“While America celebrated the Bin Laden raid, the rest of the world saw American forces penetrate a country and kill its citizens. The drones and raids create the impression around the world that America is at fault for the damage, so we become the scapegoat for radical Islamic violence.”
The Egyptian death toll has risen to almost 300 in a stunning attack by ISIS. While domestic mass shootings usually inspire gun control rhetoric, this attack has inspired another debate about foreign policy and the war within Islam itself. The attack killed devout Muslims in a Muslim majority country, which leads to various questions, such as why ISIS has any influence in Muslim countries when many of their victims are Muslim. The answer has to do with various psychological and human factors that are often seen in America as well.
As we often hear from liberals after every attack that the majority of Muslims are peaceful. That is true, and these people who live, work, and attend church with the same devout Muslims for their entire lives have solid evidence in front of them that Muslims are peaceful. They have a tough time believing that the good and peaceful neighbors they live next to could be part of a radical sect that blows up their own churches. They don’t accept unverified accounts from far away that differ from their personal experience.
On top of that, in some areas, they are quite familiar with US airpower. Drones and aircraft rain fire from the sky. Muslims around the world, and particularly in the Middle East and South Asia, know somebody who knows somebody who had their home destroyed by American bombs.
Most people, even in America, don’t consider the nuances of international law, but simply see both sides killing each other.
The US has various covert assets such as Special Forces and CIA operatives that compound this impression. While America celebrated the Bin Laden raid, the rest of the world saw American forces penetrate a country and kill its citizens. The drones and raids create the impression around the world that America is at fault for the damage, so we become the scapegoat for radical Islamic violence.
Readers at this point might be rolling their eyes at the uneducated and barbaric foreigners who can’t distinguish between Muslim terrorists and American planes. Most people, even in America, don’t consider the nuances of international law, but simply see both sides killing each other. Even a cursory stroll through social media or the fake news controversy shows how rage and disbelief can be stoked.
For example, a communications director made a poor joke before a trip to Africa. By the time she landed eight hours later, she had become the number one trending topic in the world and the focal point of an online mob and hashtags that got her fired. In the calm light of day it’s not a big deal. Her comment was a joke that wasn’t very funny and got interpreted as racist. But the Western mobs are often little better than Muslim ones, and her life was ruined in the course of a few hours.
So when Americans shake their heads because mobs of Muslims riot over rumors of a Quran being flushed down the toilet, or because they don’t believe fellow Muslims can kill in the name of religion, they should consider the recent trending hash tag, the debate over fake news, the last person they helped get fired, and the outrage they exhibit over anything and everything without waiting for more knowledge.
Instead of joining the outrage sweepstakes, they should reconsider their rage at the establishment, liberals, hippies, or whatever and take a bit more time to calmly and rationally assess the situation. If they don’t, they can hardly be surprised when humankind acts the same way half way around the world.