Letter to a Young Terrorist

Only read this is you are currently wearing a suicide vest or loading an assault rifle, about to go kill civilians in the name of Islam.

In a way, I admire you. Being prepared to give up your life for something you believe in is a concept that almost nobody today can relate to. On the contrary, people around you live in a constant fear of dying, in the fear that the pitiful little that they have will be taken away one day. And you surrender it willingly for a grater ideal!

Can I guess who you are? You've lived most of your life in the West. You've experienced racism throughout, in people's attitudes towards you, in the unfairness of the corrupt system towards all Muslims. You've witnessed the indiscriminate murder of Muslims, and were shocked that nobody cared about it. So you decided to wage a war. Is this a good description?

What you are about to do will be remembered and celebrated by some. Those who see the Western world as the Evil Empire will celebrate this small victory for the "rebels." There are many such people in the Middle East and around the world, proud Muslims who are bitter and enraged at the humiliation your people have suffered at the hands of America and its allies.

Let's go through the events of today, through everything that will happen. You will go. You will do what you need to do. People will die. You will die. Your family, if you have one, will suffer. Maybe they'll say they're proud of you but if they care for you at all they will suffer, at least a bit. The people who died - their families will suffer. I'm sure you've already thought about this and you're fine with it.

So let me tell you about who won't suffer. The media will not suffer. They will welcome your act with open arms. They thrive on people like you, on conflict, emergency and death; I mean death of people in the West (if you're planning an attack anywhere else don't bother - nobody cares). The media will give your massacre their full coverage. The pundits will act all shaken and outraged. But they will be rubbing their hands - death is good business. Ratings will go up. Easy stories are good business too, and your story is as easy as they come - “a dumb Muslim kills innocent people out of hate for the Western values and Our Freedom.”

Politicians will rejoice, too. Sure, they too will go through the usual loop of "shock," "courage," "determination" and "national unity," but they will be thanking you, in their minds. They will have an opportunity to look statesmanlike. They will send cops out to patrol the streets. People will thank them for keeping them safe. And the politicians' poll numbers will rise.

There are others that will benefit. The military industry and the gun lobby will be absolutely ecstatic. They will open champagne for you this evening. Soon there will be more bombing of “faceless Muslims” all over the deserts of “Wherever.” Drone attacks will increase. For each person you killed a hundred Muslims will die; their deaths will not be reported anywhere, and if they will then, again, people just won't care.

The people who instructed and influenced you to do this will celebrate as well. I'm talking about your religious teachers and role models. Their mission will be carried out. They will look good. They will move on to teach other people to follow your path, sending them too to death. They will never go and give their own lives, however.

At first it will seem that the massacre will be talked about for years. But, with the general population, your act will be forgotten in a few days as people move on to other topics. The families, as I said, will be the only ones to continue to feel the pain.

There is a small problem here, and you already know it - the people you are about to kill are not your enemies. They too are slaves of the Empire.

You also know the biggest problem of the Western world: a small group of people keeps robbing the rest and controls all the political power. They rig the regulation in order to become ever richer, and keep the population stupid, scared and inert. And you are helping them!

So, if you have to kill someone, why not kill them instead? Kill the politicians who approve the murder of Muslims. Kill the companies that produce the weapons. I’m not sure I would support that, but would it not make a bit more sense?

See, killing civilians is easy. There's nothing heroic about it. It's so easy a child could do it. It's a cowardly act against the defenseless, the exact same cowardly act that you despise when it's done to you. It's like using drones to kill the innocent. It's the act of a loser.

Here's another truth - nobody will really admire you for killing civilians. I know I said at the beginning that some people who have been hurt and humiliated would rejoice for a moment, but then they too will understand that what you did wasn't real revenge, and their respect for you will disappear.

You won't win your war against the Evil Empire unless you convince its citizens that you are on their side, and it's the Emperors that you are fighting. You won't earn respect and spread the influence of Islam by force. Maybe a few centuries ago you could, but no longer. Violence can still make a small difference, but you can make more difference by spreading an idea.

To win over the general population you can't make them any more afraid - they're already petrified. Instead of fear, you need to instill in them admiration for what you do. You'll earn this admiration with deeds of bravery, compassion and selflessness that exhibit the freedom and the courage that they will never have, but so desperately covet. Killing civilians is not one of those deeds, and in your heart of hearts you know this too. Your life should amount to more than that.