Pop Quiz - Why we (the US) are to blame for 9/11 (Page 2)

anyway.. still dumb. 

Look at it this way:

Q: Why do you think Ted Bundy targeted the women that he attacked?

A: Because they were all slim, young, women with long, dark, straight hair parted down the middle.  Just like his ex-girlfriend (although Bundy did claim that was just a coincidence).

A woman can absolutely be targeted for rape because she was scantily dressed.  Or because she was blonde, or tall, or skinny, or tan, or any other number of things.  That doesn't excuse, justify, or condone the rape.  It doesn't mean the woman was in any way at fault or asking for it.  But it could be the reason why a psychopath rapist would attack a specific woman as opposed to the countless other women he passes in a given day. 

Same with 9/11.  Understanding why the US was targeted as opposed to, say, Canada is not the same as blaming the US for the attacks.  Having never seen the movie, I have no idea if what it's teaching is appropriate or not.  But I don't see anything wrong with the question itself, which is nothing more than a recap of what the movie said to prove to teachers that their students didn't sleep through it. 

I think we start teaching our kids at that age that their personal actions can impact others.  Doing bad things can hurt people - and even doing the right thing, such as standing up to bullies can create enemies.

I don't think it's a stretch to also teach them as a NATION, our decisions/policies impact people and other nations - and again, even if they are the RIGHT decisions, it can create enemies that would do us harm.

We should be aware of that that and prepare accordingly.  To not do so, would be a mistake.

It may have been a lesson in that doing the right thing isn't always the easy thing and people are not going to like it and want to hurt us.  Doesn't make it what we are doing wrong, or what happens "our fault", but a realization that doing the right thing isn't always popular with everyone.

Actually, not during the civil war, I believe they want Lee, and Jackson (and some others) recognized for their contributions to the US in-general don't they?  Because right now they're only taught that they were the Generals on the Confederate side of the war.

Lee led the US Marines into Harper's Ferry, he led troops on the ramparts at Chapultepec in the Mexican War (kind of important to Texas History). He was actually offered the command of the Union forces before he resigned to fight for his home state. 

Jackson was also crucial as an Artillery officer in the Mexican War and developed much of the techniques of using cannon that we still use with Machine Guns today. 

But your first point in blue is spot-on.

Yep.

We could teach kids in our schools about 911, a huge historical even that changed the world, and explain to them that there are people out there that would do us harm simply because they don't like us or what we say because we are Americans.  And they killed 3000 innocent people, but despite that, we held fast, stuck to our guns and our policies, stood up to terror and became stronger as a nation because it was the right thing to do.

Or we could talk to them about smooshing Twinkies.

ummm ya

yep

I would be a weight lifter?

So by that rational you're cool with a school teaching your 10 year old kids... for example... that they are picked on by a bully and made fun of because they are fat, or don't dress a cool, or wear glasses, or whatever.

Hmmm ok works for me... glad I don't have kids. 

What else should they be taught? Sure bullies are just unhappy, emotionally injured, etc., etc., and they generally target specific types of kids to bully, just like thieves generally target particular types of people to rob. If my kid (and I AM a parent) was chubby with glasses and an odd fashion sense I'd encourage him to be true to himself and to be prepared to be hassled. Real life lessons are better than Twinkies, though I think Twinkies last longer, even if my kid live to be a couple hundred years old.

Not sure why explaining WHY things happen is the same thing as accepting/approving them.

We teach that Hitler used the Jews as a scapegoat for the problems of the country after WWI and perpetuated a doctrine of "purity" and used that as reason to exterminate them.  True statement, all be it generalized?  Does that say Jews were to blame for what happened to them or that it was cool?

We teach that Jesus was crucified on the cross because of his teachings that upset the Jewish leaders of the time(which obviously disrupted their leadership and got their followers to question them).  Do people blame him for what happened and or accept it?

To me, this is stating that a terrorist act was committed against innocent people because there are some that have a doctrine of hate against Americans and our policies cause them problems and have a negative effect on them.  Not blaming America or think its cool.

The Holocaust is obviously material more for high school or late grade schoolers, but the Story of Jesus is taught VERY early.  I would also add, with limited outrage.

I don't think they are making Twinkies anymore...  Or did they sell the recipe?  I was banking on them for sustenance during the zombie apocalypse.

Good analogy and great points.

Hey that's cool... Like I said, if you want to use the murder of ~3000 innocent people and the destruction of hundreds of millions dollars  (if not more) of property as lesson in "repercussions of your actions" for a class of ten year olds, so be it.  Who am I to judge.

Never said I wanted to, nor did I say anything about repercussions. I did agree that one thing the kids could learn from this is a lesson in the impact our actions have on others.

I'm just curious, what do you tell you 10 year old when they ask you why the terrorists attacked us? I just don't see a canned response "they're bad people who are not right in the head" being a sufficient answer for any 10 year olds I know.

Me personally?  First I wouldn't necessarily volunteer any information but I wouldn't shy away from their questions either.  If asked specifically "why the terrorist attacked us", I would answer with what I would say is factual information... that "they" are folks who are convinced (read: fanatical) that their way of life and beliefs are the only ones that are valid, and that anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong and bad.  They believe this so much so that they want to stop us (Americans) from living our lives the way that we do.

Thanks for your response. I was curious.

Kid: Why did the terrorists attack the World trade Center?

Adult: Because they hate us.

Kid: Why do they hate us?

Adult: Because they don't like our way of life

Kid: Why don't they like our way of life?

And so on... Kids are much brighter than you think. My sons were 9 and 6 when the attack occurred. We were living in North Central NJ and my oldest had classmates who lost parents. We dealt with a lot and answered a lot of questions. An a lot of it we just didn't know. But you owe it to them to be honest and have an intelligent conversation with them. Believe me, kids know BS when they hear it.

That winter we were at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, which faces the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan. The hole in the landscape was heart rending, as were the hundreds of cards taped to the wall, all written by children, many of who had lost family or friends. To say we deserved this attack is an obscenity. But to also deny the fact that US policies have not contributed to anger against the US is a lie.

If anything, I consider it more patriotic to teach my kids that we are not always right, and to think for themselves. And never take for granted our way of life, that freedom, safety, and having a house and food to eat are not a given for many peoples. That's not appeasing terrorists, that's making them good citizens.

Nope it is also about power.  One proven route to power is to turn a group of largely poor uneducated people against a large visible target and tell them the bad things in life are because of that target and if you could only get rid of that target things would be so much better.  Now you go from being a dirty nothing scrounging around the countryside to the leader of a terrorist organization.  Some people need that sort of power and adulation to feel good about themselves.