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Comment by lawnchair_larry | Hacker News Reader

Do you think it's wrong to target a terrorist?

It is wrong to want to. To be clear, it is laudable to train for the situation. But to eagerly anticipate it, to hope for enemies to attack your country and community, is abhorrent.

it depends? when I was a kid, my tennis instructor used to prop up pictures of osama bin laden on hitting targets. a little odd to do with young children, but not a big deal I don't think. if "islamic terrorist" means a picture of someone wearing typical pashtun garb holding an ak, that's a bit less okay.

it's kinda like people who are really into home defense. there's nothing wrong with people who train a lot to defend against a home invasion. but with some of them, you get the impression they actually hope it happens. not a great look.

It is a big deal that your hatred for a terrorist was used to improve your performance at a sport, when you were a kid. I despise Al-Qaida, but hating Bin Laden to such a level was exactly his goal. Proper warfare against Islamic terrorists means shielding children from senseless hate, not embracing it. Preparing children for a difficult world with tough problems and impossible solutions. You were taught that terrorism could be solved by throwing things at its nominal leader. During tennis practice!

Not gonna lie, that's kind of an insane thing for a tennis instructor of children to do.

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