In the words of Marshall Rosenberg, every act we find ourselves judging another for is simply a “tragic expression of an unmet need”.
So what is the fundamental terrorist actually needing? We might guess at it:
Acceptance, acknowledgement, respect, trust, inclusion, love, healing, understanding, compassion, ease etc.
Why are these terrorists so ill at ease in our society that they seek to destroy it? How do we deal with their deep pain and alienation?
When someone hates another it is usually because they hate themselves. How might we create change from hate to love?
Would any terrorist reading this tell us what they really need? Now that would require real courage. The courage to pick up a pen rather than a gun and speak to how they really are.
The challenge is that saying what you really feel and need is so much more courageous than anonymously picking up a gun and shooting people.