High school students as the next extremists?

[Canarr]

Apparently, the FBI is really worried about extremists recruiting from US high schools... please make sure to report any suspicious activities.

http://www.salon.com/2016/03/06/the_...untry_partner/

In order to remain above suspicion, youths should be sure to avoid criticising the government, caring too much about animals or the environment, participating in online gaming, travelling to suspicious countries, speaking foreign languages, employing encryption software on their electronic communications.

Seems reasonable, right?

[s_stabeler]

I'm... unsure about the veracity of this. Salon.com's not a parody site, but as best as I can tell, it's the liberal equivalent to Fox news- in that it looks to me like it's not exactly bothered about fact-checking.

That, and I can't find anything about this from anywhere except sites that look like they're anti-government (in the sense of "look! the government is trying to create a police state!") which makes me suspicious.

Most basically, while I don't doubt the government would like to be able to pick up on signs someone's likely to become a terrorist while they're in high school. there is a basic problem with casting a net that broad. Namely, they'd get too much information that they wouldn't be able to handle it. if you spy on every single American, you more-or-less need a second America just to to through the information.

[Greenday]

Teenagers have long been targeted by gangs and cults and such. Terrorists have already been targeting teens successfully. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

[HYHYBT]

That's not the surprising (or unreasonable) part. It's the absurdly broad criteria.

[Tama]

Not to mention you'd probably want a third guy to watch the first guy. It would be a huge loop.

[Canarr]

I'm... unsure about the veracity of this. Salon.com's not a parody site, but as best as I can tell, it's the liberal equivalent to Fox news- in that it looks to me like it's not exactly bothered about fact-checking.

That, and I can't find anything about this from anywhere except sites that look like they're anti-government (in the sense of "look! the government is trying to create a police state!") which makes me suspicious.

There's this document here: https://info.publicintelligence.net/...ismSchools.pdf

If it's a fake, someone sure went to a lot of trouble to do it.

[Gravekeeper]

https://www.educateiowa.gov/document...remism-schools

Legitimate enough to be on a state government site it seems.

[Shangri-laschild]

While it is real, the Salon article seems to be very much over reacting to it and taking some of the things out of context

[Canarr]

I'm not sure it's really an overreaction. While the document uses a lot of pretty language, it's basically a call for students to spy on their peers:

Many times, fellow students or educators observe behaviors or are privy to another student’s communications and commitment to a violent ideology that may be indicative of future intentions. Students likely feel awkward, reluctant, or fearful discussing a fellow student and their beliefs. Educators may be reluctant to notify law enforcement of a student’s exhibited behaviors for fear of a law enforcement action. Overcoming these obstacles requires establishing life lines between students, educators, and local communities, allowing for communication of information without fear of reprisal or becoming a target of fellow students. These relational life lines initiate disengagement while promoting awareness of an emerging threat within the school district. Students and educators are encouraged to convey their concerns and observations to trusted community partners, school resource officers, or a local law enforcement entity.

Based upon investigative data, a very small period of time exists between a youth embracing extremist ideologies to acting in furtherance of the ideology. Therefore, acting decisively is paramount to educators. There are limited opportunities for intervention with at-risk youth and schools must be cognizant of this. Law enforcement refers to the time between radicalization and crossing the threshold to a violent action as “flash to bang”.

In a nutshell: if you see suspicious behavior in one of your (fellow) students, report it quickly. because you may not have much time before she decides to blow you all to kingdom come.

And what are the "risk categories" the FBI has identified?

1. Disenfranchised – student feeling lost, lonely, hopeless, or abandoned;
2. Mental Health – student exhibiting a mental health disorder;
3. Group Supporters – student supporting a designated terrorist organization or a domestic extremist movement;
4. HVE – Homegrown Violent Extremist inspired by Al-Qa’ida/ISIL;
5. Active Shooter – student using violence to address a personal grievance;
6. Foreign Traveler – student desiring to travel overseas and join a foreign fighter network;
7. Criminal Element – student conducting criminal activities for financial gain.

While 3., 4. and 7. seem fairly inambiguous, 1. and 2. are stupid - every lonely teenager a potential terrorist? Every kid with mental health problems should be reported? And quickly! Because there's not much time between "flash" and "bang"!

With regards to 5. and 6., I'm on the fence a bit. I mean, sure - report an "active shooter", preferably by calling the cops. But every teenager who's "using violence to address a personal grievance"? That's a fairly large group, I'd say. And, report only foreign travelers expressly stating their intent to "join a foreign fighter network"? Or anyone who's interested in travelling to the Middle East?

[s_stabeler]

OK, if that is true, then the guidelines basically give bullies a brand new way to victimise people. (after all, if emphasis is put on acting quickly, there is going to be pressure not to investigate a report of a suspected terrorist thoroughly before taking action- which, typically, would mean treating the kid reported on as a suspected terrorist. (there aren't all that many counter-rationalisation programmes in the US as far as I can tell)

[BlaqueKatt]

Every kid with mental health problems should be reported? And quickly! Because there's not much time between "flash" and "bang"!

My experience interprets this more as "teens with mental health issues are more likely to be bullied, possibly making a group offering acceptance look better, so let's get them help."

The FBI is well aware of their own crime stats which put people with mental health issues at risk of being a victim of violence as opposed to being violent themselves.

[Shangri-laschild]

The college where I work has a form that employees can fill out if there is anyone that concerns them. Student noticeably creepy? Student saying dark things that make you worried about violence? Student erratic to a point where you are worried for them or for others? Fill out the form. It doesn't necessarily mean anything when the form gets filled out. There is a team at the college and they go over these forms and it's a way to keep track of things. There have been a couple of times when we've had to interview a student as a result but it takes some decent reasons. Sometimes the student honestly hasn't realized that they are upsetting someone and are glad to know. The alternative of all of this is things like when we have a bomb threat and a week later a teacher casually mentions "oh yeah the day before the threat I heard 2 students joking about blowing up the school."

It really does sound like they are trying to prevent kids from getting into trouble rather than anything bad. They mentioned outreach programs and such to try to keep at risk students out of gangs or give them a support system. That sounds pretty good to me. Whereas the original article makes it sound like the FBI is trying to lock onto potential threats and go after the kids and treat them like terrorists before they even do anything.

[Greenday]

I get that people worry about bullying, a lot of us with past experience being bullied do. But seriously, these exact people have long been the target of extremist groups for ages. It's everything that makes someone so easily recruitable. Loner? We can make you feel like you belong. Mental health? Might be more susceptible to being persuaded (depending on what it is). Constantly traveling abroad? Constantly available to be targeted where American intelligence isn't as huge. Criminal element? Clearly they have looser morals.