Anonymous “Hacktivists” Strike a Blow Against ISIS

[alcina]

32. I learned the same thing in school

Which always made me wonder why any American was surprised by the guerilla tactics used by other country's fighters. Now that I'm older (and maybe a little wiser), I've come to the conclusion that America, as a nation, does not learn easily from its past.

ISxx seems to be an odd mix of characters -- religious zealots, misanthropes, thrillseekers, and true sociopaths (and various intersections of all types) -- and some articles I've read recently suggest that they're not as cohesive as we might think. Still, the majority have drunk the kool-aid of their charismatic leader and are willing to die for his cause. Which is one of our biggest problems. Because Americans are so individualistic and, as a culture, don't really do that whole personal sacrifice thing, we don't know how to face a person or group of people who are willing to individually sacrifice themselves for what they deem to be the greater good. In fact, in some ways, we do the exact opposite: We'll put the entire group at risk to rescue one person (cf the various military creeds, or Star Trek). But the idea of using a single individual as a weapon of minor-mass destruction is not only repugnant, it's almost incomprehensible. And until you can understand the enemy, you're going to have a really hard time defeating him.

Sadly, I think ISxx understands us pretty well.