By contrast, the Parkland school shooting wasn't terrorism. The killer's motivation wasn't political. This political/not political distinction matters because it helps us understand what happened and develop strategies to prevent it. 4/x
Agreed that many deploy the words terrorism/ist subjectively to assert power. Could say that about a lot of language That's a part of my motivation in writing about it. Inventing a new term strikes me as more difficult than advancing an objective understanding of the term we have
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I'm about as skeptical of efforts to "return" to an analytically precise definition / use of this term as I am (or you are) of efforts to make a new, more precise term gain currency.
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Still: you are that rare commentator who uses the term to convey a precise meaning, while fully acknowledging the baggage / politics baked into it. That's already an example worth emulating. I'm very much with you in spirit, if not in letter!
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Thank you. And I appreciate your comments. I understand where you're coming from, though I lean the other way. But we agree both would be difficult.
End of conversation
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