Why do people fear terrorism?

raah! · 12-09-2008 12:38AM

Sharks don't kill that many people either, but people are still afraid of them :P

Aodan83 · 12-09-2008 12:48AM

Why are people afrai of terrorism? Because its terrifying. Hence the name. duh like

Capt'n Midnight · 12-09-2008 01:20AM

Governments kill far more than terrorists. Can't find the link but IIRC the US military has killed over 10,000,000 civilians since the end of world war 2 ,most in Korea and Vietnam.

That's an average of a 9/11 a week since 1945

The US has sponsored many governments like Pinochet - another 9/11 - 1973 who have killed many thousands of their citizens , far more than the number of US civilians killed by terrorists. Possibly more than died in road deaths - more research needed. The 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army arrived in Vietnam on 9/11 too.

The US also trained Ossama , and his family were on one of the few planes allowed to fly out of the US after 9/11. Oklahoma bombing was home-grown too.

andy1249 · 12-09-2008 01:38AM

US foreign policy is " terrorism" and has been since the end of WWII , American right wing media ( and its all right wing media ) would have you believe the simple view that religious lunatics that hate Americans are what make terrorists and terrorism.

The truth is far different and blatantly obvious to anyone who can be bothered to read a history of American foreign policy.

9/11 attacks and all attacks on Americans are revenge rather than religion based.

Just like the Bloody Sunday massacre in the North swelled the ranks of the Paramilitaries tenfold , every bombing shooting and massacre by the Americans abroad swells the ranks of these so called terrorists.

Al Qaeda are known for choosing dates that are significant , 9/11 was chosen probably because it was the date of the Pinochet/1973 thing.
That day Americans killed many many civilians.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d'%C3%A9tat

For a Quick introductory read on how destructive American foreign policy in the pursuit of oil has been since WWII read

Interventions , by Noam Chomsky.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interventions-Noam-Chomsky/dp/0141031808/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221180940&sr=8-1

There are no such things as terrorists , there are just the Oppressors and the oppressed who want to strike back , with indiscriminate killings on both sides of the Coin.

Who actually believes that no Civilians were killed in that Obscene " shock and Awe " demonstration of american military might shown on sky news in 2003? For every family that had a relative blown apart by US ordnance on that day there are probably 5 who signed up to get their revenge on any American.

Bush passed a law last year making American presidents immune against charges of warcrimes , thats a fact ! Why would you think anyone would pass a law like that if they didnt think they needed it ?

conceited · 12-09-2008 01:40AM

Someone getting cancer and dying isn't spectacular, flying planes into building is.:pac:

Bob the Builder · 12-09-2008 01:41AM

why do people fear terrorism?
we all know the answer to that, it's coz they is black homie! :pac:

on a more serious note, I would rather die knowing that, for them to kill me, they had to kill themselves. And imagine the shock they get when they go to heaven and find out that the virgins, weren't all women, and that they weren't all sexy either.

Imagine how disappointing that would be.

JC 2K3 · 12-09-2008 02:05AM

Because it's terrifying.

KnifeWRENCH · 12-09-2008 02:20AM

LOL at the Google ads:

Terrorism
Find practical business information on terrorism.
www.allbusiness.com

Who wants to set up a terrorism business with me? I'll need investors, PR officers and a dozen or so pilots.

Oshare Bones · 12-09-2008 02:22AM

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

binhead · 12-09-2008 02:23AM

Cos just like the boogey man, we can't see it and it's not real.

Or is it?

oooooh hides under covers...

12-09-2008 02:29AM

Oshare Bones wrote: »

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

FDR quote.

Jigsaw · 12-09-2008 02:34AM

I think people fear terrorism because it is fairly indiscrimate. It deals with people in large groups and does not differentiate between them. If you put yourself in harm's way you can expect something to come back, regardless of whether or not it is justified. Terrorism, you can be out in town to buy your groceries and end up lying blown to pieces on the ground breathing your last even though you personally have done nothing to deserve it.

KnifeWRENCH · 12-09-2008 02:34AM

Oshare Bones wrote: »

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Wooooah! That's deep, man!!
I bet you're like totally wasted.

hussey · 12-09-2008 02:38AM

Who'd watch 24 if it was about Jack Bauer not fighting terrorism?

KnifeWRENCH · 12-09-2008 02:40AM

hussey wrote: »

Who'd watch 24 if it was about Jack Bauer not fighting terrorism?

I've never seen 24 but I know the idea behind it and I'm puzzled.
Does Jack Bauer EVER sleep? It would be pretty funny if there was an hour-long episode of him snoring.

CHD · 12-09-2008 02:47AM

Smoking kills innocent people aswell

Xavi6 · 12-09-2008 02:48AM

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Terrorists target innocent people and soft targets. Look at the people killed in the July 7th London bombings, they were normal people going to work.

That's why people fear them, because you do nothing wrong and some scumbag wants to kill you to make a point.

there really is a lot of **** on this thread. Fortunately I wasn't on the tube the day of the bombing, but I travelled on it the following Monday and it was the strangest feeling I have ever had.

QFT

I was in the World Trade Center in 1999, two years before the attacks. When it happened the thought entered my head of what if they had done it two years earlier on the exact day I was there? An innocent young tourist with my family taking in the sites of the city. That freaked me out a little.

kowloon · 12-09-2008 04:29AM

Deaths from "terrorism" - I'm hesitant to use the word, I've always felt it seems more at home in trailers for Vincent Price films - are miniscule compared to those arising from car crashes and too many visits to the chippers. In America more people were killed by low level crime in 2001 than in the world trade centre and pentagon combined; why were people not suggesting the draconian measures brought in after 2001 to combat regular crime?
Terrorist groups are small fry.

Governments, on the other hand, have turned mass killing into a fine art.
I'm not just referring to oppressive dictatorships executing people in countries that, for most of us, only exist on the news or as some interesting fact on QI. "First world" nations are in on the game too; millions have died through trade deals and embargoes. That the victims may not have been dispatched by machetes, roadside bombs or other newsworthy methods doesn't make their deaths any less of a tragedy, or an outrage.

When you have an idea of the statistics the dangers posed by terrorism for us are negligible.

To quote a skydiving instructor,"You've got over the dangerous part; Driving here".

arybvtcw0eolkf · 12-09-2008 07:52AM

andrew wrote: »

Well, its a small enough number that it wouldn't give me a fear of being killed in a terrorist attack.

.

Well said, coming from the comfort of your home/office in 2008 Dublin.

gixerfixer · 12-09-2008 09:19AM

I lived and worked in NY for 6 years and was in the city the day the attacks took place. In the grand scale of things people where scared ****less for a few weeks but then everything went back to normal and people just got on with their lives. Are they fearful now? No way.Not at all. What people do fear is guns (which kills 30,000 people a year in America) 10 times the amount that died on 9/11 but is swept under the carpet and not spoke about. Think about that a minute. In ten years 300,000 people will die in America because of Gun's yet what laws do they bring in to prevent gun's getting into the hands of gangs,kids,whacko's etc... None is the answer. Mind you if 10 people died because of a terrorist attack in New York on any particular day (about the amount that die's in the city every day from gun crime) it would be wall to wall coverage on Sky,Fox,CNN and the rest.:rolleyes: As the saying goes "We have nothing to fear but fear itself".

thelordofcheese · 12-09-2008 09:48AM

Mairt wrote: »

Well said, coming from the comfort of your home/office in 2008 Dublin.

Yes, because his location somehow invalidates his ability to do basic maths.

humanji · 12-09-2008 09:52AM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

The US also trained Ossama ,

There's no actually proof of that IIRC,

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

and his family were on one of the few planes allowed to fly out of the US after 9/11.

They were all searched and had extensive background checks by the FBI before it was deemed that they had nothing to do with anything. Hitler still has relatives alive. Should we throw them in prison just in case? [/GODWIN]

Oshare Bones wrote: »

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

...and spiders. And clowns!

Personally, I don't think anyone really fears terrorism except for just after an event, as Gixerfixer points out. But that fear quickly fades. Nobody thinks it can happen to them, and if/when it does you're not going to instantly think "Damn, those terrorists have struck again!" as a plane crashes through your window.

That's not to say that people don't still try and purposefully propogate the fear factor. The likes of the Bush administration used it to try and boost flagging popularity and to try and justify his actions. Boards users like Casey and Run_To_The_Hills will constantly terrorise us with "warnings" of the inevitable takeover by a crazed dictatorship that'll stamp barcodes on our arms, implant rfid chips into our foreheads and remove all tv shows except Exposè.

It's all just different versions of the same thing and it's best to just ignore them. If you are a victim of it, you won't know until it's too late.

kowloon · 12-09-2008 09:57AM

humanji wrote: »

And clowns!

WHERE?!:eek:

thebman · 12-09-2008 10:42AM

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't like terrorism, but at the same time when I download a copyrighted movie I'm fueling, so I'm torn.

Not really funding terrorism, the p0rn ads at the side of the download page are funding the terrorism.

Ireland doesn't have to fear a terrorist attack, we have nothing worth attacking!

kowloon · 12-09-2008 10:49AM

brim4brim wrote: »

Not really funding terrorism, the p0rn ads at the side of the download page are funding the terrorism.

Ireland doesn't have to fear a terrorist attack, we have nothing worth attacking!

That's right..All the potatoes!

irish_bob · 12-09-2008 01:07PM

gixerfixer wrote: »

I lived and worked in NY for 6 years and was in the city the day the attacks took place. In the grand scale of things people where scared ****less for a few weeks but then everything went back to normal and people just got on with their lives. Are they fearful now? No way.Not at all. What people do fear is guns (which kills 30,000 people a year in America) 10 times the amount that died on 9/11 but is swept under the carpet and not spoke about. Think about that a minute. In ten years 300,000 people will die in America because of Gun's yet what laws do they bring in to prevent gun's getting into the hands of gangs,kids,whacko's etc... None is the answer. Mind you if 10 people died because of a terrorist attack in New York on any particular day (about the amount that die's in the city every day from gun crime) it would be wall to wall coverage on Sky,Fox,CNN and the rest.:rolleyes: As the saying goes "We have nothing to fear but fear itself".

for all the fear you say american have of guns , they grip to them like newborn babys

Poccington · 12-09-2008 01:34PM

gixerfixer wrote: »

I lived and worked in NY for 6 years and was in the city the day the attacks took place. In the grand scale of things people where scared ****less for a few weeks but then everything went back to normal and people just got on with their lives. Are they fearful now? No way.Not at all. What people do fear is guns (which kills 30,000 people a year in America) 10 times the amount that died on 9/11 but is swept under the carpet and not spoke about. Think about that a minute. In ten years 300,000 people will die in America because of Gun's yet what laws do they bring in to prevent gun's getting into the hands of gangs,kids,whacko's etc... None is the answer. Mind you if 10 people died because of a terrorist attack in New York on any particular day (about the amount that die's in the city every day from gun crime) it would be wall to wall coverage on Sky,Fox,CNN and the rest.:rolleyes: As the saying goes "We have nothing to fear but fear itself".

Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

Fratton Fred · 12-09-2008 01:41PM

kowloon wrote: »

Deaths from "terrorism" - I'm hesitant to use the word, I've always felt it seems more at home in trailers for Vincent Price films - are miniscule compared to those arising from car crashes and too many visits to the chippers. In America more people were killed by low level crime in 2001 than in the world trade centre and pentagon combined; why were people not suggesting the draconian measures brought in after 2001 to combat regular crime?
Terrorist groups are small fry.

Governments, on the other hand, have turned mass killing into a fine art.
I'm not just referring to oppressive dictatorships executing people in countries that, for most of us, only exist on the news or as some interesting fact on QI. "First world" nations are in on the game too; millions have died through trade deals and embargoes. That the victims may not have been dispatched by machetes, roadside bombs or other newsworthy methods doesn't make their deaths any less of a tragedy, or an outrage.

When you have an idea of the statistics the dangers posed by terrorism for us are negligible.

To quote a skydiving instructor,"You've got over the dangerous part; Driving here".

do you never read the news. There are countless terrorist attacks being foiled. to be honest, the best thing about the war in iraq is that all the potential suicide bombers are going over there to have a pop at troops rather than blowing themselves up on tube trains.

You have obviously never lived in a city, or even a country which is under constant terrorist threat.

joejoem · 12-09-2008 01:41PM

andrew wrote: »

In general, terrorist attacks kill very few people. Even in the north only 1857 civilians were killed in a 30 year long 'war.' On Sept 11 just 2999 people were killed. These numbers are dwarfed by the death toll from road deaths, many different types of cancers and other much more common ways to 'blink for an excessivly long amount of time'. In spite of this, a crapload of attention is given to, and even more money is spent on, anti terrorism measures and it (appears to) scare a lot of people. Considering the odds are so low, why?!

Its the idea that you're not safe at home.

thebman · 12-09-2008 01:48PM

Poccington wrote: »

Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

Yes people use guns to kill people. You can say they'll just use knifes or other weapons but at the end of the day, you can't kill someone from a long distance with a knife.

Why do people fear terrorism?

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