As a nation, there isn’t enough conversation addressing domestic terrorism. While the public can easily point out terrorists with agendas aligning with ISIS, the same cannot be said about domestic terrorism. Terrorism is terrorism regardless of skin color and childhood upbringing.
With the alleged ambiguity of domestic terrorism, the first incident that comes to mind is the Charleston Church shooting in 2015, where Dylann Roof killed nine people in hopes of starting a race war. There were news articles sprouting everywhere, describing the scene and his motive, but some began talking about his past. Don’t get me wrong, talking about a criminal’s past could provide insight for their actions, but major news sources began sympathizing with Roof.
According to New York Times, Roof was “a bug-eyed boy with a bowl haircut who came from a broken home.” Okay sure, the masses need a background check on a man who just killed nine people, but an entire article was dedicated to humanizing a murderer.
Although his past was not ideal, we are all victims of circumstance, and the only difference is coping mechanisms. A child from a broken home normally grows up with fear of emotional attachment and abandonment. A child from a broken home does NOT casually take a gun and consciously kill nine people.
I understand that in the past, not every mass shooting could be considered an act of domestic terrorism; but evidently, times have changed.
Citing the new revisions of the USA Patriot Act, a domestic terrorist must “intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.”
Not only are terrorists like Roof described by the vague definition of domestic terrorism, but also the smaller branches that the law offers.
The edits allow journalists to call killers, like Dylann Roof, terrorists. The question is no longer about the credibility of the title, but rather willingness to do so. With an increasing amount of shootings, there is most likely going to be more incidents happening this year. So, watch the headlines and notice the blatant double standard.
TCHS School Newspaper