THE CONVERSATION

Lauren McKeon’s deeply reported profile of Aaron Driver, the small-town kid turned suicide bomber, unearthed details about his childhood that had never before been published. Reader reaction was smart and sensitive.

“Lauren McKeon’s piece on Aaron Driver was riveting. Everyone wants to know how radicalization happens; we’ve all hypothesized and we’re often quick to judge the parents. This article provided some of the insight we need to gain better understanding.

“Society desperately needs specialists who have the skills to get through to these very young, tragically scarred souls, and to de-radicalize those who have fallen down the rabbit hole. We need to unite globally and devote more research dollars to this worthy cause.” —Elina Guttenberg

“The first section of this story will tear your heart out. Nothing is ever as simple as it appears.”

—@zchamu, Twitter

“Lauren McKeon’s article shows what happens when you raise someone to believe in ideologies blindly. Obviously most religious people will not go down the road that Aaron did, but fundamentalism was likely one of the few ways he could square the tragedies in his life with his belief in a higher power. We need to continue to teach our children to think critically.”

—FrancusAurelius, torontolife.com

“Disenfranchised with undiagnosed vulnerabilities: that is the target audience of radicalization. That is why totalitarians push so hard to disenfranchise populations by alienating societies.”

—Allison Lee-Clay, Facebook

“They recruit like bike gangs: target disenfranchised, alienated males, offer them a ‘family’ or ‘brotherhood,’ and make them do your dirty work. Snakes.”

—Mick McCarthy, Facebook