# Joking about suicide bombers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joking-about-suicide-bombers/368214 "2006-08-10T21:48:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joking-about-suicide-bombers/368214/1 "2006-08-10T21:48:45Z")
[Here.](http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/08/youtube_of_the__10.html). (Video) A rather good way of addressing the problem. Pity the extremists won’t see it that way. And the guy’s brave, given the murder of Theo (?) van Gogh. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joking-about-suicide-bombers/368214/2 "2006-08-10T21:56:26Z")
Dean Ing proposed making fun of terrorists back in 1979 in his book [Soft Targets](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812519477/sr=8-1/qid=1155246809/ref=sr_1_1/103-6622740-5207064?ie=UTF8). The basic idea was to never, ever give them an ounce of publicity that wasn’t totally mocking and derisive. Interesting idea back then, when the motivations were slightly different. Now, I really don’t know… ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joking-about-suicide-bombers/368214/3 "2006-08-10T22:14:14Z")
Let’s see, suicide bomber jokes… Okay, here’s one: What does the first suicide bomber say to the second suicide bomber? Kablooey. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joking-about-suicide-bombers/368214/4 "2006-08-10T22:22:58Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Dean Ing proposed making fun of terrorists back in 1979 in his book [Soft Targets](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812519477/sr=8-1/qid=1155246809/ref=sr_1_1/103-6622740-5207064?ie=UTF8). The basic idea was to never, ever give them an ounce of publicity that wasn’t totally mocking and derisive. Interesting idea back then, when the motivations were slightly different. Now, I really don’t know… [/QUOTE] Actually, I wonder if it wouldn’t be effective to just totally ignore them. And not report the destruction except as “a gas explosion” or Canadian gang violence. Give the credit to anyone BUT the organization who wants it. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joking-about-suicide-bombers/368214/5 "2006-08-10T22:35:26Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] Actually, I wonder if it wouldn’t be effective to just totally ignore them. And not report the destruction except as “a gas explosion” or Canadian gang violence. Give the credit to anyone BUT the organization who wants it. [/QUOTE] No - you shouldn’t lie. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joking-about-suicide-bombers/368214/6 "2006-08-10T22:58:15Z")
No lying. For one thing, getting all the media to tell the same lie would just be too Orwellian. Secondly, what’s it matter? Until Al-Jazeera began mocking them, they wouldn’t know, for the most part. Lastly, a suicide bomber, by definition, is never GOING to know anyone made fun of him… ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joking-about-suicide-bombers/368214/7 "2006-08-10T23:19:01Z")
[QUOTE=Master Wang-Ka] Lastly, a suicide bomber, by definition, is never GOING to know anyone made fun of him… [/QUOTE] What, they don’t have TV in heaven? Aw sh\*t. . . :smack: Tripler And here I was hoping to catch some NJ Devils games up there with St. Pete! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joking-about-suicide-bombers/368214/8 "2006-08-11T00:50:39Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] A rather good way of addressing the problem. Pity the extremists won’t see it that way. And the guy’s brave, given the murder of Theo (?) van Gogh. [/QUOTE] It’s likely to be as effective as the political cabarets of 1930s Berlin which, as Peter Cook drily said, “did so much to prevent the rise of Adolf Hitler.”