Why are Americans so worried about terrorism, possibly enough to vote against their financial interests, when...

[AZ Progressive]

terrorism doesn't even kill as many people as domestic mass shootings, car accidents, and hospital errors? I mean, it's silly to be apathetic to all the death that happens in society and yet be hyper sensitized to "Islamic terrorism."

It seems to me that Americans are still letting the media and political leaders dictate what they should fear.

[upaloopa]

1. Terrorism is an added threat to what you listed

Also it is something people feel is the government's job to protect them from.

[truedelphi]

2. The Bigger the Lie, and the More it is Repeated, the More that

people will believe it.

[yeoman6987]

8. People figure you can have all the money in the world but if you get caught

up in a terror attack, what good is the money then. Life is more important to money for these voters. I don't worry about terrorism but I'm not dumb enough not think it is real and dangerous.

[AZ Progressive]

11. Your more likely to be gunned down in a domestic mass shooting than in an Islamic Terror attack

In the time after 9/11, domestic mass shootings have killed many more people than terrorist attacks in the U.S. Yet Americans are so apathetic to domestic shootings.

[yeoman6987]

12. Yeah yeah and you can fall off a ladder. Doesn't mean terrorism isn't real

[AZ Progressive]

14. But you'd sacrifice your other interests for a threat that is not as big as it appears to be

ISIS is not even Al Qaeda in international capability, and Al Qaeda has largely been neutralized from doing massive terrorist attacks since after 9/11.

Just look at ISIS' previous strategy of getting hostages and beheading them. Just for that, Obama started the Iraq war again attacking ISIS as well as getting involved in the Syrian war.

[yeoman6987]

16. As long as it stay itty bitty, but I suspect they are growing not shrinking.

It will eventually be a way of life like Israel. That much I am sure of.

[AZ Progressive]

17. Imagine if there was the same uproar for all these other causes of death in America. The people

should at least be consistent, sheesh.

[yeoman6987]

19. Not even in the same stratosphere

Totally different situation. And people are freaking out on gun deaths. They want something done just like people want something done about ISIS.

[AZ Progressive]

20. The people are much more likely to vote in a president that would deal with terrorism than...

deal with the epidemic of mass shootings.

[yeoman6987]

22. Well that is true which is why the democratic nominee whomever it is

better take it seriously if they want to win.

[truedelphi]

30. Sure terrorism can be real.

There have been places in the world where it really is not safe to trvel - Mali for example.

But how much money do we keep throwing into our War on Terror?

We gave our military over 31 Trillion bucks to save us should we come under attack, yet Nine Eleven still happened.

And now that we have this new series of attacks, (Paris, San Bernadino) we will no doubt be pouring more money into the War on Terror.

In my rural county, we have not at all recovered from the economic collapse of 2008 to 2010.

Had terrorists shoved one fourth of my neighbors out of their homes, we would hearing about it for the next ten years, non-stop.

But the economic terrorists who did this to our nation are running the nation.

[smirkymonkey]

21. Not me, I am way more afraid of poverty than I am of death.

I would rather be dead that suffer the deprivation that comes with not being able to keep your head above water financially.

[hifiguy]

23. Same here. Death holds no terrors for me.

Abject poverty is infinitely more frightening.

[Lizzie Poppet]

3. It's not that different from freaking out about mass shootings, frankly.

The latter are more likely to make one a victim than the former...but both are astronomically unlikely to happen to the average American. Ordinary murder, car accidents, medical misadventure, or just stuffing your face with too many Big Macs is a lot more likely to kill you than a terrorist or a spree killer.

However, none of those things are a major part of the 24/7 media cycle of FEAR, FEAR, FEAR.

[B2G]

6. This times a million. nt

[Ron Green]

4. It's Whiz Bang.

Seeing those towers fall was almost like some CGI effects in the Whiz-Bang movies at the Multiplex.

Hearing the neighbors talking about their new AR Something that fires 500 rounds a minute... that's exciting.

Fear and ignorance respond best not to real problems and solutions, but to Whiz Bang.

[Maedhros]

5. Americans NEED enemies.

We're lost without someone to fear and hate.

We've literally joined the Dark Side.

[MrScorpio]

7. Damn Skippy! nt

[yeoman6987]

9. The enemies have come to us

That couple came and murdered on their own.

[hifiguy]

25. Bang. Spot on.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

[GoneFishin]

27. Bingo. If it was really about fear of bodily harm terrorism is way, way, way down on the list. But

people are gullible and can't do simple math.

[truedelphi]

31. Of course, part of the reason that they don't bother to do the math

Is how the media is egging us Americans on in our beliefs.

When Sunday night's top news story was that of a single "lone wolf" knife owner who stabbed a single person inside the London UK subway system, and within moments, that story is going viral as proof of more terrorism, you have to wonder. How did authorities know so soon he was a terrorist and not just a mental case?

I have noticed that the mainstream news has less time to talk about American cops killing the disadvantaged now that "TERROR TERROR TERROR" is the main theme.

[spanone]

10. when the teevee is on during most waking hours and it's screaming terror...people are terrorized

[JudyM]

13. It's a common cognitive distortion. Nt

[LittleBlue]

15. Here is why

Shooting happens at an abortion clinic. 80% of Americans assume they won't be near an abortion clinic. Shooting happens in poor neighborhood, most Americans rationalize by assuming they won't be in a slum anyway.

Terrorist attacks can happen to anyone anywhere. It's completely random. There is no way to avoid it, at least in the minds of people. So everyone feels like a potential target.

[AZ Progressive]

18. Same thing with mass shootings, yet we do nothing about them

[JI7]

24. media coverage instagram and other things

People get the wrong idea of how things actually are based on heavy coverage of certain things in the media.

[valerief]

26. Teh Stooopid. nt

[doc03]

28. The gd f----g media. Remember the last election when we lost so many seats.

The media played up Ebola where they had otherwise sane people worried to death
that we were all going to die from Ebola. When Obama sent military people over to help people thought they would all come back in a body bag. That was when they suddenly discovered ISIS. Fox News had their robots
worried sick thinking the world was coming to an end if you didn't vote Republican. Now even MSNBC can't
shut up about that f---g Trump for 5 minutes.

[Ed Suspicious]

29. Many of them are insane paranoids.

They buy the media bullshit.

[Angel Martin]

32. Terrorism has tail risk

the thing about terrorism that is different is that there a possibility of a massive attack that is so much larger than any possible increase in heart attacks, car crashes or even white gun nut school shootings.

We have had administration officials like William Cohen since the mid-1990's appear on TV with a bag of flour saying this much anthrax could kill everyone on the east coast.