Well, ALL the atrocities of our history have been perpetrated by extremists, obviously -- some Muslim, some Christian, some Hindu, etc.

The issue is not what superficial label they wear -- extremism is ALWAYS on the prowl for rationalization, because if such people had the spine to confront the irrationality of their own thought processes, they would soon stop being active extremists.

ALmost everyone harbors pockets and eddies of hatred here and there. The difference is whether or not you identify and merge yourself wholly with those eddies, thus becoming a full-blown psychotic, or whether you stand int he balance between them and more rational kinds of thought, thus becoming your run-of-the-mill neurotic.

If we could, we should round up all the psychos. But, unfortunately, there is notechnology to detect from the outside who is harboring this sort of psychosis within them. There are a million well-mannered diguises, as artful as anything in the MOMA. Besides, you would be stepping on the toes of many of our most successful citizens!!

The only point of merit in the Stupid Perfessor's post is that extremism is ugly, violent, and anti-social. Age and cultural group have little to do with it.

A