I think back during Columbine we lived in different times. There wasn’t this 24 hour news cycle and the “threat level” situation was still a few years off. So there was a sense of tragedy but not mass scale hysteria over “organized” crime. That term was reserved mostly for the mob. As we know, that changed after 9/11.…

Exactly. The recruitment process for ISIS is very similar to the recruitment process for gangs in LA or Chicago. The only difference (to my knowledge) is local gangs aren’t using social media to recruit in quite the ways that international terrorist organizations are. But, the lures and targets for recruitment are…

You’re right, which is why I sort of devolved into rambling. I understand that everything cannot be detected. With the online marketing campaigns that many terrorist organizations use as their recruitment tactics, it seems like it might be easier to intercept potential plots. And it is. However, like you say, even…

This doesn’t discount what I’m saying though. Because it’s not muslim based (and note that I didn’t specify religion in my post, but said “organized terror”) doesn’t mean it’s not terrorism. Because of what I do and other affiliations I’ve held professional and personally related to social justice at home, I…

No worries. I figured we were saying the same thing and I just thought it better to clarify than to attack. Lol. Trying to start 2017 off right :)

I understand what you meant. I wasn’t sure what demographic attended that particular club, but what I was basically saying is that, with the latest attacks, we are witnesses a trend of previously inaccessible spaces being targeted to make a statement, so to speak. So, we definitely agree. When I said it was ‘on trend’…

Honestly, it goes so much deeper than that. They recruit folks from some of the most destabilized countries in the world with promises of stability (financial, social, political, etc). I’d argue that they promote the ultimate self-sacrifice as a way to give these folks a sense of pride that isn’t found in their…

Unless a person is born into that life and indoctrinated as they grow up, there is a process a person goes through to be recruited into a terrorist cell. That process is the sophistication I’m referring to. Because not everyone who joins a terror organization does so because they are inherent jihadists or even…

I see where you’re going and I agree. Notice I said “organized terror” and didn’t put any religion into my post. Because, as much as we’d like to think it’s religious extremism (and some of it is), there are those who join different organizations not as a result of religious ideology, but because of sophisticated…

lol, I got the point. It wasn’t. I was just using a loosely based analogy because most folks have seen that movie.

Honestly, I think the Paris attack and the recent Berlin attack are “on trend” with the direction terrorist are trying to go. They seem to want to put fear into the everyday person who is just doing regular stuff in countries that are deemed safe and insulated against this type of thing.

Right. I was confused as well. If anything, it just makes for a good disguise but does nothing to sway the possibility of it being a terrorist attack.

I work with an organization that requires me to talk with people all over the world about how to combat terrorism. I wish I had more optimism about the state of the “war on terror”, but honestly, it many areas it is getting worse. It’s not just the state of reporting causing us to see more of an uptick in these…

Not for nothing (because my opinion really doesn’t matter) but I think Beyonce is stunning with black hair. The promo image for this article blew me away because it’s been so long since we’ve seen that. I hope she goes back to that sometime in 2017.

That J Cole song is so.fucking.on.point. So on point.

Right.

Lol. I am anxious on flights with turbulence. I don’t scream though. With bad turbulence, however, I might descend into a mini panic attack that I’ve been able to learn to shut down before it becomes major. But, yeah. No hate on your aunt here. Lol

I have stomach issues as well and there was a situation where I literally had to go once the cabin doors were closed but we hadn’t pushed back. They waited (it was literally 2 minutes in the restroom). I try to go beforehand so that does not happen. But, unless the attendant is a super douche, they usually are…

This is going to come off really harsh because I’m currently at one of my relatives’ homes, and they love reality tv and I.hate.this. shit. The shit is trash. You and I know it. And guess what? You muthafuckers keep watching it and keep feeding into it remaining on the air. The only way to stop this systematic dumbing…

Ah. Okay. That actually makes sense if it’s for a kid’s soundtrack.