VIDEO: College Students Taught Most U.S. Terrorists 'Conservative' White Men

Jennifer Kabbany
The College Fix
Jan. 12, 2016

Most acts of terrorism in America are committed by white men who are "religiously motivated and politically conservative," a psychology professor recently taught his students, adding that "9/11 is basically the only act of foreign-born terrorism that has ever happened in the United States."

The "Introduction to Psychology" lesson was given by Dr. Ross Avilla, a lecturer at the University of California-Merced, who backed up his argument by telling his class about a white Christian man who shot up the Texas statehouse with an AK-47 -- an incident which in fact never took place.

"Ninety percent [of U.S. terrorist attacks] are from these white Caucasian men," Avilla told his class. "And by the way I am not saying white men are evil -- but that is what we should be thinking about. Usually they are people who are religiously motivated and politically conservative."

The psychology scholar couched his statements in a lesson on heuristics, defined "as a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments quickly." He essentially argued many Americans wrongly believe Muslims make up the vast majority of U.S. terrorists because they have not thought long and hard on the matter.

A portion of the lecture was recorded by two students in the class who provided it to The College Fix. The lesson took place in mid-October, just a few weeks before UC Merced student Faisal Mohammad stabbed four people on the Northern California campus.

After his rampage, Mohammad was found to have an image of the ISIS flag, a handwritten manifesto with instructions on how to behead someone, and reminders to pray to Allah, but authorities have said his motives were grounded in revenge for being kicked out of a study group.

Two students in the class who provided the video of the lecture to The College Fix last week asked to remain anonymous. They said they waited to release it until their grades were secured, and also out of respect for the mourning period at UC Merced after Mohammad's stabbing spree.

A lecture slide accompanying the lesson (shown below) stated: "However, since 9/11, most terrorist attacks in the U.S. have been perpetrated by White, Caucasian men. Most often by those who are conservative and highly religious. And yet, a 2015 poll found 27% of Americans believe that 'most Muslims wish to commit terrorism against the U.S.'"

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