Terrorism is political. Criminal violence is personal, motivated by profit, revenge, enjoyment, etc. The motives of gangsters, conventional murderers, serial killers. Terrorists, by contrast, believe themselves to be altruists, aiming to improve society or defend their people 2/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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You ignored the political indications of the Parkland shooter.
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Which are you referring to? I've heard about him telling people he was going to become a school shooter, but I'm not aware of any explicitly political motivation. Possible I missed something, of course. Alternative example of mass murder with no political motivation: Sandy Hook.
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He carved swastikas on his magazines he used during the shooting.https://www.google.com/amp/www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-nikolas-cruz-left-180-rounds-20180302-story,amp.html …
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Thank you. It's less clear than some other cases because he hadn't made public political statements like some of the ones I mentioned. But the swastikas clearly connect it to the larger white nationalist movement.
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Did the Austin City bomber terrorise the City? You're way over thinking this.
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