ARGUMENTS

OF
DEFINITION:
TERRORISM
Clarice Hester
Arizona State University
 • In recent years the use of the word ‘terrorism’ or
the lack thereof has sparked some controversy in
Abstract the United States. With recent events such as
the mass shooting in Las Vegas and other school
shootings, many Americans have been left
wondering when an act of violence qualifies as
terrorism. According to Dictionary.com,
terrorism is defined as the use of violence and
threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for
political purposes. Some people believe any
crime that affects the lives of many and causes
widespread panic should be considered terrorism
regardless of motive. These people feel that when
events such as these are not labeled terrorism,
by the media or government officials, it is due to
racial or religious prejudices. In reality, for an
act of violence to be considered terrorism, the
perpetrators must be trying to convey a political
message or be formally affiliated with a terrorist
group; simply causing ‘terror’ is not evidence
enough.
I Chose This Word
Because…
• I chose this word because I feel it is frequently
misused, especially on social media where I
spend a decent amount of my time. Every time
there is a mass shooting or violent crime,
everyone is quick to label it terrorism without
having all the information or an adequate
understanding of what terrorism actually is.
Motive Most news outlets and professionals will agree that
for a crime to be labeled terrorism it must have a
clear motive, a political one. In events like the
Matters attack on the World Trade Center on September 11,
2001, the perpetrators were very clearly affiliated
with the terrorist organization Al Qaeda.
Sometimes the goal of the criminals is not so clear,
but nothing can be labeled terrorism by state
without an intensive investigation.

The “Federal Definition of Terrorism” states “that

terrorism is an act that "is calculated to influence
or affect the conduct of government by intimidation
or coercion, or to retaliate against government
conduct," and is also a violation of any number of
prohibited acts, including: "killing or attempted
killing during an attack on a Federal facility with a
dangerous weapon," and "killing or attempted
killing of officers and employees of the United
States”” (Wallace, 2010).
Motive Does Not Matter

• Some people believe that acts of violence such as mass shootings

and protests conducted by members of the counter culture are
acts of terrorism simply because they cause fear and/or go
against societal norms. When events such as the shooting in Las
Vegas are not labeled terrorism they feel it is because the
criminals are Caucasian Christians who simply get branded as
‘anti-social’ and ‘loners’. These people believe that if the
perpetrators of these crimes were Muslim or people of color,
there would be no hesitation to label them as terrorists.
• ““If Muslims committed half, or even one out of every four of
these incidents, Americans would frame the acts as a national This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

security issue and use the word ‘terrorism’”” (Richinick, 2014).

Why Label • A good question to ask is why, as Americans, do we
feel the need to have such concrete definitions for

It At All?
words such as ‘terrorism’? The best answer is that
for words that carry such weight and such
importance, it is vital that we have a universal
understanding of how and when to use them.
• “"Having a precise definition of a word gives you a
kind of power over not only the word, but over the
thing itself," Lakoff says. "[People think] if we could
only pin down precisely whether something is an
act of terrorism or a hate crime, or just a simple
crime or a war, in other cases, we would have a
handle on it, we would know what to do. We would
be able to feel more comfortable about what we
should do and less nervous, less frightened in
general”” (Peralta, 2015).
Where I Can • In researching this topic, I have found that the
country is very divided racially. The argument

Go With tends to shift from one about what constitutes

terrorism to one about Caucasian people getting

This away with terrorism solely because of their race.

I think this topic would be great evidence for a

Information further research project/argument on the

tendency of Americans to further the racial
divide in this country. Whether it be which race
votes for which candidate or who gets shot by
whom the most, mass media and individual
citizens are constantly reinforcing the
differences between Blacks, Whites, Hispanics,
so on and so forth. The debate surrounding the
word “terrorism” is no different.
Resources
Green, John. Terrorism, war, and Bush 43: crash course US history #46. Crash Course, 30

January 2014.

Peralta, Eyder. When is an act of violence an act of terrorism?. National Public Radio, 17

July 2015

Richinick, Michele. Why aren’t mass shootings called terrorism?. MSNBC, 3 February

2014.

Wallace, Lane. What qualifies as terrorism?. The Atlantic, 23 February 2010.