Am I the only one insulted by this "Jihadi John" nonsense?

[Atman]

Okay, I guess this is America. We need a cute Disney Villain name in order to be properly afraid. A mere terrorist isn't enough.

I'm thinking of the character "Oogie Boogie" in Nightmare Before Christmas. He's scary and full of spiders and bugs! OH MY!



So now we have "Jihadi John," a proper British lad who happens to look very much like Osama Bin Laden before he got pubes. Keep the fear machine going, keep the war profits rolling in. America was getting bored with Al Qaeda anyway. We needed something new to be afraid of...but seriously? Jihadi John? I knew bullies in grade school with scarier names. I'm not sure who has become lazier, our propaganda machine, or the American people who buy this bullshit.

[stevenleser]

1. His former captives gave him the name John because he called his cell "The Beatles"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihadi_John#Nickname

John is a reference to John Lennon. The British Press expanded that to Jihadi John.

[GP6971]

2. Isn't the name of British origin?

Or at least I thought it was.

[Atman]

4. I believe the name John is of biblical origin.

Oh, how ironic.

[Hekate]

35. Not so ironic given that all 3 Abrahamic religions start with the same Bible, & use variants ....

...of the names therein.

Also, as others have noted, he's a Brit, called his cell The Beatles, and was dubbed Jihad John by some of his captives.

[stevenleser]

7. Yes, it is British origin. Jihadi John is a nickname by the British press. nt

[arcane1]

3. It does remind me of "Doctor Germ" and "Chemical Ali" n/t

[GP6971]

5. Of Iraq fame? N/t

[arcane1]

8. Yeah, it has that same media-friendly simpleness to it.

[arcane1]

11. And we can't forget about Baghdad Bob! lol

I wonder if Stan Lee is the inspiration for that name. He likes those double initials

[GP6971]

15. Loved Baghdad Bob

I was in the military at the time and all of us just laughed at his bluster.

No one was concerned about our military ability against the Iraqi army. Chemical weapons was the threat. Boy, did the politicians ever mislead us.

[Blue_Tires]

34. General Butt Naked is still the greatest-ever name...

Of course that great name still didn't get anyone to intervene...

[Old and In the Way]

6. So nobody killrd these people?

We can never figure out who the executioner is? Seems logical to me that security services can figure out who the person is and descibe him as a sadistic, hateful person ...unless you have knowledge that exonerates him. Do you have special knowlege that DU, MI5, and DHS has no awareness of?

[Atman]

10. What does that have to do with anything?

Did I say no one was killed?

We (conveniently) have pictures of him, know his name (kind of like the miracle passports found in the streets of New York after 9/11) but he's slippery, scary and elusive. Just scary and elusive enough to keep us scared. But the PR people couldn't come up with a better name than "Jihadi John?" How about "Beheadin' Bob" or "Throat Slittin' Sam."

Yeah, I know I'm a cynic. This just sounds like deja vu all over again.

[GP6971]

17. I was thinking about that passport thing the other day

What did he do.....throw it out the aircraft window just before they crashed into the building?

[SomethingFishy]

9. No you are not.

Seeing it the first time I did a double take. Then seeing it in the news for days on end I was pissed off that I'm seen as so stupid that I need terrorists to have idiotic nicknames.

[arcane1]

12. The same media that thought we'd appreciate economics lessons from "Joe the Plumber"

[Atman]

13. A guy who was neither a plumber, nor named "Joe."

But we bought it. Just like we're buyin' it again.

[Nye Bevan]

14. Just as bad is folks referring to Al Qaeda by the "cutesey" nickname "Al Q".

I mean, seriously? Al Q?

Here's an example:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026235168

[Atman]

20. Listening to the news lately, I understand they've changed their name.

Not sure why you think Al Q was "cutesy," but I see what you did.

Now it's AQAP or something...Al Queda of the Arabian Penninsula. I might have that wrong. But apparently they launched a Kick Starter campaign, and are having new cards made at Vista Print. The cool new t-shirts should be out soon.

[mwrguy]

18. yeah, they should call him "The Sand Spider"

That would be scary sounding.

[7wo7rees]

19. Painfully stupid. The dumb hurts us all.n/t

[bluestateguy]

21. I'm insulted by the murders Jihadi John has committed

Jihadi John, Jihadi John, Jihadi John. So there.

He's a killer who needs to be exterminated.

[Ptah]

22. Jihad John was given his pseudonym by a group of his hostages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihadi_John#Nickname

[Atman]

23. Oh, Wiki!

This Wiki post is very short on verifiable info. It doesn't even mention his actual name until you dig down into the appendices.

You're still missing the point -- "blood thirsty terrorist," "killer," "monster" isn't enough? He needs a Disney character name to make him more appealing to the mass media market, so we're more comfortable with his name when it is uttered on cable newscasts? What's wrong with just saying his name, Mohammed Emwazi?

Jihadi John?

Maybe we can come up with a costume in time for some ComiCon cosplay!

[Ptah]

25. His name is in the first paragraph:

"Jihadi John", "John the Beatle", and "Jailer John" are pseudonyms associated
with a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS, or
"Islamic State&quot , known for his appearance in videos showing the beheading
of several hostages in 2014 and 2015. In February 2015, some news outlets
began identifying Jihadi John as a man named Mohammed Emwazi. Jihadi John
had previously been associated with Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, among others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihadi_John

[Atman]

26. I stand corrected.

Although it really changes nothing. Cute Disney evil villain name instead of just calling him by his name.

[Ptah]

27. His name wasn't known until just a few weeks ago.

The nickname did not originate form the media, it was given to him by some of his victims.

[ND-Dem]

38. how do we know what dead people called him?

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. Because they have released some hostages too

Through ISIS's brutal executions of Western journalists, one anonymous fighter has seared himself into the world's consciousness -- nicknamed "Jihadi John" for his distinctly British accent.

Francois knew Jihadi John while in captivity; he was one of the guards.

"You can see on the video -- he's not somebody you'd like to have to deal with."

The British jihadis, nicknamed "The Beatles" by the hostages, were "harsher in their violence," he said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/03/intl_world/amanpour-didier-francois/index.html?sr=fb020315isisquran4pVODtopVideo

[Hekate]

36. Just curious if you think his hostages thought their name for him was cute Disney & media friendly.

[arcane1]

24. And he is probably loving it, this worldwide repetition of his evil villain name.

[First Speaker]

28. There's nothing new in this...remember Axis Sally? Tokyo Rose? Lord Haw Haw?

...I can't say I worry about this clown's nickname too much...

[JI7]

29. Ringo Starr doesn't like it either

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ringo-starr-beatles-isis

[hrmjustin]

30. The man's actions offend me more than what a tabloid calls him.

[Blue_Tires]

32. +1

[Savannahmann]

31. A lot of people get known for their nicknames.

Not just the bad guys. Bob Uecker was known as Mr. Baseball, at least in the Light Beer Commercials he was doing. The Teflon Don was a nickname known around the nation and probably the world regarding John Gotti. Fred Williamson was known in football as The Hammer.

In the movie Major League, we saw Wild Thing Rick Vaughn as played by Charlie Sheen. Nicknames are sometimes flattering, sometimes insulting, and sometimes informative. The Hammer earned his nickname by his technique in tackling people. The Teflon Don earned his too. Bob Uecker was a pro baseball player who had a witty sense of humor and the ability to talk about the game in ways that made people understand the point, even if they were not fans.

Most nicknames are intended to be flattering, some are the result of a lifetime of effort. William the Conqueror was not the first nickname for William of Norman. The first nickname was William the Bastard. But history knows him not by this unflattering nickname awarded by his parentage. But he is known by history under his more grandiose name.

So Jihadi John is a nickname that has stuck, and there are probably a dozen reasons why. However, much like Dale Earnhardt's name the Intimidator, it serves a purpose for him, and his opponents.

Saddam was known as Saddam. So all bad guys are not given nicknames to make them scary. Just as all fighter pilots don't get callsigns that make them seem cool or awesome. Discovery had the show Carrier on, and in it the Pilots were given callsigns that were less than flattering. One was given the name SLAG. That stood for his behavior when he was catapulted off the ship for the first time. He "Screamed Like A Girl" by his own admission. Another was called CYNDI. That referred to an accident he'd had when he had accidentally hit the fuel dump switch in the cockpit. "Check You're Not Dumping Idiot" became CYNDI.

Nicknames are often hung on a person, and become a part of that persons personality, even when they are somewhat less than flattering. Jihadi John is certainly playing it up, pleased with his notoriety and the nickname.

[polynomial]

33. Supports the nurturing of home grown crazies

Yes there is a deep crucial thinking embedded into the current so called Conservative political thinker. It is antithetical to the basic reality or enlightenment that is basic to liberal thinking.

John Locke considered the father of Liberal thinking was one of the first to propose separation of church and state. Perhaps Locke did not take it far enough or would be too, too Liberal to separate education from government.

Isn’t it amazing how Conservatives condemn regulation yet preserver relentlessly to interfere and regulate our country and everyone else.

From my view the argument about contemporary Conservatism has exactly that twist of humor that is the very fuel of what is trademarked in media as Comedy News hours.

The business contracts and contradictions to move forward to evolve to a better life for the working class is a natural need for the life continuum.

America once possessed with anticommunism now boiling over in Jihad Islamic extremism, with the University System loaded with a balance of diversity in intricate patterns that blend into modern so called enlightenment, or the educational catastrophe.

The Conservative media opened up a paradox showing how America is flexing that living document that Bush called “Just a piece of paper”.

What I would call a Johnian culture, something different than the John Doe culture of the Roosevelt era. Recall that guy next door that fellow next you the John Doe that was an American. Hot dogs, apple pie, and baseball, talk to him.

It’s obvious our media is influence by a foreign intellectual behavior with centuries of experience in persuasion that is determined to rule through jihad, religion based bias or hatred.


Even now ABC news is playing that game identifying Jihad extremism in news as Jihad-Johns. Calling that frustrated veteran to take action on another American. Cutting benefits to veterans turns up the heat.

Atman, your correct, and it is purposely directed, a breach of public safety.

In my view that supports the nurturing of home grown crazies done on purpose by modern Conservatives working within our modern media is the problem.

[malaise]

37. No - we're living a really bad B movie

complete with the BS narrative.