Chicken or the Egg
I usually try to stay away from politically and religiously charged blog postings that do nothing but anger anyone and everyone whose eyes happen to pass over the stinging words, but today may be different. Why will it be different? I guess just to mix it up a little – to stir up the ol’ pot if you know what I’m sayin’. Sometime it’s good to put a little spicy mustard on your sandwich when all you ever use is plain old yellow. I don’t know how anyone would choose yellow mustard over spicy, however, up until now, my blogs have been more benign than that mole on your left forearm.
So in case you didn’t hear, a 31 year old man in Washington State named Naveed Afzal Haq was recently arrested for opening fire on the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. Naveed was of course Muslim and from the outside this looks like an obvious case of Muslim hatred toward Jews. It would be easy to blame the shooting on one fanatic individual, but let us investigate the situation a bit further.
Haq had a history of being troubled and was on medication for bi-polar disorder. He was an excellent student in high school, but much to the chagrin of his parents, was unable to finish dental school in Philadelphia. He ended up back in Washington as a confused, mentally ill individual, who was unlucky with the ladies and obviously ashamed of his failure to fulfill the wishes of his parents. I think this situation is one of a troubled kid screaming for approval from his demanding parents.
His father, a civil engineer, is a founding member of the local Islamic Center in the south-central Washington town in which Haq grew up. From the testimony of some of Haq’s close friends his parent’s were less than pleased with his failure to finish dental school. And from the description I’ve read of his father, I believe it.
Haq’s father seems to have the characteristics of an overbearing parent. The fact that he was a founder of the Islamic center in his town is evidence of a strong willed individual. I believe personality traits are evident in work, outside of work, and in relationships. For better or worse, we can’t escape our personalities. Naveed’s father’s driven personality applied to his relationship with his children just as it applied to his driven personal life.
This story of Naveed reminds me of yet another son of an engineer who made extreme decisions. In 1991, upon his graduation from Emory University, Chris McCandless gave his $25,000 trust fund (intended for his law school tuition) to charity and set forth on a lone trek into the wilderness of Alaska that left him tragically dead in an abandoned school bus. Chris never gave exact reasoning for his actions, but there was certainly evidence that his lack of desire to fulfill his parent’s wishes contributed to his behavior.
I’ve often seen educated parent’s put unnecessary pressure on their children. For people that are supposed to be so smart, this is the dumbest thing they could do. When looking at the actions of people like Naveed Afzal Haq and Chris McCandless we should take a step back and think about what may have put them in that position.
Give John Poole some unsolicited advice at poolejohn@gmail.com
So in case you didn’t hear, a 31 year old man in Washington State named Naveed Afzal Haq was recently arrested for opening fire on the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. Naveed was of course Muslim and from the outside this looks like an obvious case of Muslim hatred toward Jews. It would be easy to blame the shooting on one fanatic individual, but let us investigate the situation a bit further.
Haq had a history of being troubled and was on medication for bi-polar disorder. He was an excellent student in high school, but much to the chagrin of his parents, was unable to finish dental school in Philadelphia. He ended up back in Washington as a confused, mentally ill individual, who was unlucky with the ladies and obviously ashamed of his failure to fulfill the wishes of his parents. I think this situation is one of a troubled kid screaming for approval from his demanding parents.
His father, a civil engineer, is a founding member of the local Islamic Center in the south-central Washington town in which Haq grew up. From the testimony of some of Haq’s close friends his parent’s were less than pleased with his failure to finish dental school. And from the description I’ve read of his father, I believe it.
Haq’s father seems to have the characteristics of an overbearing parent. The fact that he was a founder of the Islamic center in his town is evidence of a strong willed individual. I believe personality traits are evident in work, outside of work, and in relationships. For better or worse, we can’t escape our personalities. Naveed’s father’s driven personality applied to his relationship with his children just as it applied to his driven personal life.
This story of Naveed reminds me of yet another son of an engineer who made extreme decisions. In 1991, upon his graduation from Emory University, Chris McCandless gave his $25,000 trust fund (intended for his law school tuition) to charity and set forth on a lone trek into the wilderness of Alaska that left him tragically dead in an abandoned school bus. Chris never gave exact reasoning for his actions, but there was certainly evidence that his lack of desire to fulfill his parent’s wishes contributed to his behavior.
I’ve often seen educated parent’s put unnecessary pressure on their children. For people that are supposed to be so smart, this is the dumbest thing they could do. When looking at the actions of people like Naveed Afzal Haq and Chris McCandless we should take a step back and think about what may have put them in that position.
Give John Poole some unsolicited advice at poolejohn@gmail.com
posted by John Poole at 9:07 PM
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