The term “terrorist” (1795) comes from the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution, when the Terror-ists used the guillotine to cut off the heads of their enemies.
By 2011, according to the Oxford dictionary, “terrorism” in English generally meant:
“the unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.”
The key words here are unofficial and unauthorized. That means governments can use violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims, but others cannot. Not just Hamas and Hezbollah, but George Washington and Nelson Mandela too. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. This meaning comes to us from the British Empire.
Here is the incomplete list of unarmed people killed by those using violence in pursuit of political aims:
- 12,000,000 Congolese by Leopold II,
- 5,000,000+ Jews by Hitler,
- 1,000,000+ Cambodians by Pol Pot,
- 400,000 Darfuris by Omar al-Bashir,
- 200,000+ Filipinos by William McKinley,
- 129,000+ Japanese by Harry Truman (Hiroshima, Nagasaki),
- 115,000+ Iraqis by George W. Bush,
- 50,000+ Cambodians by Henry Kissinger,
- 40,000+ Chinese by Hirohito (Nanking),
- 22,700+ Germans by Winston Churchill (Dresden),
- 5,000+ Nigerians, etc, by Boko Haram,
- 3,200+ Kurds by Saddam Hussein (Halabja),
- 2,977 Americans by Osama bin Laden (9/11),
- 1,626 Gazans by Benjamin Netanyahu (Pillar of Defence, Protective Edge),
- 1,000+ by the Islamic State,
- 350+ Pakistanis by Barack Obama (drone war),
- 200+ Native Americans by John Mason (Mystic Massacre),
- 168 Americans by Timothy McVeigh,
- 108+ Native Americans by John Chivington (Sand Creek Massacre),
- 10 French by the Charlie Hebdo shooters,
- 4 Black Americans by Robert Edward Chambliss (16th Street Baptist Church bombing),
- 1 American by Eric Rudolph.
The English Wikipedia in 2015 applied the word “terrorist” only to these:
- Osama bin Laden,
- Boko Haram,
- Islamic State,
- Timothy McVeigh,
- The Charlie Hebdo shooters,
- Eric Rudolph.
Not because they were the most evil, hardly, but because they did not act in the interests of an established government.
In effect, “terrorist” is a term of state propaganda.
Compare:
- 1940s: the British called Jews who violently opposed their rule of Palestine “terrorists”.
- 1970s: the Israelis called Arabs who violently opposed their rule of Palestine “terrorists”.
The idea of terrorism as a threat to the very being of Western civilization comes from Israel in the 1960s. It was pushed by the Jonathan Institute, founded by Benjamin Netanyahu. The idea was picked up in the US by President Reagan in the 1980s. Reagan mainly applied the term to leftists. The Soviet Union, after all, was still the main threat to US power.
In 1991 the Soviet Union falls. By 1996, Samuel Huntington pictures terrorism as mainly a Muslim thing, part of a “clash of civilizations”. US news and entertainment had been stereotyping Muslims and Arabs as potential terrorists since at least the 1980s.
After 2001 and 9/11, the US uses “terrorism” to excuse stuff like:
- CIA torture,
- indiscriminate slaughter by drones,
- Guantanamo,
- the forever war in Iraq,
- spying on citizens without suspicion of wrongdoing,
- weakening the civil rights of Muslim American men,
- the murder of a Muslim American man by the president.
Like the word “savage”, which in the 1800s helped to make Westerners act more like savages, so too the word “terrorist” is helping to make them act more like terrorists.
– Abagond, 2015.
Update (2017): Racism Review had an excellent article on the term “terrorist”. My favourite quote:
“In practice, the term ‘terrorism’ is used to perpetuate structural violence against Muslims, not to mitigate any kind of violence.”
More.
Sources: Remi Brulin (YouTube, Salon), Online Etymology Dictionary, PolitiFact.com, Google Books Ngram Viewer, “Concise Oxford Dictionary” (2011), among others.
See also:
- Whitespeak
- thug
- savage
- Edward Said: Islam as News
- The three pillars of American white supremacy
- 21 ways the US violates human rights
- Samantha Power
- featured terrorists and their atrocities:
- Nelson Mandela – on the US terrorist watch list till 2008
- George Washington
- Hezbollah (حزب الله)
- Osama bin Laden – 9/11
- Boko Haram – The 2015 Baga Massacre
- Islamic State (ISIS)
- Charlie Hebdo shooting
- Eric Rudolph
- featured non-terrorists and their atrocities:
- British Empire – by definition
- Hitler – The Holocaust
- United States of America
- William McKinley – Philippine-American War
- Bush
- Kissinger
- Barack Obama – children Obama has killed with drones
- John Mason – Mystic massacre
- John Chivington – Sand Creek Massacre
- Robert Edward Chambliss – The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
- Israel
- Netanyahu – Pillar of Cloud, Protective Edge
- Saddam Hussein
- Omar al-Bashir – Darfur, The genocide in southern Sudan
- Leopold II – An Open Letter to King Leopold II
You should do a follow-up post entitled “freedom fighter”.
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Bomb the Moslems into the ground!
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Sometimes the terrorist are white and domestic
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“Like the word “savage”, which in the 1800s helped to make Westerners act more like savages, so too the word “terrorist” is helping to make them act more like terrorists.”
Excellent post, Abagond! You didn’t even need 500 words because that one sentence up there says it all!
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“Murder of a Muslim American man by the President” ?
It’s my honest opinion the president really has no power but his a beneficiary puppet doing the bidding of superiors..
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@Mary
Exactly!!! That is why they are overlooked to the point of actually being able to cause trouble.
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Abagond,
Interesting post.
Ever thought about doing a post about who the real Lords of war (“warlords”) are?
(Did you miss these in your post: in no particular order, Saddam Hussein’s killing all those babies in incubators? Or how the Middle East wars were destined to bring GENOCIDE to the motherland – America… yep, some people still believe that – like the one about black people SHOOTING violently at rescue helicopters during hurricane Katrina, undoubtedly more potential genocide – and how Bin Laden brought down the Twin Towers – AND building Seven in NYC – from some faraway remote mountain cave in Afghanistan – which is why, in part, America supposedly invaded – and droned that country with retaliatory genocide. Or what about those pesky Somalian fishermen (aka Warlords?) in little boats threatening to genocide those Super-Duper-Tankers from those ridiculously rich and powerful oil corporations.)
While you’re at it why not also do a post on the wonders and magnificence of “Group Think?”
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Just a side note: The number of 12 Mio murdered Congolese has no basis in the source material. Of course that doesn’t change the fact that Leopold’s Congo was the most vicious of all colonial regimes.
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^Right, and so it could be more than 12 million. The German terror/genocide of Herero and Nama in Namibia was also quite vicious.
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Nice post. Abagond, if you object to Wiipedia’s article or definition of “terrorism” why not post a comment on the article’s talk page?
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It is also interesting the different methods used to catch “terrorists” in Boston and that used in Afghanistan—-Afghanistan was bombed to smithereens with many civilian casualties or rather “collateral damage” but Boston and its citizens were kept intact…..
A society/nation that is based on the fundamental principle of an inequality of human worth is deeply flawed and unless this core principle is changed….all other ethico-moral values, constructs, and systems will be flawed….
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The Western education system plays a role in insidiously advancing this principle of inequality through the presumption of “progress”—the idea is that everything “progresses” from simple to complex….(the complex being superior to the simple)—thus things like religion, civilization, human beings…all progress in this linear direction—making “Western Civilization” the latest “progression” and therefore the default standard……
It is one reason why Islam is referred to as the “7th century religion” thereby making “secularism/libralism..etc…”more progressive” values……(France uses this tactic a lot)
What if we did not buy into this myth? What if history, science and other fields of knowledge were based on a different presumption?—that of fluctuation. For example, presuming that civilizations begin and end and history fluctuates between complexity and simplicity and back to complexity…and so forth….
Would such a view tear down the presumptions of superiority….?…..
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@anon…“It is also interesting the different methods used to catch “terrorists” in Boston and that used in Afghanistan—-Afghanistan was bombed to smithereens with many civilian casualties or rather “collateral damage” but Boston and its citizens were kept intact…..”
Totally agree about the “different methods” — but the intended outcomes are the same. Boston and its citizens were kept intact (sort of, if you call being locked down in your own city, in America, in your own home, not knowing if, or when, the jackbooted, federally funded, semi-automatic weapon carryin’, shield-wearin’ thugs might kick in your door (or your boat slip), looking for a twenty year old “terrorist”). “Collateral damage” happened there too, if only one wants to see it.
The hierarchy of human life remains, not only in these alleged, “United States of America,” but in the world. It’s all flawed, and will be — unless and until those who believe that sh*t is right — learn it is fundamentally wrong.
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Terrorism is the description of action taken by ones enemy. Its use has no real value because both sides of any disagreement will use the same word.
Mankind is violent today, has been as far back in history as a person can study. Our myths are filled with it and the bible allows the people, chosen by GOD, to eliminate all of the people in the land given to them. (Terrorism)
We in the United States decide what terrorism according to us is and we approve it when our leaders use it against those we consider are enemies!
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The ongoing Islamic terror and genocide
Islamic terrorism has its origin in the sayings and examples set by Muhammad.
Was Muhammad a terrorist? Of course he was, and it’s true that terrorism is allowed in Islam. “cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers.” (sura 8:12) Jesus Christ taught Christians to turn the other cheek, but Mohammad taught to burn the other cheek!
Genocide of Banu Quraiza
There were three Jewish tribes living in and around Yathrib/Medina, the Banu Qainuqa’, the Ban Nadir and the Banu Quraiza. Once Muhammad realized that they are not going to accept him as their new prophet, he turned against them. He banished the first two, after confiscating their properties and wealth and massacred the last one. All men (600 to 800) were beheaded. Women and children were forced into slavery
We’re having a major clash of cultures/civilizations, and this list of Islamic terror attacks for the past 30 Days proves that. The trees and the fruit they’re bearing, right in front of our eyes. You know them by their fruits!!!
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/index.html#PriorYears
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Jethro, how’s granny doing?
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I didn’t get a chance to read through all of the previous comments to see if this has already been posted so will say it. What white racists do to blacks is TERRORISM!
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I should say white supremacists because it can include any person of any race out to harm a black person or group in the name of white supremacy, Hispanics tend to have that issues in some parts of the country.
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@Deb
I agree with you that when we appropriate the best of humanity for ourselves/ingroup and project the worst onto the “other” we fall into error. The Abrahamic religions have this story about 2 brothers Abel and Cain, I don’t know how the story goes in the Bible…but my impression on reading it in the Quran is that both Abel and Cain exist in everyone, the potential for both nobility and atrocity is there in all of us….
Justice is noble—and it is said by some that the desire for Justice is an inherent quality in all human beings….Alexander Solzhenitsyn said “Justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity. Those who clearly recognize the voice of their own conscience also recognize the voice of justice.”
—but it can “transgress limits” as many wisdom teachings remind us…Hierocles warned–“We aught always to deal justly, not only with those who are just to us, but likewise to those who endeavor to injure us, and this, for fear lest by rendering them evil for evil, we should fall into the same vice.”
Quran (5:8 partial) advises—“oh you who believe, be steadfast witnesses for God in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that you deal not justly.”… Such sentiments of restraint are echoed in pretty much all the religions/wisdom teachings of the world.
@Jethro
Didier Francois is a Frenchman who was held by ISIS but released. He says their motivations are political—in their discussion of motives—they never brought up religion. (He did an interview with CNN)…but others have also commented on the poor knowledge of Islam/Quran that many of these people have. (Some ordered books from Amazon such as “Islam for dummies”)
As a Muslim, I agree with you that there is much wisdom in the teachings of Jesus Christ(pbuh). Mathew 5:44-45 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”.…
Your information about the Jewish tribes is incorrect….These tribes, despite having a treaty with the Prophet to remain neutral, sided with the Meccans, and against their own community, this was treason, (and according to Jewish law, and the tradition of the times, the punishment for treason was death)…but the first two tribes were prosecuted according to Quranic law which gives the option of exile (for treason). The Quraiza wanted arbitration done and a mutually agreed upon arbitrator was chosen who made the judgement of treason and the punishment was carried out in accordance to the arbitration.. Other Jewish communities/tribes did not object.(there were about 17 other Jewish tribes who continued to live and prosper in and around Medina..had the treason been successful, the safety of these Jews would have been compromised along with those of the Muslim and non-Muslim residents of the area…..)—This is the “Muslim” account of things—some Non-Muslim historians doubt the incident even happened at all because there is (so far) no collaborating evidence from outside “Muslim” sources…(some early Muslim historians and Jurists also had doubts…..)
If you want neutral information about the Prophet, I would recommend Karen Armstrong “Muhammed: Prophet for our time”. (It is not the Muslim account of things…but it is neutral and well researched…)
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In a lecture at Oxford, Malcom X said he had more respect for the Apartheid regime in Africa that let the Africans know exactly where they stood, than the practice of deception in America where equality and justice were spoken of but inequality and injustice was practiced….without the full context of the speech, the sentiments can be misrepresented, ….nevertheless, the horrifying videos that extremists put up, unmask, and bring into the light many of the practices the West has engaged in but used words to deceive and clean-up (white-wash) those acts…for example, recently a Jordanian was burned alive, but the U.S. has also used these tactics in its wars, the atomic bombs burned many civilians alive, the use of napalm in the Vietnam war and the more recent use of white phosphorus in Iraq and Afghanistan –which also burns–(The U.S. is not the only country that uses white phosphorus). ISIS kidnaps and beheads people, but the U.S. also kidnapped, tortured and sometimes killed civilians in a program it called “extraordinary renditions”. (as well as Bagram–where children were kidnapped and tortured, Abu Ghraib, Guantanomo….)
There are other words that also mask ugly actions…such as American exceptionalism, premptive strikes, and unilateral war…etc
Friedrich Nietzche said “whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster”
Chris Hedges—a war correspondent—explains the seduction of war in one of his lectures and Karen Armstrong wrote about this issue in her book “Fields of blood: Religion and the history of violence”
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“1,626 Gazans by Benjamin Netanyahu (Pillar of Defence, Protective Edge),”
1,626 PALESTINIANS! Not Gazans. Calling the Palestinians living in Gaza “Gazans” is going along with the current Israeli narrative of trying to make Gaza and the West Bank as two entirely separate entities. The goal of that tactic is to make a future Palestinian state impossible. That line should read:
“1,626 Palestinians in Gaza by Benjamin Netanyahu (Pillar of Defence, Protective Edge),
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“Rasmea Odeh continues uphill battle, stares down injustice”
http://palestineinamerica.com/2015/03/rasmea-odeh-continues-uphill-battle-stares-down-injustice/
“When she was given her chance to speak during her sentencing hearing, Odeh eloquently described her life as a series of struggles, that too often found her back at square one. She pleaded to Judge Drain to prevent that from happening again.”
“During 1969, Odeh was one of 500 Palestinians arrested by Israel in a huge sweep. While in Israeli custody Odeh was sexually tortured and forced to confess to a bombing that she vehemently denies being a part of. She spent 10 years in an Israeli prison before she was released in a prisoner exchange.”
“Throughout her life it has been evident that her existence thrives off the betterment of others, but Judge Drain barely recognized the work she has done over the past 15-20 years in the US. He called Rasmea a “reformed terrorist,” a blatantly ignorant conclusion to come to, especially since her conviction was conceived in a military court in result of an unlawful confession.”
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At least 50 people were gunned down last night at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It is already being seen as an act of “terrorism”. You guessed it: the shooter has a Muslim-sounding name: Omar Mateen.
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Watching CBS new Mateen’s father said his son had ant-gay sentiment and it had nothing to do with religion. Nobody really knows the news media is throwing out is he apart of radical terrorist Isis or other terrorist groups.
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Mateen’s father said it upset his son to see openly gay couples showing open displays of affection. So maybe it was a hate crime against LGBT community.
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He’s got a muslim name so of course he’s a terroist according to the news.
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The news is so propagandistic, you have to read dozens of stories to get just an inkling as to what’s going on.
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R.I.P. all those killed in this senseless attack and great empathy towards their friends and family.
I think it is a hate crime but if it is shown that he radicalized himself from the heretical Muslims within Islam that promote terrorism, then it is a terrorist attack. So it can be both..
1. Some Democrats will deflect away from Muslims who are terrorists and bring up gun control as being the solution. The neo liberals (like Hillary) will call for expanding the “war on terror” .
2. The Libertarians will say that gun free zones don’t work and that everybody should be armed.
3. The Republicans will use this to justify their neocon policies of “preemptive attack”, droning, and that this justifies the endless war against “Islamic terrorism”.
4. Trump and his nationlistic populism will point to this as proof that Muslims cannot be trusted and that his ban makes sense even though this shooter was born in the U.S. He might even go so far as suggesting that all America Muslims be registered in a data base.
5. The conspiracy “truthers” will call this shooting a false flag operation set up by the government.
I also read the FBI was aware of this individuals.
I think Snowden gets it right when he says that when the NSA monitors “everybody” this allows for a lone terrorist like this to follow through with his premeditated attack, even though he was on their “radar”. The effort to collect massive amounts of intelligence on American citizens defeats the purpose of stopping a terrorist because of its detachment from local intelligence gathering.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=607076859452268&id=235852889908002
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@michaeljonbarker
Universal monitoring is not intended to stop terrorists, it is intended to stop social movements among the 99%.
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@Herneith
So true!
When I hear “news” from the usual corporate suspects, I tend to treat it as a sliver of information. I figure the full story is yet to be told. I also feel that way about “news” from alternative sources like Democracy Now! and The Real News Network.
Every source seems to have an agenda and you have to filter information through the agenda.
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“Universal monitoring is not intended to stop terrorists, it is intended to stop social movements among the 99%.”
Agreed.
The Vice piece goes into how the NSA monitored BLM with a plane set up to track individuals, phone calls, twitter ect.
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@Michael Jon Barker
That sounds eerily similar to the FBI’s flights over Muslim neighborhoods and mosques.
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I have respect for the Imam from one the mosque in that city who spoke so eloquently and asked for everyone not to jump to conclusions about it this being a terrorist attack because he knows the Islamaphobia in America.
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When Michael Jon Barker and Afrofem post about monitoring social movements and Muslim neighborhoods this reminds me of when Hoover back in the 60s during the civil rights era bugging Malcolm X and MLK and all the civil rights activists during that time.
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So am I to understand that everyone from the Middle East is Muslim or how does a name imply Muslim.
What if he is a Christian with an Arabic name?
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When it’s a white person shooting up the theaters and other so called soft targets they don’t label them a terrorist. Again respect to the Imam and some of the few Muslims from their community who are trying to hold out the olive branch and build bridges to promote peace and understanding in this climate of Islamaphobia. Something like this just sets off that pig Trump and his insane devotees. And it’s the perfect storm to get the crazy NRA gun nuts and conspiracy nut jobs in a tizzy as well. The inmates are truly running the asylum.
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@ Mary Burrell
Great points!
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Update: Racism Review had an excellent article on the term “terrorist”. My favourite quote:
More:
http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2017/10/27/terrorism-high-stakes-convenience-label/
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It’s true that white mass murderers are seldom called terrorists but violence by muslim groups against non-muslims (specifically because they are not muslim) is also an actual phenomenon. So I wouldn’t go so far as to imply that pointing this out is “racist”.
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I refuse to be used to enable religious fanaticism by erroneously bringing it under the umbrella of racial identity.
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Words Words Words! I got lost following the links; however during my lifetime the use of words and the meaning have change to reflect the current thinking at the time.
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”
How does this subject apply to the current job market?
What is happening to the schools today as more and more charter (separate but equal) schools are being supported by the government?
What is going to happen to the health care of the individuals who are being supported by the Affordable Care Act?
What political party is going to replace the splintered Democratic Party or who is going to consolidate it back to one agenda.
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“Terrorism is one of the only areas where white people do most of the work and get none of the credit.—Ken Cheng
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@Abagond: Will there be a post on Mark Conditt, the Austin bomber?
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@Mary Burrelll…“Will there be a post on Mark Conditt, the Austin bomber?”
Hey Lil Sis, how are you?? I sure hope so! I moved back to the Belly of the Beast from SC last March after the husband retired (so much sht going on there, my old brain couldn’t take it! Still haven’t been able to write about the Slager trial after he murdered Walter Scott, or the murders by a white kid in Mother Emmanuel A.M.E. church, or working with Black Lives Matter Charleston, or my friend, the Black Lives Matter activist there, Muhiyidin d’Baha’s recent death in New Orleans and on, and on, and on). THEN, got back here to the mass shooting at the church in Sutherland Springs, not far from here by a white guy and now this bombing sht by another white guy whom they still REFUSE to call a damned terrorist!!!
Your Ken Cheng quote above is SO damned on point it’s shameful. SMDH
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@ Mary
Yes, I will be doing a post on Mark Conditt.
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@Deb:
Hey, Sis, but you know this is rinse, wash, and repeat with the madness that is America. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. So we go from guns to bombs. The mainstream media is painting this guy as a young man who had a difficult life and was just sad about his circumstances in life.
Well, Boo, effing Hoo, who isn’t having a hard time in life? Do we go out and take that out on innocent people who had nothing to do with his sad and messed up life. I hate how the news media is painting this story here in Texas.
He was a quiet, and mild mannered young man, according to the neighbors. That’s what they always say and everybody expresses how shocked they are. I am sad for the innocent victims who were hurt by this lunatic.
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And let’s not forget how he had conservative Christian values, i.e. he was against abortion and gay marriage etc., this gives me pause who is the most violent when it comes to faith and spirituality.
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@Mary Burrell…“I hate how the news media is painting this story here in Texas.”
Lil Sis, Texas media’s DEFINITELY doing the usual “Wash, Rinse, Repeat” on the white, boy-bomber — but here’s an OpEd in the NY Times by Eric Tang, an associate professor of Black Studies and Asian American studies at UT Austin that gives some deep-background, as well as, IMHO, the real story of what this particular bombing was about. Please read & share your thoughts:
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A shooting at the Municipal building in Virginia yesterday. It pains me to learn a black man was the shooter and multiple lives were lost. RIP to those victims and my heart is heavy for the surviving family members in their time of grief. Gun violence is becoming too prevalent in this country.
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Like any other desease mass killings will spread to all individuals. Mistreatment impacts all. What made an individual loose it is the question that eventually has to be asked. What changed that person?
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