I blame media of all forms almost entirely. We live in a world where we're told every day we should be this, have that, look like this, do that - and it should be right now. But many of us can't have those things, or not without working hard. If you're an immigrant, or a child of immigrants, you probably came on the promise of "a better life", only to find that language, education, colour can all be barriers, and that (in this case) Europe actually isn't some glorious land of opportunity.
So there you are - young, disillusioned, poor, perhaps ghettoised, an age where we know that mental health issues arise. And you go online and you find other people who feel the same way, and you'll likely get no opposing view, noone to encourage you. Some people just need to vent. But some people will find their way to groups that have a darker motive. Some will fall into petty crime. Those latter two groups will find something that gives them a purpose or an importance in life they didn't have before. And still, they will have noone to offer a different view - in the case of Islam, many moderate preachers are afraid to discuss extremist thinking with their flock, because of the messages from the authorities and media. For those of you that are religious, and who turn to your pastors for comfort, confidences and so on - where would you go if that was denied you?
You get people telling you to travel and join them in their righteous fight, you'll be respected, get a wife, have a home. Can't travel, then fight at home and gain respect in heaven. Do some petty crime, mix with people who want more, hey, can you get me this? You're the greatest, thanks.
And it isn't all about being a muslim. So many of the people going to Syria, or conducting these attacks, know very little about Islam. They are sold a vision of it that plays to their emptiness and their needs. It provides them with discipline and a future. They're told that their failures in life are because they weren't following the plan a god made for them. It could happen just as easily with Christianity (and indeed has in the past).
When Egypt had it's Arab Spring, it wasn't long before people started complaining that democracy hadn't happened overnight. Expectations again. Hey, we'll do this and be just like [X] immediately! No, you won't! It takes years to properly revamp a political system. Years to recover economically. It takes patience and hard work.
And yes, people who feel desperate see stuff and copy it - suicides, attacks. It looks increasingly like the Nice attacker planned his rampage. But if he did, where is his "last will"? If he'd been in contact with Islamic State, they would have wanted him to make a video they could use as propaganda. So far, though, French LE haven't said anything concrete. Compare that with the axe attack on the German train, far less sophisticated but the young man involved made a "last will" before his attack and carried an IS flag.
As for Munich, we don't know yet. It feels odd to me that the shooter would kill himself as he did rather than going out in the way IS would prefer - in a gunfight or blowing himself up. Not to mention that Iranian muslims tend to be largely shi'a and IS are sunni. He could be from a sunni family escaping persecution, of course. Or he could be someone who has been abused because of his ethnicity in a country that's increasingly on edge, and he snapped. Certainly if he was really shouting "I'm German" it could suggest that was the point he wanted to make. Given we have video of him shouting, I've seen nothing so far suggesting he was shouting any of the "usual" pro-IS language.
I don't know the answer. I know it will take time. I know that media loves fear and danger, because it sells. To some extent, governments love fear too, it keeps them in, or gives them, power. Any message of reconciliation gets shot down as appeasement because "the people" want "something to be done".
I do think we're asking the wrong questions, or at least, asking for the wrong answers though...
