TDAXP makes a prediction that I think is right on:
I have argued before that because of the Left’s fascination with “other voices,” al Qaeda will become a hip movement on college campuses (in the sense that Che is now or the Viet Cong once was) . This will happen in a generation after 9/11.
I had some further thoughts from my College experience (which will appear at some time on the site I assume):
College students are sort of dumb.
I went to a top 20 university [1] – a public one though, not a private.
My fellow young students were all mostly smart.
There were also naive.
They were surrounded by “career” students who were for the most part committed leftists/Marxists of various flavors or factions. Many of the professors and academic staff were as well (especially in the Liberal Arts College). They were still working for the revolution (whatever that meant exactly, you didn’t want to ask to many questions, less they try to recruit you or put you on an enemies list).
While many students could avoid the overt politicing, the default position was Left. You had to struggle mentally to break free of that.
If it was anti-american, anti-western, anti-christian heck even anti-white it could be accepted.
If Al-Qada and its sympathizers can position themselves in the minds of the Leftist as an anti-us/anti-west force, the Left – especially on campuses – will pick up on that – much as they did with the PLO by turning the Keffiyeh from a political statement [2] to a fashion/political statement [3].
Al-Qada supporters in the west just have to find that symbol or item that they can turn into a fashion accessory, a sort of ideological flair. I suggest that they have OBL et al try out certain gloves, wrist bands, or sunglasses.
Heck as an entrepreneur and US citizen if I could figure it out, I would market it myself to fund my book and cd buying habits while at the same time turning over the purchase records to my local JTTF contact.
[1] http://www.wisc.edu
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh#Symbol_of_Palestinian_solidarity
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh#Fashion_trend
Some further thoughts:
– If we know this is going to happen, can we plan a ridicule campaign now?
– How can I profit from Al-Qada future useful idiots?
– What can be done to take academia back from the left?
Filed under: Influence Warfare, The War on Islamofascism | Tagged: entrepaunership |
PurpleSlog - The Future Will Be Kludged 
As a college student, you are right. We are sorta dumb(lacking lots of common sense) and most certainly naive.
You’ll find this crowd drinking some cheap wine and lamenting on how horrible America is because we killed off all the Indians. You’ll hear the word “postmodern” quite a good deal, even if they don’t know the meaning.
You fight ideas with ideas. People want to believe, look how popular Ron Paul is and the Obama. Just trying to get the right memes to stick.
“Just trying to get the right memes to stick.”
There is a good post in thinking about that idea.
What leftists need is an example set for them where Islam attacks one of their precious tenets. Women’s rights is a classic one. This would have to happen on a long time scale and would be of their own doing i.e. letting Islam becoming a major force in a western country. I’m thinking a country in Western Europe would suffice.
Once the iron fist came down they’d be running around trying to start a “revolution” against Islam. Note that this is a historical pattern. In fact the recipe is:
(1) Hardcore cadre of leftists call for revolution against some idea/entity that doesn’t live up to their ideals.
(2) Quick, or gradualist, revolution occurs (or it doesn’t and they go back to point one).
(3) Society doesn’t turn out the way it should after the revolution (BUT THE PAMPHLETS SAID THERE WOULD BE A UTOPIAN PARADISE!).
(4) Hard core cadre return to point one and disclaim new society as not a “true” utopia (“aye, but he’s not a true scotsman!”).
The problem is, hard-core leftists are millenarians (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millenarianism), insofar as they believe they can enact a revolution to bring forth their glorious egalitarian utopia, so there really isn’t much you can do to change their minds, as they have a religious mindset. It is also no surprise that the original communist league was founded by christians and utopian socialists (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_the_Just).
The best you could do is force ideological infighting between the various groups within the left, which there are plenty someone could exploit e.g. class activists versus identity activists, support for Islam versus women’s rights etc. etc.
I remember seeing a protest photo on some site ages ago where there were two older female Palestinian activists watching in shock as two unclothed male hippies with enlarged penises and body mods walked passed them.
That’s the type of ideological fault lines someone should be exploiting.
I’ve written too much, but I’ll bring up a point I’ve always thought … years ago there was that “corporation as a psychopath” metaphor that came from a documentary. If corporations as a group are psychopaths, then the left as a group are schizophrenics: too many ideological faultlines that at a fundamental outline just won’t get along with each other.
munzenberg: That was a truly great comment. I am going to promote it to the from the page.