Seeing underdogs is just as inevitable as seeing the Man in the Moon.

Mass execution by ISIS. Picture from rt.com

The brutality of ISIS as it advances toward Baghdad is easy to demonize. The press is frequently saying not even Al-Qaeda will ally with them.

But once upon a time, we felt sorry for the Taliban when it was fighting the Russians in Afghanistan, and then Sunni Kurds when they were being murdered en masse by Saddam Hussein.

Then a Taliban freedom fighter named Osama bin Laden created Al-Qaeda and turned on his benefactors, and Sunnis (including some Sunni Kurds) are now leaving a trail of mass graves and crucifixions on the way to Baghdad.

Those are just two unrelated examples of how we cheer for the oppressed as though we were at the World Cup, choosing a new favorite when the old favorite is eliminated.

We're suckers for the underdog. I wonder in fact if the penchant for seeing underdogs in every contest is just as biological as the predisposition to see a face in the moon, as instinctive as tribal progeneration and preservation, and just as opportunist.

c0

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant >

11 facts that explain the escalating crisis in Iraq >

(Helpful link despite the fact that you can never know everything you need to know about anything in two minutes, except maybe "Do you want fries with that?".)

c0