<p>why couldn’t bomber 2 be assimilated AND also have views in line with his brother, and be motivated as Zoosermom points out. My understanding is he himself has stated they were protesting the wars the U.S. is involved in that has killed Muslims. Why aren’t we believing him?</p>
<p>as far as looking normal, well most sociopaths, (not a mental illness imo) are charismatic, intelligent, yet lacking a soul, remorse. I bet he didn’t tell all his friends that he knew how to make a bomb, only those he knew would be sympathetic to his views. This is an example of his shrewdness in his actions.</p>
<p>We don’t know yet what the buddies actually knew, so I think it’s premature to say too much about what their crimes actually were and how culpable they are. It’s certainly likely that they knew their friend was the bomber, so what they did is not defensible in any way–but it does matter what exactly they knew, and what they thought.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s likely that the kid was hypnotized by his brother, but I do think it is likely that he was drawn into this plot by his brother. Exactly how this played out will have an impact on whether he gets the death penalty or not.</p>
<p>Regardless of how he looks, he was an active member of a terrorist team. His facebook and twitter pages confirm his alliance with radical Jihad (I don’t know if they are still up, I looked at them during the manhunt). I think people are having trouble coming to terms with that because he looks like a lot of American kids. And if the people who knew him didn’t see his evil, then who else among us is evil and we don’t know it? It makes us uncomfortable because we want to think that we would recognize evil if we came face to face with it, and clearly, not only may we not recognize it, we might actually be friends with it. It is an uncomfortable feeling, the feeling that we may not be as safe as we think.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why there is such a stigma to being a ‘snitch’. So instead of calling the police when they recognized their friend in the FBI photos, they not only didn’t turn him in, they tried to destroy evidence. </p>
<p>It’s not just these friends of the bombers. For so many things, snitching is seen by the younger generation as being a betrayal, a breach of loyalty, and I suppose it is, but misplaced loyalty. </p>
<p>Kids don’t contact police if they see their friends with drugs. They don’t contact the administration if they see cheating. Even if they see a sexual assault, as we saw in the Steubenville case. </p>
<p>AIUI, the younger bomber’s dorm roommate was not one of those arrested? He didn’t see anything suspicious or recognize his roommate as being the second bomber in the photos?</p>
<p>Apparently, people who know the bomber saw the pictures and were surprised that the bomber looked like their friend–who they knew couldn’t possibly be the bomber.</p>
<p>I can see that (not realizing that the bomber was actually their friend). The photos that were first released were of poor quality. And someone who only knew one brother would be much less likely to make the connection.</p>
<p>Whether or not a suspect is “assimilated” into American life, or is even an American, may be irrelevant, if this Canadian experience provides any guidance:</p>
<p>good article Bay, I applaud this mother for educating others, </p>
<p>from same link above;
She said he became more and more critical of Canadian society, saying, “Canadian laws are not good. It’s Sharia law that should be applied.”</p>
<p>“He is convinced that jihad is a part of the religion,” she said, adding he told his parents he wanted them both to “burn in hell” if they did not convert as well.</p>
<p>I don’t know why it’s so shocking that this kid ended up being a bomber. Close family members who support Jihad, growing up hearing this, his brother probably pulled him in easily. Just because he seemed happy smoking pot and partying with his friends doesn’t mean a thing.</p>
<p>This is no great mystery, it happens all the time. Just not in this country.</p>
<p>“Whether or not a suspect is “assimilated” into American life, or is even an American, may be irrelevant”
-Exactly, irrelevant, no need for others’ opinions, pretty obvious from several examples of them being radicalized…do not need to go far, just talk to local religious leaders, you will hear few surprizes during your conversation…and maybe you will have a bit more clear picture where it is MOSTLY (not always) coming from. Forget even that, not needed. Just ask yoursefl, did we ever hear loud and clear condemnations, that should have been repepted over and over from each local group in a country…did I miss any? I did not hear a single one over past 10+ years, not even after original 9/11, there were definitely lots of celebrations…oh wait…maybe these celebrations were organized by right wing media, this is it, yes. Apparently nobody could organize any condemnation events…</p>
<p>I suspect that many news channels don’t report Muslim leaders condemning terrorists. It certainly isn’t as exciting to report, nor would it be much more than a side note. Perhaps Muslim leaders could consider doing something a little more public, if they realize they aren’t getting much notice. How about a million Muslim march against radical Islam?</p>
<p>If they say it loud and clear and repeat over and over, everybody would notice. I am not the only one who did not hear, most did not here. Why people need to be killed in order to condemn anyway. Why? What Fox has to do with it? Did you hear it repeated in all the media and by government officials? That is why we call certain things “working place hazards”, right?</p>
That’s not true. As I have posted previously, these condemnations are often found on conservative or right-leaning publications/websites. That’s exactly what happened in this case.</p>
<p>The problem, busdriver, is that sometimes non-radicalized Muslims are literally in fear for their lives or the lives of their families in other countries. And with good cause because Muslims who don’t toe the line are the first to be attacked and it is Muslims who make up the vast majority of the victims of these monsters.</p>
<p>I think of these people as members of a large and violent cult.</p>
<p>It is a myth and it is refuted often on right-leaning media. Whether people choose to actually read or listen to those words is an open question, but the fact remains that such refutations do exist and I don’t think anyone can ever say that the last republican president wasn’t very vocal in making sure all Muslims weren’t tarred with this brush.</p>
<p>There are at least a billions muslims in the world. Some do condemn terrorism but many do not. (Just ask the people of Israel.) The terrorism we see typically arises out of their religious beliefs not some separate political agenda. We should not be accepting people from regions that are active in terrorism. If we had followed this approach, the Boston bombing would never have occurred.</p>
<p>If you think what I am saying is a myth, you are sticking your head in the sand.</p>
<p>razorsharp, Muslims do condemn terrorism. That is a true statement. Do all Muslims? Of course not. Is there an inherent problem with Islam? Probably. With the cultures of primarily Muslim countries? Probably. But there are plenty of Muslims who condemn terrorism and probably many more who hate terrorism but are too afraid to risk their lives and the lives of their loved ones to speak out.</p>