The Psychology of Terrorism Essay - 2355 Words

New York City. Washington D.C. London. Nairobi. Beirut. Yazidi. Beslan. Mumbai. Lockerbie. These are the locations of some of the world’s worst terrorist attacks, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. The culprits of these attacks were nearly always a relatively small group of individuals that were labeled as terrorists. It has been said that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. This is the problem with understanding terrorism, a word that means many things to different people. Our different perspectives make it a difficult problem to define and solve. These incidents have occurred relatively infrequently but their impact has been long term and far reaching. What could drive human†¦show more content†¦An examination of known terrorists along with much research creates a model of what path may lead individuals to choose to participate in this activity. This also leaves the question of why the outlier s that do not fit into this model choose to participate. For many, involvement of family and friends influence their participation. Some may fall under the less popular schools of thought suggesting that narcissistic rage and even geography can be factors in who becomes a terrorist. Reaching a clearer understanding is key to at least slowing the frequency and devastation caused by terrorist attacks. Literature Review The literature review considers opposing viewpoints on the factors that breed terrorism in individuals by discussing the following issues: 1. What psychological tendencies, if any, are present among terrorists? 2. Does religion play a role in influencing individuals to commit terroristic acts? 3. What role do politics play in influencing terrorists? 4. Does socioeconomic strife play a role in determining who may feel compelled to commit terroristic acts? In his book, â€Å"The Anatomy of Terrorism,† David Long examines the psychological aspects that lead an individual to become a terrorist. He claims that the two traits that appear to be disproportionately prevalent amongShow MoreRelatedThe Psychology of Terrorism761 Words   |  3 Pages Terrorism Psychology The assignment being completed within this report asks the author of this paper to answer several questions. The first relates to the psychological attributes of terrorists. The second question asks for historical and cultural antecedents to September 11th. The third and final one asks for mental illness and its inconclusive link with terrorism. Reasons for the inconclusiveness as well as reasons people become terrorists. Psychological Profile of a Terrorist The primaryRead MoreEssay Viewing Terrorism through Social Psychology1286 Words   |  6 Pages Acts of terrorism are becoming increasingly common in todays society. From the frequent suicide bombings in Israel, the recent violence in the Russian village of Beslan, to the attacks on the world trade centers on September the eleventh of 2001 that so violently shook the world; terrorism is rarely far from our minds. Terrorist groups have a variety of aims, acts of revenge, politics, but by far the most common, and arguably most disturbing reason for these actions is religion. It is exceptionallyRead MoreNon-Conventional Terrorism963 Words   |  4 PagesNon-conventional terrorism Introduction Terrorism refers to the use of force or threat in order to create fear to the innocent citizens of a country, and the government. It is designed so as to bring some form of political change by targeting the innocent people ADDIN EN.CITE Deutch19971295(Deutch, 1997)1295129517Deutch, JohnTerrorismForeign PolicyForeign Policy10-221081997Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLC00157228http://www.jstor.org/stable/1149086( HYPERLINK l _ENREF_5 o Deutch, 1997Read MoreWhat Does The Word Terrorist?1070 Words   |  5 Pagesis acting in pursuit of political aims. The person committing the crimes will not call themselves terrorists, for the name terrorist is given by the witnesses and victims – more often public agents, the media – who label the acts of violence as terrorism. Terrorists justify their actions through specular causes, religious causes, and sometimes both. Violence is the key factor that leads us to labeling someone as a terrorist, however the violence is seen as a problem being solved and/or eliminatedRead MoreHuman Behavior And Individual s Life Experiences1242 Words   |  5 Pages To what extent psychopathology, individual’s personality and individual’s life experiences are relevant to understand terrorism? In the current national security environment, there is no doubt that terrorism is one of the major scourges our society is exposed to. Government has been spending massive resources and assigned to public and private sector to prevent terrorism. However, these attempts lack sometimes of conceptual and empirical foundation and the definition itself has divided severalRead MoreThe Psychological Profile Of A Terrorist1199 Words   |  5 Pagesterrorist By Joshua Breckling Advanced placement psychology Mr. Cutara 6/4/15 Abstract I found that in my research there were many different definitions of terrorism giving it different personalities to conduct these practices. Another conclusion that is drawn is the fact that terrorist cant be studied up close and asks questions up front in fear of the researchers’ lives. I also found a few common reasons why they have gone to terrorism and how it can affect the type of terror they produceRead MoreReading Review : Why Terrorism Doesn t Work1321 Words   |  6 PagesPOLS2207 Reading Review: Why Terrorism doesn’t work – Max Abrahms Leo Kwon I disagree with Abrahms’ article ‘Why Terrorism doesn’t work’, there are a number of fundamental flaws within his work that I feel undermines its credibility. I feel that if he offered the readers the chance to reach their own conclusions it would have been a persuasive piece. However, by using limited data samples as evidence for his arguments, I find it difficult to understand why this article is held in such high esteemRead MoreHomegrown Muslim Radicalization And Terrorism831 Words   |  4 PagesHomegrown Muslim Radicalization and Terrorism The purpose of this paper is to annotate four sources that I will analyze for my final research paper. These sources focus on the following items: (a) Comparing Muslim converts and non-converts in the United States, (b) the psychology of radicalization, (c) the risk of radicalization and terrorism, and (d) how we can combat homegrown radicalization and terrorism. By analyzing these sources, I will be able to develop in-depth reasoning on this topicRead MoreThe Theory Of Behaviorism Operant Conditioning993 Words   |  4 Pagesthe behavior that its society deems appropriate for its sex . Therein lies the social learning theory of Bandura vs operant conditioning as Skinner believes. Both theories are pivotal in my area of study which is behavioral psychology, with a concentration in Terrorism and Security. The theory of operant conditioning is closely related to how a terrorist would prepare his army, or how they would ready his next suicide bomber. Banduras theory of observational learning, may have a young man whoRead MoreRed Cell Analysis Of Right Wing Extremist Militias1638 Words   |  7 Pagesjustified. Looking at the movement’s psychology, as well as aims and means, it will be clear who in the IC has the authority and responsibility to deal with this domestic terrorist threat and how. The integrity of the US government and the security of the United States may depend on it. In this paper, an overview of right wing militias will be covered. The US Intelligence Community will be examined as to how it contributes to the prevention of domestic terrori sm. Structured analytic techniques will

Prejudice in the United States - 963 Words

In this modern world, prejudice is still a universal problem we still have yet to overcome. Although it is true that our society is much less prejudiced than it was 40-50 years ago, we are still struggling to create racial harmony in a world that is so diverse in terms of racial group, sexual orientations, ethnicity, nationality, religions, and so on. I think the core of prejudice comes from stereotyping, which is the generalization of motives, characteristics, or behavior to an entire group of people. In the world where media propaganda is ubiquitous, often times most stereotypes are not formed on valid experiences, instead they are based on images publicized by the mass media, or even created within our heads after seeing and hearing examples from many different sources, like movies, or even hearsay. Stereotyping is more powerful than we think, because it allows those false pictures to control our thinking that leads us to assign uniform characteristics to any person in a group, wi thout consideration of the actual difference between members of that particular group. Most common form of prejudice, in the United States at least, is in between racial groups. Unfortunately, racial prejudice is so prevalent in the Western society. I believe most people think of themselves as unprejudiced these days, even myself. Sometimes we didn’t realize that we have expressed indirect forms of prejudice, ones that are subtler. Example in the American society could be when white peopleShow MoreRelatedPrejudice And Prejudice By The United States985 Words   |  4 PagesThe United States is a nation of immigrants plagued by hatred for one another. Prejudice and discrimination is more than one occurrence in history or the actions of a single individual. 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Practitioners in the field of bilingual education who have educational and linguistic backgrounds strive to implement the most educationally sound policies, programs, and practices in order to best serve theRead MoreThe Developmental Course Of Racial Behavior817 Words   |  4 Pagespurpose and the hypothesis of the study are very concise and direct. The study was to determine the developmental course of racial behaviours in childhood. The researchers in this study are trying to prove how white children’s expressions of racial prejudice do not necessarily decline in middle childhood due to the development of particular cognitive skills, but that instead children older than seven will go on expressing prejudiced attitudes under appropr iate conditions. The hypothesis targets aRead MoreEssay on Prejudice in America943 Words   |  4 PagesPrejudice, the Spoil of Life I was born and raised in Europe. 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The Japanese decided to attack the United States because the U.S. enforced an oil embargo against Japan. ThisRead MoreThe Prejudice Towards Black Men852 Words   |  4 PagesIn the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows us the prejudice towards black men in the American judicial system. Since the 1930s, the injustice towards black men and woman has not improved. In the United States, over 2,3 million people are incarcerated and one-third black babies will be incarcerated, (Stevenson, P.15). To change this, we need to implement change now. Our society needs to change before the next Tom Robinson is sentenced without a fair trial. The town of Maycomb was theRead MoreDiscrimination Effects from the 1930s1530 Words   |  7 PagesRobert Staunbach. Many people consider the 1930s to be a terrible time of prejudice, especially to some violent extremes. Between racism, sexism, and social prejudice, discrimination levels were about the highest America has ever seen. This was a difficult time for African Americans in the U.S, and despite the decline of organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, racism was as strong as ever, especially in the southern states. During the Great Depression, colossal unemployment and relocation forced

In Roman Times, Abortion And The Destruction Of Unwanted Essay Example For Students

In Roman Times, Abortion And The Destruction Of Unwanted Essay children was permissible, but as out civilization has aged, it seemsthat such acts were no longer acceptable by rational human beings, sothat in 1948, Canada along with most other nations in the world signeda declaration of the United Nations promising every human being theright to life. The World Medical Association meeting in Geneve at thesame time, stated that the utmost respect for human life was to befrom the moment of conception. This declaration was re-affirmed whenthe World Medical Association met in Oslo in 1970. Should we gobackwards in our concern for the life of an individual human being?The unborn human is still a human life and not all the wishfulthinking of those advocating repeal of abortion laws, can alter this. Those of us who would seek to protect the human who is still to smallto cry aloud for its own protection, have been accused of having a19th Century approach to life in the last third of the 20th Century. But who in reality is using arguments of a bygone Century? It is anincontrovertible fact of biological science Make no Mistake thatfrom the moment of conception, a new human life has been created. Only those who allow their emotional passion to overide theirknowledge, can deny it: only those who are irrational or ignorantof science, doubt that when a human sperm fertilizes a human ovum anew human being is created. A new human being who carries genes in itscells that make that human being uniquely different from any and otherhuman being and yet, undeniably a member, as we all are, of the greathuman family. All the fetus needs to grow into a babe, a child, an oldman, is time, nutrition and a suitable environment. It is determinedat that very moment of conception whether the baby will be a boy or agirl; which of his parents he will look like; what blood type he willhave. His whole heritage is forever fixed. Look at a human being 8weeks after conception and you, yes every person here who can tell thedifference between a man and a women, will be able to look at thefetus and tell me whether it is a baby boy or a girl. No, a fetus is not just another part of a womens body like anappendix or appendage. These appendages, these perfectly formed tinyfeel belong to a 10 week developed baby, not to his or her mother. The fetus is distinct and different and has its own heartbeat. Do you know that the fetus heart started beating just 18 daysafter a new life was created, beating before the mother even knew shewas pregnant? By 3 months of pregnancy the developing baby is justsmall enough to be help in the palm of a mans hand but look closelyat this 3 month old fetus. All his organs are formed and all hissystems working. He swims, he grasps a pointer, he moves freely, heexcretes urine. If you inject a sweet solution into the water aroundhim, he will swallaw because he likes the taste. Inject a bittersolution and he will quit swallowing because he does not like thetaste. By 16 weeks it is obvious to all, except those who have eyesbut deliberately do not see, that this is a young human being. Who chooses life or death for this little one because abortionis the taking of a human life? This fact is undeniable; however muchof the members of the Womens Liberation Movement, the new Feminists,Dr. Henry Morgentaler or the Canadian Medical Association Presidentfeel about it, does not alter the fact of the matter. Anincontrovertible fact that cannot change as feelings change. If abortion is undeniably the taking of human life and yetsincere misguided people feel that it should be just a personal matterbetween a women and the doctor, there seems to be 2 choices open tothem. (1) That they would believe that other acts of destruction ofhuman beings such as infanticide and homicide should be of no concernof society and therefore, eliminate them from the criminal code. ThisI cannot believe is the thinking of the majority, although thetendency for doctors to respect the selfish desire of parents and nottreat the newborn defective with a necessary lifesaving measure, isbecoming increasingly more common. (2) But for the most part the onlyconclusion available to us is that those pressing for repeal of theabortion laws believe that there are different sorts of human beingsand that by some arbitrary standard, they can place different valueson the lives of there human beings. Of course, different human beingshave different values to each of us as individuals: my moth er meansmore to me than she does to you. But the right to life of all humanbeings is undeniable. I do not think this is negotiable. It is easy tobe concerned with the welfare of those we know and love, whileregarding everybody else as less important and somehow, less real. Most people would rather have heard of the death of thousands in theHonduras flooding disaster than of a serious accident involving aclose friends or favourite relatives. That is why some are lessdisturbed by the slaughter of thousands of unborn children than by thepersonal problems of a pregnant women across the street. Torationalize this double standard, they pretend to themselves that theunborn child is a less valuable human life because it has no activesocial relationships and can therefore, be disposed of by others whohave an arbitrary standard of their own for the value of a human life. I agree that the fetus has not developed its full potentialas a human being: but neither have any of us. Nor will any of us havereached that point: that point of perfect humaness, when we die. Because some of us may be less far along the path than others, doesnot give them the right to kill us. But those in favour of abortion,assume that they have that right, the standard being arbitrary. To saythat a 10 week fetus has less value that a baby, means also that onemust consider a baby of less value than a child, a young adult of lessvalue than an old man. Surely one cannot believe this and still becivilized and human. A society that does not protect its individualmembers is on the lowest scale of civilized society. One of themeasures of a more highly civilized society, is its attitude towardsits weaker members. If the poor, the sick, the handicapped, thementally ill, the helpless are not protected, the society is not asadvanced as in a society where they are protected. The more mature thesociety is, the more there is respect for the dignity and rights ofall human beings. The function of the laws of the society, is toprotect and provide for all members so that no individual or group ofindividuals can be victimized by another individual group. Everymember of Canadian society has a vital stake in what value system isadopted towards its weak, aged, cripple, its helpless intra-uterinemembers; a vital stake in who chooses life or death. As some of you may know, in 1969, the abortion laws werechanged in Canada, so that it became legal for a doctor to perform anabortion if a committee of 3 other doctors in an eccredited hospitaldeemed that continuation of the pregnancy constituted a severe threatto the life and health, mental or physical of the women. Threat tohealth was not defined and so it is variously interpreted to mean veryreal medical disease to anything that interferes with even social oreconomic well being, so that any unwanted or unplanned pregnancy thusqualifies. What really is the truth about the lasting effect of anunwanted pregnancy on the psyche of a womem? Of course there is adifference of opinion among psychiatrists, but if unbiased,prospective studies are examined certain facts become obvious. (1) Thehealth of women who are mentally ill before they become pregnant, isnot improved by an abortion. In fact in 1970 an official statement ofthe World Health Organization said, Serious mental disorders arise more often in women previous mental problems. Thus the very women forwhom legal abortion is considered justified on psychiatric grounds,are the ones who have the highest risk of post-abortion psychiatricdisorders. (2) Most women who are mentally healthy before unwantedpregnancy, despite a temporary emotional upset during the early weeksfor the pregnancy, are mentally healthy after the pregnancy whetherthey were aborted or carried through to term. The motivation behind the september 11th attacks EssayBefore 13 weeks of pregnancy, the neck of the womb is dilated acomparatively easy procedure in someone who has already had a child much more difficult if childbirth has not occurred. The products ofconception in many hospitals are removed but a suction apparatus considered safe and better that the curettal scraping method. After 13weeks pregnancy, the fetus is too big to be removed in this was andeither a dangerous method of injection a solution into the womb iscarried out, this salting out method results in the mother goinginto what is really a miniature labour and after a period of time,expelling a very dead often skinned baby. In some hospitals because ofthe danger of this procedure to the mother, an operation like aminiature Caesarean section called a hysterotomy has to be performed. There area also many other methods. Let us now look if we can, at consequences of such license tokill an individual too small to cry for its own protection. Abortionby suction curettage is not just as simple as a pelvic examinationperformed in a doctors office as Dr. Morgentaler and the televisionprograme W5 who were doing a great disservice to young women in Canadawould have us believe. In Canada as reported in the Canadian MedicalAssociation Journal (the Statistics from Statistics Canada), thecomplication rate and this being for immediate complications of earlyabortion is 4.5%. According to the Wyn report with statistics from 12counties, women who have a previous induced abortion have theirability to bear children in the future permanently impaired. There isa 5-10% increase in infertility. The chances of these women having apregnancy in the tube increases up to 4 times. Premature deliveryincreases up to 50% and when one realizes that prematurity is thecommonest cause for infants being mentally or physically defective ,having cerebral palsy or other difficulties, then one realizes thatthose doctors doing abortions in great numbers south of the border oracross the water, even in Canada may not be doing the women and herfamily a service. They will tell you that abortion has almost nocomplications. What most of them will not tell you, is that once theabortion is done they may refuse to see the women again and that shemust take her post-abortal problems elsewhere. Those seeking repeal of the present abortion law will rapidlypoint out that nevertheless, it is safer to have a legal abortion thanillegal abortions, safer for the women that is. This I do not dispute,but here is the real rub. Liberalized abortion laws do not eliminateillegal, back street abortions and in some cases, the overall numberof illegal abortions actually rise, usually stays stagnant, and rarelyfalls. There are still people who would rather try it themselves or gosomewhere they will be completely anonymous. Another factor enters thetotal number of people seeking abortion, legal or illegal rises. Theoverall pregnancy rate rockets and people become careless withcontraception and a women can have 3 or 4 abortions during the time ofone full term pregnancy. Are doctors really being kind to the girl to allow her tochoose life or death for her unborn child? In aborting a 16 year oldthis year with so-called informed consent, we may be preventing herfrom having even 1 or 2 children 10 years later when happily married. No, repealing the abortion law does not make it possible for everywomen to safely eliminate, what is for her, an unwanted pregnancy. Would limiting abortions to accredited hospitals make itsafer? Yes, safer for the women, not for the fetus and it wouldjeopardize the continued well being of all of the members of thecommunity with the gross misuse of the medical manpower, hospitalfacilities and money. With almost 31,739 abortions performed inOntario in 1989, the cost to OHIP is about 9 million dollars. Yet todo as has been done in the U.S.A and the United Kingdom namely tomake legal, abortions is to turn so-called backstreet butchers intolegal operators. Patients now go into the office through the front door insteadof the rear. I have heard it said that is abortions became availableon request, many less children would be born and we could use thepleasant delivery suites and postnatal beds for abortions. As I havepointed out, however, before today, liberalization of abortion doesnot reduce the birth rate. There would be little increase in availablefacilities or indeed doctors time. By the very nature of theoperation and because the longer pregnancy lasts, the more difficultit is, patients for abortions are admitted as urgent cases oremergencies so that all other members of the community must waitlonger for their hospital bed or the surgery they need. Who will pay for there abortions? With medicare, of course, itis you and I. I know one full tern pregnancy costs most than anabortion, but not much more. And it does not cost more than 3abortions and that is what happens when the climate or choice for lifeor death of the unborn child changes. Let us use this money forconstructive purposes, not destructive. It has been suggested thatabortions on request would enable the poor to secure abortion aseasily as the rich but regrettably, it has been shown thatabortion-minded physicians in great demand will respond to the age-oldcommercial rules, as has already happened in the States and inBritain. Abortion on demand a womens right to choose not to continuean unplanned pregnancy would prevent there being unwanted children inthis country, so we are told. This is the final and desperateemotional plea of people anxious, at whatever price, to escape theresponsibility for their actions. Nobody here or in Canada, wantsthere to be unwanted children in this city, and in this country, andalso in this world. There is nothing more pitiable or heat rendingthat an unwanted fetus becoming an unwanted babe or an unwanted babebecoming an unwanted child, or an unwanted child becoming anembittered adult. But few would think it right to kill or have killedan unwanted baby to prevent it from becoming an unwanted child. Thenhow can they think it right to kill an unwanted fetus, even moredefenceless than a newborn babe just because it may grow into anunwanted child. Once a women has conceived, she already is a parent, be itwilling or otherwise. The only way she ceases it be a parents is bya natural death or an act of killing. Killing in any form is not thesolution to so-called unwanted human beings at any age. Hitler thoughtthis was right. Canadians surely do not. It is a permissive andfrightened society that does not develop the expertise to controlpopulation, civil disorder, crime, poverty, even its own sexuality butyet would mount an uncontrolled, repeat uncontrolled, destructiveattack on the defenceless, very beginnings of life. Let us marshallall our resources financial, educational, those of social agencies,but above all, of human concern and passion for our fellow humans. Letus by all means, make available to all, knowledge of conception andmethods of contraception. Let us offer ourselves as loving humans tothose already in this country who are unwanted by their naturalparents. And incidentally, I am sure I do not need acquaint you withso me of the facts about so-called unwanted children. The ChildrensAid Societies in Toronto and in fact in every major city across ourcountry have many more potential parents anxious and willing to adoptinfants and young children than they have such children available foradoption. Let us marshall our technology and humanity in the serviceof the unfortunate.