Is anybody else as worried as I am about ISIS

[Fatlapdancer]

I don't really know the first thing about the whole situation but they seem to be fairly prolific in the Middle East now. What do you think?

Netanyahu is scaring me at present, with his attempts to drag the West into a war with Iran.

any other source would be better. How can you talk over a topic that you don't know anything about? Thats the point. And thats the problem "ooh I'm so terrifed of this thing I don't know anything about"....its kind of pathetic. It's insulting to all those people whose daily life it does affect, who live in daily terror and risk of death, to know nothing about them bu appropriate their distress for yourself. In your cosy little western bubble, safe as houses, and pretending to be scared.

I'm worried about IS not for us in the West, but for the people living in the middle of it. We have lots of Kurdish students where I work and they are fucking terrified of going home. When one guy had to travel to Baghdad for his visa appointment his parents were crying, they were so scared. We have students from northern Iraq emailing our office every day to ask if we can speed up their academic offers getting sent to them, if we can do anything to speed up the visa process for them. We have people faking IELTS tests (English language tests which you need to study at the university where I work) and, when this is detected, they are barred from ever studying at our institution. They are fucking desperate.

Our Saudi students aren't scared of IS, more angry, because they feel they are committing atrocities in the name of their beloved religion and twisting it for their own ends. They all call IS Daesh.

But the Kurds and Northern Iraqis, lots of whom aren't Muslim, are frightened as hell and it is horrible to see this.

I am far more concerned about the coverage in the media. This is what fuels anxiety and gives exposure to a "cause".

God yes the media exposure! The Daily Mail is loving it. Endless stories of atrocities, the more gruesome the better. Horrible ghouls.

See BBC breaking news. Boko Harom has joined IS in its idealogical aims.

BBC article on its alignment with IS

Countess, let people start posts and comment on them what they want.

It leads to discussion and knowledge.

PP linked a really good post from the Atlantic, What do Isis want.

I'll see if I can highlight it...

www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

Ok. Presumably that incudes me as well then, meaning you have no issue with my posts?

Countess, you are like that teacher at school that no child dares to ask for help or question because, if they do they are made to feel stupid, insecure, patronised and ignorant!!

We are LUCKY to not be so profoundly affected thus far by extremists, conflicts etc but I have children!! I give a massive shit about the world that they will be growing up in!! I don't think that you have ANY right to patronise me for my curiosity or desire to be more informed.

It's not insulting to people whose lives it affects daily, I went to Auschwitz to learn about WWII and the Holocause as part of a history project at school. To go to a place like that, not knowing much about it, doesn't mean that I am insulting the people who lived these atrocities, it means that I want to learn and relate

Oh my goodness, Countess - people are going to be able to point the OP in the direction of all sorts of interesting and useful links. Probably more so, than had just googled herself.

The idea being that she will come away from this thread more educated than before she started. Which is a good thing.

It's probably choosing AIBU that's the problem.

If OP wanted to join one of the existing informative threads in 'In the News' she coukd have done. Or if none of those were quire right, she could have started a new one in the topic.

Instead she chose AIBU, and so it's unsurprising that criticism follows.

If you don't want to be told YABU (for topic misuse, deliberate display of ignorance or whatever), then don't post in this topic. This isn't the place for general debate.

(When I rule MN, there will be occasional 'move all misplaced threads immediately to the right topic' days. Threads that don't really belong in AIBU often seem to end up troubled)

Wow Countess - what a derail.

This is so interesting! I need to know more.

I agree Russia's and Northern Koreas capability are what I find worrying. I doubt they'll try to mess to much with us but I maybe wrong. I see the jets from Russia as a warning of 'stay out of our business' nothing else. I think Russia will destroy itself again and take many others down with it sadly. North Korean is unhinged! Unhinged is not good. Unhinged with chemical and nuclear weapons is scary.

Boko Haram supporting ISIS is an interesting one. The geographical mileage between to two must mean its tactical and I assume financing comes into it somewhere. What's to gain by this I assume is Boko Haram gets more media time and can tap into the ISIS fear that's being built up. Is suspect Boko Haram will trade women with ISIS to increase their finances and recruit more members in an area of the world where choices and lifestyles are limited.

I'm not worried for us but I'm terrified for those living in ISIS and Boko Haram controlled areas. What they are subjected to is anyone's guess but I expect it involves a lot of fear and violence.

ISIS is different, it's more of an ethos than a tribe and the money it has and continues to have is worrying. To actually persuade people from the west to abandon everything and go to them is partially down to the media coverage. It makes them seem glamorous, untouchable and attractive.

What we do about it I sadly have no idea.