Arrogance and the ISIS Parable

 

 

On its social media pages, the Islamic State has warned militants not to share location data or other information that could be useful to the group’s opponents, but Weyers said many of the militants do not appear to have picked up on the message.

 

 

ISIS is a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  It's worth noting that, for a collective apparently pursuing an Armageddon agenda, they're pretty focused on governance and infrastructure.

 

Yet what are the marketing strategies they're using for recruitment?  Are they bringing in and, once they've got 'em, training their militants for a sustained conflict and perpetual suppression of a local populace?

 

I'd say the short answer is no.  ISIS recruits aren't prepared for consequences, nor is ISIS itself.  They feel they can carve out a corner of the world, scare off outsiders and set up their own feudal enterprise.

 

They'd do well to study why feudalism fell in the first place.

 

ISIS is sloppy.  It's people are sloppy and can't but be sloppy because of their starting premise.

 

Nobody can bring about the end of the world.  But they can sure end themselves if they don't think ahead.

 

And the only way to think ahead is to think empathetically, which is exactly what ISIS-ians are trained and encouraged not to do.

 

There's a lesson in this.

It Gets Darker Before the Dawn

 

"It shows the seriousness of what is happening around the world, and how important it is for officers to be equipped with the best information, with a focus on their safety," he said.

 

The best information. 

 

What would that be, exactly?  It doesn't refer to an understanding of behavioural economics and a thorough analysis of the causal conditions that lead to criminal behavior - that's too much like committing sociology.

It probably has nothing to do with geopolitics, especially the local equity imbalances that ISIS recruiters, like any gang, tap into to gain converts.

 

No, one imagine that the information provided will be of more the carding variety - suspicion by association.

 

Then there's the whole "focus on their safety" piece, which is most troubling.  "To serve and protect" puts the people's interest first, not the safety of officers.  It's inherently a risky job, but by getting in early, engaging with a community and working on initiatives like mentorship programs, active police help reduce crime in the first place.

 

A focus on safety tends to involve less interaction and when it comes, it comes with greater armament so as to reduce officer risk. 

 

Ferguson is a great example of how this plays out in practice; well-armed police with their usual suspects list caused and escalated a tragic situation one expect to hear about from the streets of Syria, not suburban USA.

 

Or think the G20 - police had information about black block plans to escalate street violence and fed right into that beast, creating a public relations nightmare and increasing tensions among citizens and the police, already high and already growing higher.

 

"I don't talk to cops," a youth told me on the streetcar the other day.  This after I interceded when hearing her say "I hate all cops," dehumanizing them in the same manner as which carding dehumanizes certain ethnic groups.  Tell us more about the youth who are choosing to join with ISIL, government: are they ethnic minorities who feel marginalized in their Canadian context, singled out by police, ignored by employers, looked at with suspicion on the subway?

 

There are a lot of good officers out there.  I hear from them, sometimes, about the struggle they have within the current police culture that focuses on strength, wins, and threats more than it does public service.  I hear the exact same thing from youth entering that culture, which is alarming.

 

In recent days, more than 100,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Turkey in a bid to escape ISIS.

Why?  Because the folk of ISIS are brutal alphas with a superiority complex.  The God they worship is not the one of Islam; if anything, they have fallen for the false god prophesied by Islamic eschatology.

 

The thuggish converts to ISIS rape, pillage, torture, abuse power and focus on destroying others in defense of "their cause" which is a create a state in which they have absolute unquestioned authority and the respect of the international community because they're such bad asses.

 

Suspicion, fear, threat of arms, abuse - those aren't the tools of enlightenment.  They are, however, increasingly the hammer of choice for security.

 

As they say, it's darkest before the dawn - but the dawn is a long way off.  It's going to get a lot, lot darker - which why now, more than ever, we need to keep the candle of enlightenment burning.

 

 

Manufactured Deadlines: Gog and Magog

 

 

To the genocidal, anti-democratic forces of Hamas, ISIS and their ilk who would bring death and destruction to our way of life, we join in saying: "It shall not be."

 

If you've ever had a bully for a boss, you'll probably have encountered the phenomenon of the forced deadline.  And if you're familiar with forced deadlines - or real ones, for that matter - you'll be familiar with the concept of crunch time and pulling out the stops.

 

The more significant the deadline, the bigger the potential win or loss, the greater the pressure becomes. 

 

Good bosses empower teams to manage the pressure, plan out accomplishment and offer inspiration.  People want to be part of the team because of what people can build together.

 

Bad bosses go with the "no gain without pain" mantra - look to your left, look to you right, not everyone's going to make it so you damned sure be willing to work hard and pull out the stops to get there.  I'll be watching you, and pushing you - whatever it takes.

 

Good bosses build sustainable communities and empower.

 

Bad bosses destroy communities and consolidate power into an insider's club.  And man, do they love their manufactured deadlines.

 

The Apocalypse is a pretty intense deadline.  You really gotta have your ducks in a row if you want to survive it, don't you?

 

This is in no small part because you never really know when it's coming.  It could be soon, though - there are signs to look for, warnings that should be interpreted as cause for people to be prepared.

 

But people don't cause the Apocalypse, the day where the bad are separated from the good, nor can they hurry it.  That's a divine thing, out of the hands of man.

 

Particularly in Abrahamic religions, though, there's a recurring theme of a force not God, not man that comes forth to muck up the natural progression of things by suggesting only they have the keys to the door of paradise.

 

These doom-bringers tend to have a functionally fixed, cyclopean view of the world as being black and white, with those who are bad being in the way.  They are powerful.  And they lie.

 

As in, bend the truth, even to the point of using information out of context so as to deceive people into believing they're not the false messiah, but the real deal.

 

Those who are weak in faith will flock to these boss-like beings and fall for their spin and push towards bad behaviour as justified because, you know, the deadline's looming.  They won't realize it, but they'll have been duped into doing things strictly forbidden by the company policy (or religious text).

 

The faithful, however, aren't fooled - they know a manufactured deadline when they see one and won't be sucked into the "us vs the zombie hoard" mentality.  Because they are patient, the devout are hard to anger.

 

Their focus isn't on endings, but on what can be built in collaboration.  They don't look at the world through one strictly narrow lens - they connect the dots between all things and recognize the bigger picture - including temporal - of which we're all part.

 

Real leaders aren't about endings and control - they're about empowering and letting go.

 

It's the bad bosses you have to watch out for - faking deadlines, lying and spinning, using fear to get what they want in the shortest timeframe possible.

 

It's funny how our metaphors evolve, isn't it?

Oh, snap! ISIS gets Trolled

 

1. Abdullah ‏@JihadWitness 1h

   Can't be asked to deal with these people now. May Allah increase us all in patience.

                                  

ISIS wants you to fear them.  They're mean, beheading machines - they could be your neighbours.  They could sneak up on you in the subway, or while you're walking down the street.  They're on Youtube.

 

In some sense, ISIS is like a more lethal version of Justin Bieber.  Making ISIS fanboys the jihadi equivalent to Beliebers.

 

And guess what?  Just like celebrities with leaked nudie pictures, ISIS has been hacked.

 

It's kinda hard to be feared when you can be so easily caught with your pants down.

 

But that's just the start of it - what does ISIS do when they're punk'd?

 

You can't deal with those people, maaan.  May we all be patient, maybe pass a joint around or something.

 

So much for their Armageddon scenario.  ISIS is more like a punchline.

 

Not to make light of what ISIS is doing; they are to the Middle East now what Christian crusaders were in times past; rapists, imperialists, thugs with guns and a superiority complex.  They stand for a power-grab and are destroying lives and scarring generations to come.

 

At the end of the day, though, they are as vulnerable as any of us.  That it takes having their ass handed to them on a global digital sphere just shows how weak they are as human beings. 

 

How long do they have to torture journalists to get them to buy into a cause they were dumb enough to take on of their own free will?  Yet all it takes is one embarrassment for them to tuck tail between their legs.  Hell, the best weapon we've got against ISIS is probably Jon Stewart.

 

Imagine that scenario for a second - a small group of angry men who couldn't get dates tuck themselves into the desert to show how unfraid they are; they cut off the heads of abused men with their hands tied behind their back to show how strong they are; they hide behind masks to show how strong their belief is; they use one-way internet videos to show how confident in their message they are -

 

And then the world trolls them.  They get reduced to fart jokes and puns, and memes, and mash-ups with whatever celebrity poke is making the rounds. 

 

 In other words, their quest for a recognition of legitimacy and strength gets mocked.  They get mocked - not feared.

 

Not so easy to recruit weak souls looking to get tough by association when your brand is a joke, is it?

 

IGN on ISIS: Fear the Mind Killer

Watch this video wherein IGN staff are asked why it it that we love to fear zombies.  The answers, I think, are pretty bang-on:

- Fear of the loss of self
- They are the Heart of Darkness manifest
- There's a little part of us that fears Armageddon, the end of the world we know
- There's a little part of us that craves Armageddon, the end of the world we know
- Zombies are kinda human, but not really human - meaning it's okay to cut their heads off
- There's something terrifying about the perceived natural process of things (sociology to some, societal decay to others?)
- Fear that we're the rational actors we like to tell ourselves we are and could become zombies ourselves
- That mindlessness is infectious (ie Rome is the mob)

I love the concept of zombies, because they're such an apt metaphor for the human condition.

Which brings us to ISIS.  The people who flock to ISIS, whatever they might tell you, aren't all born-again Islamists or whatever.  Like those who join any aggressive cult, there is a drive to belong, to have power, to be safe against the zombie hoard and to survive the apoclypse.

It should come as no surprise that the US Joint Chiefs of Staff have warned us that "This is an organization that has an apocalyptic end-of-days strategic vision that will eventually have to be defeated."


ISIS is essentially a bunker for the apocalypse who fear the zombie masses of the Other.  The Other, oddly enough, that they have no issues beheading, because you know - if you're not us, you're a zombie.

Funny how, if you look to the left, you can't pick out any particular individuals, can you?

What happened as the walls went up around Ferguson?  The police started to get aggressive and call protesters fucking animals.  The use of force went up and the threats to kill escalated.

What response does the West have for terrorism, or society have for Ferguson?  Lines get drawn, sides are chosen and the other begins to look suspiciously like a person impersonation, not a neighbour.

Fear your neighbours, suggests ISIS - they could be one of us.

Fear outsiders, say North Korea, libertarians and Canada's Prime Minister - they mean to take away your individuality and even your life.

What's the consistent thread through each of these scenarios?

The more we fear the Other, the more distance we put between them and us.  They are a threat, inhuman.  It's okay to hate them - our hatred of what they could do to our individuality is, in fact, a purifying force.

Don't feel guilt.  Don't feel shame.  If you don't cut their heads off, they will destroy or worse, convert you. It's our tribe against the zombie hoard; you're either with us, or you're one of them.

Now, go back and read IGN's list.  Notice anything?

The more we dehumanize the Other, the more we feel compelled to band together, circle the wagons, stay on-message.  The more we identify them as an inhuman threat, the more justified we feel in treating them inhumanely.  As we feel increasingly outnumbered, the count-down clock ticks ever more loudly; no time to think, act now!!  Always be closing!


Fear is the mind killer.  It's as simple as that.

ISIS Cobarde: Imperialists in Lions' Clothing

A message to the American government and their sheep like citizens:

We have left you alone since your disgraceful defeat in Iraq.  We did not interfere in your country or attack your citizens while they were safe in their homes despite our capability to do so!

Got it.  Iraq, defeat - tell that to Saddam.  You can totally threaten us - just wait for it, no honest, here we come, we're so much bad-asser than you, we totally mean it!  Plus, you're not afraid of using lackies to do your dirty work for you, behind masks, and only as a tantrum if you don't get paid a protection fee.

The brutal murder of reporter Jim Foley has shocked the world, and rightly so.  Concern is being raised that they are scoring tactical, morale-squashing wins against society (of which they are not apart).

I'm sure ISIS' backroomers are trading high-fives over their PR success, etc.  They're getting ahead of themselves.

Let's look at the message the video itself conveys.  

A man who was tortured for two years uttering his captors' line as his final words?  No surprise there - any human being in the same position would do the same, including the murderer.

We're supposed to be horrified by the fact that the man who killed Foley was a British citizen.  Egads!  One of us!  It could be our neighbour!  OMG - we could be living in the midst of people who do crazy irrational violent things!

Hate to break it to ya, ISIS, but there ain't no new news in that. 

Remember, we've had Elliot Rodger (to which I wouldn't be surprised if many ISIS folk had psychological similarities), Virginia Tech, naked face-chewers - heck, you could add cops who threaten to kill protesters by calling them fucking animals to the list.  That's before looking at the mid-level racists, sexists and homophobes in our midst.

Should we be worried about domestic terrorists in our midst?  Sure, why not; add them to the list with the paedophiles, rapists and folk who sing Justin Bieber songs loudly while in the shower.  

The point is, there isn't anything new - there have always been dangerous people in our midst.  Over time, we've managed to isolate, marginalize and in some cases actually accommodate and normalize such people, but regardless - Western society has outlasted the USSR, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, etc.  

We adapt and deal.  We get hit, we keep moving forward.  It's the intransigent societies that always fail (PS, ISIS, that's a hint).

What of the Brit who beheaded Jim Foley?  Yay for him, he's Theon Greyjoy; an embarrassment to his family, estranged from his peers and will probably live a short, emotionally stunted life.  Maybe he had daddy issues, or Beta issues like Rodger, or whatever.  He couldn't hack it in real society and ran away, hid behind a mask to develop a sense of power.  

That's the kind of people ISIS is attracting?  They're not building a caliphate, they're recreating Lord of the Flies. 

Let's be clear on that, here; Islam is the Alhambra, is algebra, beautiful works of art, poetry of universal depth and important scientific and medical discoveries that have benefited the world entire.  

ISIS isn't about any of these things - it's about creating a new hermit state, a libertarian North Korea in the heart of what was once the most civilized place on earth.

So what are they about, these terrifying terrorists who terrorize?

The same thing as any two-bit pseudo-revolutionary; money and power.

Truth be told, ISIS would have happily (I mean, sternly) have handed Foley over to the Americans if the US had been willing to put sheckles in their pot.  In this way, they're like Communist rebels in countries like Columbia; so committed to their beliefs that they're willing to turn K&R into a profitable industry to support it.

But then the money thing takes over - they need to buy the goods for their attacks, feed their troops and besides, being god's army on earth has to come with a bit of earthly reward, right?  While I'm sure the Pentagon has good reason to fear ISIS "has an apocalyptic end of days strategic vision that will eventually have to be defeated," the reality they know is that the ones willing to die go off and do while the ones who kinda like enjoying their power and "respect" tend to find ways to push off their personal apocalypse.  They enjoy their creature comforts too much.

ISIS claims Foley's family had "many chances" to negotiate his release, though GlobalPost disputes that claim, noting that the family had only been contacted once before (with an immediate request for 100 million euros).

We hate you so much, we feel the need to put you in your place so strongly that we will stand for nothing less than your utter eradication... or money.  So we can buy more weapons and cool cars and maybe be more like what we stereotype you as being.  But you will respect us!

On that respect thing - they're so tough, so superior that they feel the need to be recognized by States they don't like?  I mean, what better representation of an inferiority complex do you need?  It's back to the Elliot Rodger thing - needing to be recognized as an Alpha by a Beta is kinda just reinforcing your innate inferiority, isn't it?

Don't get me wrong - I despise what ISIS stands for, which is essentially to build a little feudal kingdom with ambitions way beyond their capabilities.  They can say they speak for whoever they want; when you have to keep your own people in line with threat of force, the fact is you suck as a leader.

ISIS draws membership from our own communities, which says as much about us as it does about anything else.  Fortunately, we're looking to improve social interactions in fits and spurts with movements like Open Government and Responsible Society.  These are real, global initiatives open to all, making the world a better place for all.

That's the key in all this - ISIS isn't about forcing an apocalyptic end, whatever they tell themselves; they're a little bit tin-pot ideolgues with a bit of political back-room and military straetgy savvy, a bit nutbars and more than a smidgen of Hatfield-McCoys.

We should be worried about the threat ISIS presents, but folks - don't let them get under your skin.  Their production values are good, but their story really isn't that remarkable.  ISIS isn't the Zombie Apocalypse, fueled singularly by religious fervour; they are imperialists, hoping to set themselves us as an empire to last a thousand years with total autonomy to do whatever they want against whoever they want.

This will never happen, because the West won't abandon so many innocent civilians in the Middle East, nor stand idle when it comes to formenting better social emotional outcomes at home.  Honest, it's happening.

Millions will suffer, tough decisions will be made and eventually they'll be gone.  Big picture, we've seen their likes before; we'll see them again.

The trick, as always, is remind bullies of the massive shortcomings they're compensating for and to look 'em in the eye and say: