Excellent Article on Why They Hate Us

Evan Coyne Maloney of Protesting the Protesters fame (my first experience with his work) hasn't been as prolific recently as he has been in the past... but sometimes quality makes up for lack of quantity, and he's shown that with his latest

Why Do They Hate Us?

A few of the better bits:

Some people ask that question rhetorically: to them, the answer to "Why do they hate us?" always leads one place: it's our fault. To these people, any horrific act anywhere in the world is a game of Six Degrees of Separation that traces back to something--anything--done by the United States.

and...

First, let's define "they." For the purposes of this article, "they" refers to Jihadists: a radical subset of Muslims who believe it is their duty to kill anyone who refuses to abide by their religious law.

followed by...

Now that we know who "they" are, who's "us"? Even though the "us" that "they" hate pretty much amounts to all of Western society, I will take "us" to mean the United States, since in the eyes of many in the non-Western world, the U.S. symbolizes Western society.

And what I think is my favorite bit:

But many Americans believe that occasionally employing brutality to protect ourselves and free others is a legitimate option when the only path of moral purity leads directly to death.

The whole thing is really very well thought out and well written, and I encourage anyone to give it a read.