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Is ISIS evil?

Is ISIS evil?

  • Yes

    Votes: 53 89.8%

  • No

    Votes: 6 10.2%
  • Total voters
    59
PoS said:
Simple question: did ISIS exist before the invasion of Iraq?
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Not under that name, no. Was the ideology still there? Absolutely. Wahhabism, the religious position espoused by ISIS, was named after an 18th century Muslim preacher, it's been around a very long time, it didn't just pop up when we invaded Iraq.
 
PoS said:
Try reading some history books ... or does your high school have any? There was no ISIS until we invaded Iraq.
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That doesn't mean America "created ISIS" buddy. ISIS grew out of AQI; Al Qaeda was around well before Opertion Iraqi Freedom.

But hey, I get it. Being nostalgic for the good ole days of Saddam is in fashion for some westerners.
 
Harshaw said:
Yes or no? Anything which isn't an unqualified "yes" is a "no," because anything other than an unqualified "yes" will in some way mitigate or excuse the evil.

I'm not looking to debate it; I'm just philosophically curious. This is a closed poll, so your name will not appear.
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ISIS from Archer, or ISIS the band of murderous psychopaths from the Middle East?
 
The whole freedom fighter vs terrorist line can get murky in cases. ISIS is not one of those cases. It is evil.
 
Harshaw said:
Yes or no? Anything which isn't an unqualified "yes" is a "no," because anything other than an unqualified "yes" will in some way mitigate or excuse the evil.

I'm not looking to debate it; I'm just philosophically curious. This is a closed poll, so your name will not appear.
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Yes.
Cardinal said:
No, ISIS is a swell bunch of guys and they'd be great to have a beer with.

What the **** is the purpose of this thread?
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countryboy said:
What an utterly stupid question.
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If you think everyone is just the product of their environment then no one is really evil. I don't mean to speak for Harshaw but finding a person/group that is pretty much universally considered bad and arguing over whether or not they're really evil - as in fully responsible for what they do - is an interesting discussion.
coldjoint said:
We did nothing to create Muhammads Islam. ISIS is doing what their prophet did himself, and has obligated his followers to do. Put the blame where it belongs.
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Muhammad declared a majority of practicing Muslims to actually be apostates and waged war on them?
Cephus said:
No it won't, because the problems in the Middle East are much bigger than ISIS, but they are almost all tied to religion.
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You're not wrong, but Islam has existed for centuries while "Islamic terrorism" is a very recent phenomenon. And as you hinted at earlier, nonreligious ideologies can cause problems too: prior to 1979 terrorism against the West was mostly Arab nationalist. If it weren't jihadism it might be nationalism or communism.
PoS said:
Try reading some history books ... or does your high school have any? There was no ISIS until we invaded Iraq.
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So the Soviets created the Taliban? What absurd logic.
 
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Harry Guerrilla said:
Evil, most of their members are probably not.
Do they believe wrong things, absolutely.

You don't have to be "evil" to do bad stuff.
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We're all capable of evil deeds and standing by and doing nothing. But what do you call those who persistently choose to do evil deeds?

Whether decapitating another human being, sometimes a child, or raping another human being, tragically often a child, one sword is being swung. That is an individual choice, even if it's a "Sophie's choice."
 
I actually hope they were evil, as evil demands a certain level of intelligence that can be reasoned with or even edified.

In reality, ISIS is a motley bunch of savages and the sludge of humanity that had the misfortune of finding each other.
 
The islamic state of iraq and the levant is almost as evil as the reverendhellh0und.
 
nota bene said:
We're all capable of evil deeds and standing by and doing nothing. But what do you call those who persistently choose to do evil deeds?

Whether decapitating another human being, sometimes a child, or raping another human being, tragically often a child, one sword is being swung. That is an individual choice, even if it's a "Sophie's choice."
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People can rationalize their behavior and not be evil on the inside.
It doesn't make the behavior right, correct, good, but it also doesn't necessarily make the person evil.
Just living under an illusion.
 
ISIS crucified terrorists for not being extremist enough.

I fail to understand how the OP's question came to be.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
People can rationalize their behavior and not be evil on the inside.
It doesn't make the behavior right, correct, good, but it also doesn't necessarily make the person evil.
Just living under an illusion.
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What does make a person evil then?
 
PoS said:
Simple question: did ISIS exist before the invasion of Iraq?
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Yes.....

There have been militant Islamists for centuries.
 
nota bene said:
What does make a person evil then?
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I don't know right now.
I'd say that "evil" is kind of fantastical for me at the moment.
That the vast majority of people, even people who do bad things, are not evil.

I think calling someone evil is a mental shortcut for understanding what motivates people, to do the things they do.
 
PoS said:
Of course they are. And we created them.
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Not sure if 'we' created them but when Obama pulled our military out of Iraq he sure opened a vacuum for them to fill.
 
Kelfuma said:
I voted no just to be a dick. But destroying ISIS won't solve the Middle East problem.
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The 'Middle East Problem' has been around since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and maybe before...there is no answer this side of the pond and we shouldn't be looking for one. Its their problem and not ours.
 
PoS said:
Try reading some history books ... or does your high school have any? There was no ISIS until we invaded Iraq.
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Actually there was no ISIS until Obama pulled out our Military.
 
Tigerace117 said:
That doesn't mean America "created ISIS" buddy. ISIS grew out of AQI; Al Qaeda was around well before Opertion Iraqi Freedom.

But hey, I get it. Being nostalgic for the good ole days of Saddam is in fashion for some westerners.
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Actually in the beginning, ISIS and Al Qaeda were enemies as their philosophy was different and after Al Qaeda was basically eliminated ISIS filled the void.
 
Medusa said:
why closed ? killing people is evil ,so isis is evil too.it is beyond all philosophies,evil is evil
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Well we have at least 3 that claim that ISOS is not evil, now that is weird.
 
countryboy said:
What an utterly stupid question.
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I'm not so sure. I think the OP may be testing to see if anyone will go to bat for jihadists. There are more than a few people on these forums who can be relied on to leap to their defense, usually including a few slanders against this country in the process.

ISIS is evil to its core. Anyone associated with it that the U.S. may capture plotting against us should be tried for war crimes before a military tribunal, and if convicted, quickly executed.
 
I guess they fit the description but I generally try to avoid using words like "evil" because it tends to railroad people into comic book thinking. Those are bad guys, these are good guys. No further thought required. It means people don't bother to analyze the reasons behind the behavior. Oh, ISIS murders people in horrible ways because they're evil.

You can't solve a problem if you don't know what causes it. Don't act like this is some new thing that dreadful Obama did. The conditions that gave rise to groups like ISIS have been an ongoing issue for more than a century.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
I don't know right now.
I'd say that "evil" is kind of fantastical for me at the moment.
That the vast majority of people, even people who do bad things, are not evil.

I think calling someone evil is a mental shortcut for understanding what motivates people, to do the things they do.
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True. The US killed a lot of innocent people in Vietnam but there was a reason.
 
PoS said:
Try reading some history books ... or does your high school have any? There was no ISIS until we invaded Iraq.
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That doesn't mean that we "created" ISIS. Did the Nazi's "create" the French Resistance or did the French come up with that on their own?
 
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