An American flag hangs in Mrs. Gifford’s classroom. Photo by: Cam Mullins
By Cam Mullins
Social Media can be usefully applied by any number of businesses and organizations, or just for personal use. The openness of social media has permitted malevolent organizations and entities to tap into its application. One such group that has found usefulness for social media is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIL / ISIS).
In the words of freshman Zach Tomblin, ISIS is “a terrorist group from the east.” He confidently challenged ISIS, saying, “I think if they knew what was good for them, they wouldn’t mess with the U.S.A.” This patriotic young man went on to say, “If they were real terrorists, they would quit hiding.” While they hide behind masks and unchecked facial hair growth, they certainly are not hiding their actions from social networks.
Senior Taylor Fulton knows all too well what they do. He said, “A terrorist doesn’t have to come from a terrorist organization, a terrorist is someone who brings terror on someone, so an example is like someone posting about a bomb threat on social media, or when ISIS posts beheading videos. They have used the internet for posting videos of them training, beheading journalists, showing their weapons to try and scare us. I think that they need to be stopped and I think our military is doing a great job dealing with the problem.”
Students, unaffected by the terrorists and the problems they cause, don’t take them seriously; however, sophomore Alex Cardiel does take the issue a little more seriously. He said, “I think they are bad for what they do and everything. Killing innocent people…” There is a general unanimity among the aforementioned students, meaning they all agree that ISIS is really bad.
ISIS enlists social media to incite fear in the public, whether by threatening or by showing what they have already done. Junior George Stults said, “[It] gives them more followers/friends.” However, it also gives everyone else an advantage. Fulton added, “If it’s our military authorities [who find it], it gives us intel on positions, what they’re capable of, their man power.” The fact is, there is no limit to what can be done with social media. That is no less, if not especially, true for terrorists. One must simply decide whether he or she is going to use it for good or for evil. ISIS made their choice, and they chose war.