A lot of heated rhetoric surrounding the Austin bomber--who thankfully won't be hurting anyone anymore--and whether or not he was a terrorist. I teach classes on terrorism, and here's a thread why it's unclear (based on what we know now) and why the classification matters. 1/x
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Charleston church shooter described hoping to ignite race war in online videos. San Bernardino attackers pledged allegiance to ISIS on Facebook. Bin Laden formally declared war. McVeigh wrote letters. Because their attack is political, terrorists want people to know why. u2/x
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Austin bomber took the time to make a 25-minute video, but didn't include a political statement. When it comes to political views, we know little. Reports say he wrote a blog post in 2012 opposing gay marriage and abortion. That tells us nothing about why he sent the bombs. u3/x
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More could emerge. But based on what we know now, Austin bomber was a serial killer, not a terrorist. The distinction matters because strategies to stop them are different. Politics plays a role in terrorism, which means it is, in part, a political/national security problem. u4/x
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If you're pointing out that many, including Trump, would jump to conclusions and incorrectly label the Austin bomber a terrorist if he were Muslim, you're right. And that's a problem. But the solution isn't incorrectly labeling him a terrorist because he's not Muslim (END UPDATE)
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I respectfully disagree, there's is more to the guy that's not revealed yet. Austin residents & her vicinity were 'terrified' meaning he's a terrorist & yes,
@realDonaldTrump & his blind supporters are the most purposefully ignorant clowns I ever witness by their speech & actions -
Many things are terrifying that aren't terrorism. War, earthquakes, cancer, angry mobs, secret police, etc. Lumping all those in together makes it harder to understand any of them.
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I think corp media & politicians are playing games shying away from recognizing it as domestic terrorism because the constitution will force their hands to act on it as required by the law
#AustinBombing
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He is the poster boy for why we need mental health funding , but 45 is reducing that funding as we speak
#Resist#TheResistance#Resistance#BlackLivesMatter
#EnoughIsEnoughThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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*Whew* The Austin terrorists' acts of terrorism weren't terrorism because he didn't use "phrases used by terrorists" in his message. Now please explain why the media insists on Black murder victims being saints before they're treated as well as White mass murderers.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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