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This demographic picture of the wild rural savages out breeding the cultured urbanites is one possible explanation of why we have fundamentalism now, but I don'
by astazangasta 11y ago
This demographic picture of the wild rural savages out breeding the cultured urbanites is one possible explanation of why we have fundamentalism now, but I don't find this very compelling. Secular Arabs and Persians were not outbred, they were deposed and shot. The same kids who a generation ago would have been good Marxist PLO members are screaming "Takbir!" and wearing Hamas armbands. I watched this happen in the US around 2003. Culture moves much faster than selection.
- WildUtah 11y ago"Marxist PLO members are screaming "Takbir!" and wearing Hamas armbands. I watched this happen in the US around 2003." You watched US PLO Marxists join Hamas in 2003?
- astazangasta 11y agoI used to hang around with lots of Palestinians at various demos. Around that time (leading up to when Hamas was elected) it became more common to see kids with Hamas armbands, to have kids do Takbir call-and-response, have guys show up with prayer mats. It was a very sudden transition and the reason is obvious: there was a shift in who represented a credible opposition/resistance to American hegemony. Prior to that it was the PLO, still riding the wave of their Soviet-era influence. Now the radicals who were winning victories were Islamists. This is probably all as boring as just being about who has money (Communists then, conservative Saudis now), and thus, ultimately about oil. But I don't think it has much to do with population-level selection.