The suspected terrorist the FBI arrested out in Sudbury Massachusetts was a “wanna be” terrorist. He was not accepted into terrorist training camp, commentators explain. As I listen to the discourse of opinions, I ask myself: What is a “wanna be” terrorist and why do so few understand that it is the “wanna be people” of the world who wreak so much havoc on society?

Wanna be criminals seek to be rich or to gain high stature in the neighborhood so they take what they want (including life), when they want with no consideration for those they take from, to better their own conditions.

Bullies in schools take self-esteem away from peers in an effort to build their own self esteem. They wanna feel better about themselves and yet take what they lack from others, who often struggle with the same issues but choose to do the right thing and persevere without bringing down others. Look at what “I wanna be accepted” has brought in places such as Virginia Tech, Columbine and too many other locations throughout the country.

Timothy McVeigh was a wanna be special forces soldier who did not wanna follow rules set by society, pay taxes or even get a driver’s license. His wanna be mentality was taken to the level of mass murder and destruction. The same with Eric Rudolph’s wanna be attitude which included his hatred of gays and abortion. He killed 2 and injured over 150 people trying to force his beliefs on others. Theodore Kaczynski, who hated technology and progress, described in his manifesto, “the Industrial Revolution and its consequenceshave been a disaster for the human race” Highlighted his wanna have it his way, killing three and injuring almost 2 dozen people.

Osama Bin Laden and his beliefs and feeling of injustices toward the Muslim world is a motivating factor behind his wanna be mindset: wanting everyone to be Muslim or dead motivated him to plot plan and kill thousands including those here in the homeland.

Terrorists often lack the personal baggage that brings them down to a level where they see no options. They feel disconnected from the globalized world in its social and political realms. This is not an excuse for actions of wrong doing or murder, however it does provide some thoughts on why some choose to become a wanna be terrorist, and a possible explanation as to why we should consider wanna be people as those who may do us harm and not just flatly dismiss them from our minds as harmless. Carefully consider their behavior and the similarities they have with us, including the traits described above.

A common theme we hear in the aftermath of a terrorist event or dismantling a terror plot is what a great person so and so was, and how shocked and stunned we are by the news. These comments are not uncommon, yet we must keep our minds open to the reality that in today’s world, the mild-mannered next door neighbor, or person who works at the local grocery store or pharmacy may wanna be recognized for the wrong reasons and do us harm.

What is a “wanna be”? Someone, who seeks recognition and is willing to resort to violence in order to make a social or political statement, A wanna be is a coward who will plot against his neighbor, his community, his country instead of using his right of freedom of speech. We all seek recognition and success on some level for the good we do in the world. This is a good thing in well rounded, well balanced people. But remember when “wanna be” is willing to do anything to get what he wants, consider the potential dangers that come from what we have in common with those who would do us harm.