Reply #223: Depends on your definition of terrorism. [View All]

[JoeyT]

What are we calling terrorism?
Can we call burning crosses in yards, an act clearly intended to incite terror in a population, terrorism?
Can we call dragging someone behind a pickup truck until they die terrorism?
What about burning at the stake, crushing, or dunking?
Beating up people for being a different religion?
Death threats against students that report teachers that violate the separation of church and state?
Violence against gay people?
Death threats and being run out of town on a rail for teachers that teach evolution?
Harassment, death threats, and actually killing OB/GYN doctors?
Throwing stuff at and spitting on women at clinic protests?
Lynching? Is lynching terrorism?
(This could run on for pages, but I'll go ahead and cut it off here.)
Is it only terrorism if white people are killed? I KNOW that's the definition the right wing uses. I'm pretty sure that isn't your definition. I'm not going to assume you're a bigot. In fact, given where we are, I'm assuming you aren't.
Does terrorism require a burning building? Does a charge of murder need to have arson or destruction of property added to it before it becomes terrorism?

If we use the word terrorism to mean what the word actually means, which is "the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion" then I'd say they commit a hell of a lot more than anyone else, even adjusted for population. So the answer is B by a ridiculous amount. If we define terrorism as "something Muslims do that Christians don't", as you seem to be doing, then I'm sure the answer is probably A.

You seem to think the "All Christians are terrorists!" meme is being pushed here. It isn't. People aren't even suggesting *most* Christians are terrorists. They're simply pointing out the double standards that exist for the two religions. I don't recall TV personalities screaming that all Christians had to distance themselves from Roeder. I don't see a lot of "Christian Americans need to call out their extremists if they don't want to be lumped in with them." coming from elected officials.

By the way, the 99% was exaggeration to make a point. The actual numbers are 79%ish Christian, 82% of the prison population are Christian. It doesn't sound like much of a difference, until you take into consideration that about 80% of the conversions in prison are to Islam.