Question: If a shooter's name was O'Hara would you think the IRA was behind it?

[Photographer]

Just asking.

[Codeine]

1. If the IRA was spearheading an international

terrorist movement then yeah, probably.

Stop making excuses for Islamic terrorism.

[trumad]

2. I think the point is---

Just because his name is Arab doesn't mean it's an ISIS attack.

[Photographer]

5. I make no excuses but take exception to the racist idea that a "Muslim name" means Islamic terrorist

[6chars]

9. wasn't the motive a workplace dispute?

[philosslayer]

12. That certainly sounds like a possibility

[Codeine]

14. A workplace dispute leads to three people

charging in with assault rifles?

I'm skeptical.

[6chars]

17. i guess we'll find out

I have a feeling the police/fbi have known a lot about what went on pretty quickly but they are being careful to not let it out until they are sure everyone is caught etc -- the updates sound like the updates on tv stations on election day when they already know the result from exit polls but have a blackout on giving the results of those polls

[LiberalElite]

27. It could be a workplace dispute that had been festering nt

[still_one]

10. It is not racist to assume that these individuals were motivated by Islamic terrorism. It would be

racist to assume that ALL American Muslims are motivated by Islamic terrorism, when the majority are not

[Codeine]

18. I will assume American Muslims committing

mass shootings with assault weapons are motivated by radical Islam. It would be stupid to assume otherwise.

[rockfordfile]

23. go back to fox news

[still_one]

34. assuming the poster you are responding to wasn't being scarcastic, I agree with your assessment

[Codeine]

39. I'll put my liberal and DU bonafides up against

yours any day. A willingness to see that which is obvious is not a flaw.

[Docreed2003]

37. Police say the gunmen walked in with a purpose....

They had planned this attack and knew the building. If this were an ISIS attack, why not hit up the mall right down the street filled with holiday shoppers on their lunch breaks? How about waiting for police reports before painting with such a broad brush.

[Codeine]

40. ISIS is a huge stretch.

Locals radicalized by online propaganda seems more likely.

[valerief]

13. Isn't Farook an Indian name? nt

[kwassa]

19. Egypt had a King Farouk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farouk_of_Egypt

[valerief]

22. Yeah, but that has a U. Found this surname distribution chart.

http://www.namespedia.com/details/Farook

[kwassa]

30. well, Farook is an old American name. Goes back to colonial days.

when Farook Washington first started farming tobacco in Virginia.

[Recursion]

42. It's from a root common to both Persian and Sanskrit, meaning "moral" or "upright".

It's popular in Pakistan and among Muslim Indians.

I think the Persian version spread to the larger Arabic-speaking world, too.

[philosslayer]

3. A legitimate question

A person's name does not immediately prescribe their motive when committing a crime.

[jwirr]

4. Many would have some years ago.

[hrmjustin]

6. 20 years ago maybe.

And I am parly of irish ancestry

[Recursion]

7. 30 years ago I probably would have. And if it were Muñoz I would have thought ETA

I went to an interesting talk by a global security wonk a few weeks ago who talked about the changing public perception of terrorism as regards race. In the 1970s, terrorism was very much "Latin", then it became Irish, then Arabic, in the public mind.

It doesn't help that our government's definition of terrorism is fundamentally broken.

[still_one]

8. The IRA wouldn't be attacking in the U.S. Let's not try to fool ourselves, with what happened in

in Paris and in Boston it is only natural to assume that, and frankly, the odds are good that the soft target that was picked mostly likely relates to that philosophy from the suspects

[flamingdem]

11. Farouk does indicate that it is less likely to be a militia group or Mexican drug gang

those are the other theories being thrown around.

If it looks like a duck.

[still_one]

35. I don't know, I think there is a real possibility this could be related to the flat earth society

[flamingdem]

36. I know, we really don't know crap

and if it's just some workplace thing it's almost as terrifying because it was so over the top

[still_one]

41. realistically I don't think this was workplace related. Not with the assult rifles, body armour,

and explosives.

He may have had a relationship with public health, but I still suspect it was fundamentalist motivated

[flamingdem]

43. Reading he is a Dr. / PhD described as very religious by his estranged

father. He's a Muslim.

[still_one]

45. Interesting. The fact that he is Muslim is too vauge. That his father describes him as very

religious, may very well point to religious fundamentalism motivation

I also have to believe he had an association with the facility

[H2O Man]

15. No.

[Nye Bevan]

16. If this was London in the 1970s or 1980s, absolutely.

But in the USA in 2015, not so much.

[kwassa]

20. No, but if it was O'Farook ....

definitely.

[retrowire]

24. lol nt

[JI7]

21. if there were many IRA attacks recently i might

[951-Riverside]

25. If the year was 1970, Yes.

[Jesus Malverde]

26. If the attack occurred in the UK.

It would be a good guess.

If it occurred in the US not so much.

[Chan790]

28. This thread is a godsend.

All the racists keep self-identifying. It makes them so easy to hide.

Thank you, Photo! I didn't need all these racists in my DU that your thread so helpfully flypapered for me.

[virgogal]

29. I'm sure the Brits would have. Different times,different offenders.

[Shandris]

31. Not now, no.

In 1984? Probably, yeah. Between bouts of playing with Hollie Hobby. Or rather, to put it more accurately, I would lean towards believing it very well could be IRA-related. What would surprise me would be to discover it was the work of...oh, I don't know, Tibetan Buddhist Deep Chanters.

If a shooter's name is Jones, I can reasonably believe it's a white American. If it's Beard, I can reasonably believe it could be a black American. If it's Takahashi, I can expect to win the lottery. And if it's Sayeed, I can reasonably believe it might be religion-related. That doesn't mean it IS, or that it MUST BE, only that it's reasonable to believe it COULD be.

Personal opinion only.

[LittleBlue]

32. Depends what year it happened

And what target. Not today because the Good Friday Agreement mostly ended the violence.

[JCMach1]

33. if it was 1970's or 80's London... Yes

[Texasgal]

38. GAH! You are twisting yourself into a pretzel!

Stop it already!

[UTUSN]

44. It would cross my mind. n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

46. No I'd probably guess right wing Christian extremists.

however as it woukd still be a planned well equipped attack on civilians by multiple people I would describe it as obviously a terrorist attack.

[bettyellen]

47. If they kneecapped a Protestant in Derry, why yes.

[KingFlorez]

48. Not at all

I generally wait for facts before making a judgment.