Quote Originally Posted by Burney View Post
My point is that no all-encompassing 'community' exists in that sense. Such terms are always imposed from without and are invariably inaccurate.

That does not, however, alter the fact that, were one to look at these crimes in an epidemiological manner, only a fool would dismiss the clear correlation between the ethnicity, culture and religion of its perpetrators and the incidence of such criminality. From such evidence, any decent epidemiologist would feel there were reasonable grounds for assuming and investigating a causal link.

So the point is this: if we would apply this logic in a scientific sense without a moment's hesitation, why would we not apply it here?

The answer, of course, is cowardice.
No, cowardice is unfair. I doubt you, or any of us, have had the environmental upbringing and education that would prompt us to automatically conclude that these crimes demand to be be seen through the prism of the current interpretation of the ethnicity, culture and religion of their perpetrators.

Rules are only useful if everyone agrees to, and accepts, them before the game begins. After the fact is no good.