The Media's (And Perhaps Our) Attitudes To Terrorism And Race.

[sp1814]

This is something that first came up when Dylan Roof murdered nine black worshippers at the Emanuel African Methodist Methodist Church in Charleston earlier this year.

http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/why-is-the-us-ignoring-the-existence-of-white-terrorism--W1lP6rnnzce?utm_source=indy&;utm_medium=top5&utm_campaign=i100

Do the media subconsciously label acts of terrorism differently dependent on race?

FYI - according to the piece in the Independent, an act of terrorism is:

The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

[Peter Pedant]

// The primary objective of a mugger is to deprive you of property or money. In itself, it has no political or social remit.//

yeah but the report of the mugging in the DM may well have a social or political remit which is previsely your point innit ?

[naomi24]

sp, did you read my post at 13:48? It seems to me that this article is encouraging paranoia.

[Hypognosis]

@sp1814

I think the Dylan Roof case was not viewed as terrorism (despite the way it, possibly, had that effect) because it was not a 'political movement' (multiple participants required for that) and not a systematic attack on society (or segment thereof) but was a "one-off" event.

The US media has also loaded up the word "terrorist" with connotations along the lines of "attacking the American way of life", such that the term tends to bracket persons born outside the continental US. They do not wish to hurt their audience's brain cell by using the word terrorist and showing a picture of a white person simultaneously.

Technically, the 'loner' character trope is just as much an outsider, to society, as any foreigner. I'm not sure if that applied to Roof and he didn't 'hit back' at society, he targeted just one specific group for reasons of (I guess) pure prejudice. Not necessarily anti-religious, the church was just a known gathering place (sadly too many historical examples of that to mention).

[sp1814]

naomi24

But what you and I see as 'indiscriminate' is very discriminate when viewed from the point of view of terrorists.

The victims of the Boston Bombers were all Americans (although they couldn't be sure of this).

The victims of Andres Brevik were all...well I'm not sure really - was he a terrorist or another 'lone wolf'?

[naomi24]

sp, //But what you and I see as 'indiscriminate' is very discriminate when viewed from the point of view of terrorists.

The victims of the Boston Bombers were all Americans (although they couldn't be sure of this). //

That's contradictory. The people in your link targeted specific groups. The Boston bombers had no idea who they were killing.

[naomi24]

SP, just a thought. The media had no hesitation in labelling Richard Reid and other white terrorists as terrorists, which rather undermines the argument your link is attempting to perpetuate. 

[bazwillrun]

Shouldnt worry too much naomi, its just SP with a cheap attempt to get a race argument going...sadly for him youre last comment has undermined it...

[naomi24]

Just an observation....

[Buenchico]

The BBC prefers not to label anyone as a 'terrorist':
http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/war-terror-emergencies/accuracy-and-impartiality