What Dylann Roof did in Charleston didn't differ much from what Charlie Manson caused to happen a long time ago and apparently the motivation behind each set of killings was the same. Both wanted to start a race war.
That something is scary doesn't necessarily make it terrorism as, in my view, it's a problem if too many things are labeled that way insofar as it weakens the word and possibly reduces awareness of a real terrorist threat as opposed to a simple act of blind malevolence. The latter is motivated by psychopathy and the former by a higher level as in trying to battle a larger force, exact retribution for a larger offense, possibly at the level of a sovereign state, religious organization, or other.
All of this is opinion and there's likely too much of it floating about already. Nevertheless, my view is that one situation is driven by an individual but the latter by a larger entity. One example is in Timothy McVeigh as he thought he could incite some kind of larger violence but was regarded, appropriately, as a lunatic. He accomplished nothing in terms of terrorizing anyone beyond the reaction of installing any number of metal detectors, barriers, etc around government buildings. Those are annoying but hardly terrorizing and I see no evidence people fear going inside any government buildings.
There are similarities between Manson and Roof but only insofar as their derangement. There was no connection or combined purpose, it was simply malevolent coincidence which led them to the same conclusion. The larger and more important problem is the source of racism throughout the society rather than individual acts of violence.
Jon Stewart is highly pessimistic about anything being done about it but what other hope do we have. I absolutely believe people can and will deal with this. Without that hope what else is there and I refuse to abandon it.
Note: I'll be asleep by the time Google publishes this and deliberately. That's because I don't want to start anything just now but I did want to complete the thoughts.
That something is scary doesn't necessarily make it terrorism as, in my view, it's a problem if too many things are labeled that way insofar as it weakens the word and possibly reduces awareness of a real terrorist threat as opposed to a simple act of blind malevolence. The latter is motivated by psychopathy and the former by a higher level as in trying to battle a larger force, exact retribution for a larger offense, possibly at the level of a sovereign state, religious organization, or other.
All of this is opinion and there's likely too much of it floating about already. Nevertheless, my view is that one situation is driven by an individual but the latter by a larger entity. One example is in Timothy McVeigh as he thought he could incite some kind of larger violence but was regarded, appropriately, as a lunatic. He accomplished nothing in terms of terrorizing anyone beyond the reaction of installing any number of metal detectors, barriers, etc around government buildings. Those are annoying but hardly terrorizing and I see no evidence people fear going inside any government buildings.
There are similarities between Manson and Roof but only insofar as their derangement. There was no connection or combined purpose, it was simply malevolent coincidence which led them to the same conclusion. The larger and more important problem is the source of racism throughout the society rather than individual acts of violence.
Jon Stewart is highly pessimistic about anything being done about it but what other hope do we have. I absolutely believe people can and will deal with this. Without that hope what else is there and I refuse to abandon it.
Note: I'll be asleep by the time Google publishes this and deliberately. That's because I don't want to start anything just now but I did want to complete the thoughts.
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