is a devotion to islam.

Yep. And that devotion is more prominent in the educated and affluent Muslims. People that read and believe the Quran become homicidal maniacs, as Mohamed was.

[RiverguyVT]

[BG Hokie]

...of education was responsible for terrorism? Can we finally call that boogy man vanquished?

I don't think it's responsible, but I suspect there is a correlation between intelligence, lack of education, and poverty level to Islamic extremism. Islam is seemingly 300 years or so behind the modern world, especially in impoverished parts of the world. It's not far fetched that the poverty and reasons for that poverty including lack of education feed into the ease of teaching and recruiting extremism/extremists.

[awesome guy]

...of education was responsible for terrorism? Can we finally call that boogy man vanquished?

I don't think it's responsible, but I suspect there is a correlation between intelligence, lack of education, and poverty level to Islamic extremism. Islam is seemingly 300 years or so behind the modern world, especially in impoverished parts of the world. It's not far fetched that the poverty and reasons for that poverty including lack of education feed into the ease of teaching and recruiting extremism/extremists.

You mean the areas so rich that the people have everything provided them by oil money? London, Paris, Boston too?

They're not poor.

[HokieJoe]

...of education was responsible for terrorism? Can we finally call that boogy man vanquished?

I don't think it's responsible, but I suspect there is a correlation between intelligence, lack of education, and poverty level to Islamic extremism. Islam is seemingly 300 years or so behind the modern world, especially in impoverished parts of the world. It's not far fetched that the poverty and reasons for that poverty including lack of education feed into the ease of teaching and recruiting extremism/extremists.

This is what flips me about the left. They'll do GD backflips to attribute terrorism to demographic factors like poor education. But when it comes to the reason why blacks are incarcerated at higher rates, nope, it's RACISM. It's just incomprehensible fluff. They're either too damn stupid to see the OBVIOUS incongruity of their position; or, they're just political ideologues who'll lie their asses off to achieve their goals.

[USN_Hokie]

...of education was responsible for terrorism? Can we finally call that boogy man vanquished?

I don't think it's responsible, but I suspect there is a correlation between intelligence, lack of education, and poverty level to Islamic extremism. Islam is seemingly 300 years or so behind the modern world, especially in impoverished parts of the world. It's not far fetched that the poverty and reasons for that poverty including lack of education feed into the ease of teaching and recruiting extremism/extremists.

I don't understand how you can argue that when doctors (VT grads for crikes sake!), scientists, etc. are caught up in terrorist plots?

[jmac610]

It's not far fetched that the poverty and reasons for that poverty including lack of education feed into the ease of teaching and recruiting extremism/extremists.

I would think that the indoctrination from birth and the ever present threat of death, or worse, for non-believers may have something to do with it.
Education comes later in life, they are already there by an early age.

[USN_Hokie]

It's not far fetched that the poverty and reasons for that poverty including lack of education feed into the ease of teaching and recruiting extremism/extremists.

I would think that the indoctrination from birth and the ever present threat of death, or worse, for non-believers may have something to do with it.
Education comes later in life, they are already there by an early age.

On the contrary, I think recent converts may be even MORE perceptible to extremism. Even among those raised Muslim, it appears they usually became more extreme later in life.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/04/rober ... their-home

I think a lot of these jihadists are disillusioned youth looking to be a part of something bigger. IE...millennials faced with the reality that they're nobodys. It's the same trap created by cults.

[VisorBoy]

...of education was responsible for terrorism? Can we finally call that boogy man vanquished?

I don't think it's responsible, but I suspect there is a correlation between intelligence, lack of education, and poverty level to Islamic extremism. Islam is seemingly 300 years or so behind the modern world, especially in impoverished parts of the world. It's not far fetched that the poverty and reasons for that poverty including lack of education feed into the ease of teaching and recruiting extremism/extremists.

It's an extremely complex issue that cannot be distilled to "X causes terrorism". One of the ingredients, though, is probably socio-economic in nature.

To wit, crime happens in low-income areas more often than high-income areas, regardless of race. There is a correlation between opportunity & propensity to fall into crime. The person who's working at a minimum wage job and sees his friend flush with cash by selling rocks may be tempted to go down that same road. That temptation is absent, or at least attenuated, in high-income areas without the same monetary pressures.

As for terrorism, killing innocent people, regardless of the reason, requires turning off the rational side of one's brain. This is the problem with extremist modes of religion, and to a lesser extent, extremist modes of anything. Reason, morality, and opportunity are the levers that keep most people from doing atrocious things. Those who lack the intelligence or chemical balance to override extremism (due to a lack of intelligence, i.e. the poor, a lack of ability to improve one's state in life, i.e. the poor again, or a lack of moral compass, i.e. sociopaths) are more likely to commit terrorism. And they're also more likely to believe extremist viewpoints, if those viewpoints promise an increase in some attractive quality for them (opportunity, money, paradise, etc).

[USN_Hokie]

The majority of the 9/11 hijackers were born to well-off Saudi families. People keep bringing up poor/uneducated, but the facts don't bear that out at all.

[RiverguyVT]

It is that brand of islamism...not the poverty, not the GDP of the country of origin. Common denominator is either islam....or global warming.

[VisorBoy]

The majority of the 9/11 hijackers were born to well-off Saudi families. People keep bringing up poor/uneducated, but the facts don't bear that out at all.

Correlation doesn't mean that all X are Y. It means that X tends impact Y, as do other things.

[USN_Hokie]

The majority of the 9/11 hijackers were born to well-off Saudi families. People keep bringing up poor/uneducated, but the facts don't bear that out at all.

Correlation doesn't mean that all X are Y. It means that X tends impact Y, as do other things.

I'm telling you there's no data to support your position and if anything, the data completely contradicts it. So yes, correlation =/= causation - my point is you have no evidence of either.

You're saying poverty/education is a cause when most if not all of them were well off and educated. Hell, Hasan was a VT grad from NOVA.

[awesome guy]

The majority of the 9/11 hijackers were born to well-off Saudi families. People keep bringing up poor/uneducated, but the facts don't bear that out at all.

Correlation doesn't mean that all X are Y. It means that X tends impact Y, as do other things.

I'm telling you there's no data to support your position and if anything, the data completely contradicts it. So yes, correlation =/= causation - my point is you have no evidence of either.

You're saying poverty/education is a cause when most if not all of them were well off and educated. Hell, Hasan was a VT grad from NOVA.

I think a certain church spreads this nonsense as part of their social justice message. The poor are supposed to be victims so you make a donation to help them.