Should we treat domestic and international terrorism the same?

It is very clear that when an act of domestic terrorism occurs within the United States we tend to shun away from immediately labeling the offender or offenders as terrorists. Often times in the media they are portrayed as a lone wolf or mentally ill. It is easy to notice that every time someone commits an act of terrorism within the U.S. they are treated extremely different within the media as compared to an ISIS member or international terrorist, but why?

            These people are committing the same atrocious acts that the international terrorists are. Why should they be labeled differently when they are one in the same? Their goals are to spread fear and inflict harm and danger onto others, often times very innocent people. I believe that these terrorists should be treated no different than any other, they deserve to receive the label that they earned. There is no need to search for reasons why they may have turned and committed these acts. No need to express sorrow to them, or attempting to feel bad for them. They wanted to commit these crimes, so even though they are Americans just like the rest of us it doesn’t mean they aren’t terrorists.

            The label is something very negative and I believe that media and society tends to shun away from labeling domestic terrorism as terrorism in some cases because we don’t want to believe that everyday people, people who we associate with on a daily basis have it in them to follow through with such acts. An example of this would be the Las Vegas shootings. After this occurred the media went on to explain that the man accused of the shootings was a lone wolf, and that nobody saw this coming. Some said it was sudden, and they were shocked by this act of violence. I believe he should be labeled as a terrorist because he very clearly had the goal of spreading fear and inflicting harm onto many people. Though we are still not completely sure of his motives, since he ended up killing himself, something caused him to do this and even if his goals weren’t political he definitely caused terror and panic within the U.S. The news barely covered the fact that they were investigating into reasons why this may be able to be considered domestic terrorism and refrained from informing people of this. They mainly focused on his life before the act and how this didn’t seem like something he would do.

            If this attack was acted out by a Muslim or someone of a different race we would have automatically called this an act of terrorism. The attacker would have been portrayed very negatively within the media. I don’t think this is right, I believe that we should treat all terrorists the same. If someone has the ability and the thoughts to commit such acts, they should all be viewed as bad people. There is no need to sympathize with the attacker, as we do in many cases of domestic terrorism. I think the media has a lot to do with this because they are the ones who put labels onto people and they almost always portray the white, male, terrorist as someone who has a mental problem but they’re so quick to label an international attacker as a terrorist. It really makes no sense, if they are killing innocent people, and inflicting fear then they both are terrorists. Just because one lives within our own walls and is someone you may even know doesn’t mean you should stray away from giving them that label, they are just as dangerous.

            Though my opinion is very clearly that we should treat domestic terrorism the same as international terrorism I do see the other side of the issue. The argument against this is the legal complications that would occur. More and more acts would be labeled as terrorism within the walls of the U.S. if we did change the laws regarding domestic terrorists. It would also become complicated when labeling those who live within the U.S. but may be fans of, and were following the ideals of another international terrorist group. I can see why this is a complicated situation but terrorism is terrorism no matter where it comes from.

           

            I think that there are certain situations that do not apply here. In the case of the video we watched in class I think that those people should not be treated the same as international terrorists. They did not do anything nearly as bad as other terrorists. The building they burnt down was for their opinions about the environment and they did not harm any people when they burnt down the building. This is in no way similar to the mass killings of civilians in which other domestic and international terrorists have done. Though I think there should be certain exceptions, overall I believe that domestic terrorism should be viewed and treated the same as international terrorism. This is something we do not currently do within the U.S. but terrorism can come from anywhere, it is still terrorism and it should all be treated and dealt with in the same ways.

Works Cited 

McCord, Mary B. “The Law Should Treat Domestic Terror as the Equivalent of International Terror.” Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy, 22 Aug. 2017, foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/22/the-law-should-treat-domestic-terror-as-the-equivalent-of-international-terror/.

                               

Myre, Greg. “What Is, And Isn't, Considered Domestic Terrorism.” NPR, NPR, 2 Oct. 2017, www.npr.org/2017/10/02/555170250/what-is-and-isnt-considered-domestic-terrorism.

“IF A TREE FALLS 2011.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 Oct. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmZkNNJqr1I.