Rekna

Everyone has a worldview. That is, some way that they view the world. This view is defined by our collections of experiences. Everyone has different experiences during their lives and this means that no one in the world has the same worldview as you. Also your worldview is not the "correct" worldview. I've noticed lots of people in this world refuse to look at someone else’s worldview before dismissing their opinion as stupid, arrogant, naive, etc. It is my opinion that refusal to at least try and understand someone else’s worldview before making decisions that effect them is detrimental to society. So please before dismissing someone else’s opinion take a little time to think about what someone else’s worldview might be.

For example, in another thread right now we have people saying that the “terrorists” (used loosely) are all crazy and the only solution is to hunt them all down and kill them. But the problem simplistic single worldview approach is that placing large groups of people into the category crazy because you don’t understand them or haven’t tried to understand them is in my opinion silly. In my worldview people that attack civilians are wrong but in someone else’s worldview that might not be the case. Let’s try to look at the worldview of these “terrorists” and come up with a better understanding than they are “crazy”. If we understand their worldview and the causes for it then we might be able to change the world. If terrorism is bread through hatred, then is giving them more reasons to hate us a solution to the problem? Why might someone attack civilians? Well, if you back someone into a corner they will do whatever they can to get out of that corner, including things we might think are crazy. Why might these “terrorists” feel cornered? If Mike Tyson were attacking you would you fight him with your fists even though you have a bat next to you? We could continue with questions like this and develop a much richer discussion than just dismissing them offhand as crazy. And for everyone that thinks attacking civilians is crazy look at the largest civilian attacks that I know of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Can we really dismiss targeting civilians offhand as the acts of crazy people?

So again I am asking people to please consider that other worldviews exist, that they may not agree with yours, but because of the other persons collections of experiences it may be a perfectly valid worldview. By looking at their worldview you may just gain some insight.

stevo

I understand enough to know that this is what al-qaeda has said and that it does not need to be tolerated on any level. http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showpos...2&postcount=56

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The_Jazz

Other than a plea for politeness and respect, what is the point of this thread?

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joshbaumgartner

If Osama and those of his ilk were attacking merely with the pen or the microphone, then I would agree with you, Rekna. But that is not the case.

Freedom of expression is critical to the advancement of humanity, and it includes having people expressing ideas that may be greatly upsetting. However, there is no freedom of expression when violence is used to enforce points. In fact, quite the opposite is true, that freedom of expression is retarded by fear and the need to align for security or even survival.

If an Osama were to come to the table I would be most receptive to their expression of their 'world view'. But when they attempt to underscore their ideas with violence, they must be stopped. That does not mean that every aspect of thir world view is wrong--a mistake that many make in dealing with them--as not every aspect of communism or colonialism or even fascism is wrong. But those who use violence to make a point can't be tolerated.

Josh

roachboy

i think it is an attempt to back out of the various goofy cul-de-sacs that the "what do 'we' do about 'terrorism'" thread ran into...which is good.

no time at the moment.

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spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

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nezmot

Sun Tsu (and many others) said that one must know one's enemy. Shutting your eyes blindly and stating that 'understanding' is not required is not only ignorance, but it is also tactically naive.

That is one reason why this over simplification is such a dangerous (and unpatriotic) thing to undertake. Sure, it's easy to stir people up with simple ideas, but at the end of the day, it is completely counter productive.

Understanding and intelligence should be the first step towards countering a perceived threat. Unfortunately there are many people who fail to understand that intelligence is a far more powerful tool than righteous indignation.

docbungle

It's easy to stir simple people up with simple ideas.

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Willravel

You article was debunked by Host:
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showpos...7&postcount=65

If one is to take a true stand against violence, then one must stand against ALL violence. Osama is wrong. Bush is wrong. The military is wrong.

ratbastid

Nicely said. I second that completely.

tecoyah

I do not see this thread as a plea for politeness, but rather as a plea for critical thinking. The OP attempts to get people to do more than react to the violence of this world, and begin to understand the futillity of blind agression as a diplomatic tool when dealing with a culture that is barely even understood.
There is merit in this approach, as it might be beneficial to us all to look at the causes of this violence, rather than simply reacting to the results.

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