Today, it has become even more important to understand the root causes of homegrown terrorism. It is harder to target, and far less predictable when compared to the traditional variety.
Our predictive capacity is enhanced when we have a fair sense of the variables involved in the picture. Throw in variables that are weakly connected, unrelated, or spuriously connected, and you are forever searching for the missing piece.
Many seek an explanation of the phenomenon in religious teachings (or its misinterpretations). Others point to schooling. They look at socio-economic factors and blame poverty.
To use an analogy, these may be symptomatic of and have some correlations with homegrown terrorism, but they are not the disease. In so many ways, these explanations distract our attention from the real underlying factors, and therefore distract us from real solutions.
It does not do much more than provide us with the imagined face of an enemy, and does not give us any more empowerment than the ability to spew hate.
It certainly does not resolve much, and may actually make things worse. In Western media, there is deep analysis of all these symptoms, and so-called experts spend hours providing answers. The average audience eats it all up because they have neither the knowledge, nor the tendency, to debate.
Since we are seeing a spike in the frequency of occurrences, it is important we look at some root causes that can be addressed, and a solution attempted. A large part of the international media dialogue on the topic is based on tracing factors directly connected to an incident after it has happened.
That is indeed a valid journalistic approach, provided there are no information distortions involved; however, we need to go beyond that for a permanent solution.
It is my scientific opinion that the confluence of four factors leads “the boy next door” to commit such a monstrous and heinous terrorist act: A failed life, victim of bullying, lack of guidance and mentorship, and access to underground groups and activities.
Each of these deserves lengthy research for understanding them deeper, and there are, indeed, lots conducted. Each of these, independently, is a critical social issue that demands an immediate resolution.
Bullying, for example, pokes at more than a clean shirt and harms a lot more than a person’s self-image and self-esteem. As a matter of fact, it has led many who were victimised to commit suicide. At the same time, the picture becomes even more complex when we study the profile of the perpetrator in a bullying situation.
There are severe socio-psychological influences here as well; far beyond the mask presented in public, and deeper than the initial assumptions of a rowdy kid asserting his territory.
This is a problem that impacts both the perpetrator and the victim, where the social maladies that created the bully create new ones in the bullied. Bullying, in short, is a far deeper issue than what we can afford to ignore.
The four factors are independent of one another. In other words, simply because one’s life is predicted to fail does not mean that they will also be a victim of bullying. It can happen, but does not guarantee it.
However, these four factors, independent as they are, tend to be inter-correlated. That is, there is a greater propensity for a person without guidance or mentorship to fail, and based on their subsequent behaviour become a victim of bullying, and based on a prolonged period of neglect and abuse, be prone to seek to belong in a group where they feel accepted.
It would not hurt if the group has a seemingly admirable social cause.
I wonder how their day started out, and what was on their minds as they took their last breaths
Bring the four factors together in one person, and we have a far greater problem on our hands. We have, literally, a ticking time bomb. The fourth factor is not fully vital or critical, as the homegrown terrorist can pretend to have connections without truly having any.
All they really need are pieces of information that allow them the pretension. Of course, the internet allows anyone to gather such information undetected or even anonymously. And, of course, some others actually join.
The homegrown terrorist desires to end his own story as sensationally and as publicly as possible. This serves a dual purpose -- one is a gratified revenge on society, and second, it is a unique “accomplishment.”
A failed life, or one that is predicted to be so, can be attributed to individual decisions at certain time points, but cannot be limited to that only. The failed life also needs to be seen in the context of social conditions that contribute in some way.
A failed life can be due to bad choices made by the individual, or lack of mentorship by family and friends, or even be a condition imposed by the state (as in the case of the average Palestinian whose lives are not predicted to be successful).
Similarly, bullying is much more than an interaction between limited numbers of actors. Lack of guidance and mentorship is linked to social environments that lack resources, stability, and a preoccupation with the self. As indicated before, each factor is a research topic on its own; what I bring in this journalistic piece is the idea that their confluence is highly volatile.
Rewind some examples of homegrown terrorism in the US and Europe -- from Columbine to numerous other school shootings; from Oklahoma to Nickel Mines; from Anders Behring Breivik to Dylann Roof; and more recently, Orlando. And, of course, we have seen some international incidents this first week of July in Istanbul, Dhaka, Baghdad, and Kishoreganj. The markers of the perpetrators are quite similar.
In some ways, heightened security serves as a deterrent, and every second that passes by without incident is a success story. That is what our minds are wrapped around, and that is what we grapple with.
That is our immediate preoccupation, the idea of “feeling safe.” But, unfortunately, heightened security cannot guarantee prevention. This is especially true where soft targets are concerned. It is simply not possible, nor feasible, to have heightened security in every inch of public space at every moment.
A real solution comes in tackling the root causes of the conditions that create lone wolves and homegrown terrorists.
At the root of all brands and varieties of terrorism is economic and social deprivation, and that is where we need to focus as individuals, as families, as community members, and as leaders. And so, as a society, we need to ensure economic mobility and development for all.
As parents, guardians, and friends, we need to make everyone feel a part of the family and the larger community.
As teachers, we need to be involved in the positive growth and influences in everyone’s lives. None of these are easy to accomplish, for there are several intervening barriers. Those barriers should never provide us with the excuse for not trying.
I can only imagine the adrenalin pumping in the body of the homegrown terrorist as he moves towards his target. I can only imagine the drama in his head as he finally approaches the scene.
But, I cannot imagine, or understand, why innocent lives have to be cut short even as they are going about their own businesses, completely unaware that they are about to die.
I wonder how their day started out, and what was on their minds as they took their last breaths