When is it terrorism? When is it a hate crime?

[SummerMadness]

When is it terrorism? When is it a hate crime?

Texas authorities said Monday that it is not investigating the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church shooting as terrorism after more than two dozen were killed Sunday. But the New York City truck attack that killed eight people just a few days earlier was called an act of terror almost immediately. Why the difference?

Not sure if this should be Kitchen Sink or News, but it relates to the attacks in New York and Texas and how they are defined.

 

[Ματθαίος]

When is it terrorism? When is it a hate crime?
Not sure if this should be Kitchen Sink or News, but it relates to the attacks in New York and Texas and how they are defined.

I think, the motive is important. If the act is against mother-in-law or the whole country.

 

[RDKirk]

I don't see any reason for issue between those two cases.

 

[Dave-W]

I dunno. People are just as dead no matter which way they call it.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

I think, the motive is important. If the act is against mother-in-law or the whole country.

The mother in law was not even there, so the act was against the community.

 

[RDKirk]

The mother in law was not even there, so the act was against the community.

Seeking rationality in the act of an irrational man is irrational.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Seeking rationality in the act of an irrational man is irrational.

That sounds rational.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

The difference isn't in the number of victims but in the motive for the attack. I see no political or even religious motives for the shooting in Texas despite it having occurred in a church. The attack in New York was the opposite in that it was both, politically and religiously inspired.

 

[Hammster]

Looks to me to be an attempt to find racism where it doesn’t exist.

 

[SummerMadness]

Looks to me to be an attempt to find racism where it doesn’t exist.

The discussion of classification as terrorism or hate crime with regards to this case has nothing to do with racism. Please read the article.

 

[SummerMadness]

I dunno. People are just as dead no matter which way they call it.

We establish motive for every crime to determine what charges to bring. There is a difference between first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter. People are dead, but for the purposes statistics to track crime and for the trial and sentencing if found guilty, the correct classification is important. If someone is going around burning down churches, it is vital that we not simply call it arson as our response will be different if we're looking a trend of people greedy for insurance money versus a hate group committing more threatening acts.

 

[Hammster]

The discussion of classification as terrorism or hate crime with regards to this case has nothing to do with racism. Please read the article.

Did you read the tweets in the article?

 

[SummerMadness]

Did you read the tweets in the article?

What of it? The attacker in NY was prone to explosive anger and his temper drew concern. The attacker in TX had a history of domestic violence, but only one of them is labeled as having mental health problems. The article also discusses arguments that the attack should be labeled a hate crime. But yeah, let's ignore the article and focus on that one tweet.

 

[Hammster]

What of it? The attacker in NY was prone to explosive anger and his temper drew concern. The attacker in TX had a history of domestic violence, but only one of them is labeled as having mental health problems. The article also discusses arguments that the attack should be labeled a hate crime. But yeah, let's ignore the article and focus on that one tweet.

Was the tweet part of the article?

 

[Rion]

So do atheist terrorists yell "Hitchens is great!" before blowing themselves up?

 

[GoldenBoy89]

So do atheist terrorists yell "Hitchens is great!" before blowing themselves up?

No, we just get it done without the silly theatrics of religious fundies.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Are we going by the textbook definition?

If so, then terrorism = the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

In terms of hate crimes, the waters get muddy as there seem to be dozens of variations of definitions out there for it. For some, "every crime is a hate crime", for others it's "if they commit violence because of a characteristic they don't like", and for a few, it's any wrongdoing against a minority whether it was truly racially motivated or not.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

So do atheist terrorists yell "Hitchens is great!" before blowing themselves up?

Nah, I prefer Sam Harris

 

[RDKirk]

Are we going by the textbook definition?

If so, then terrorism = the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

In terms of hate crimes, the waters get muddy as there seem to be dozens of variations of definitions out there for it. For some, "every crime is a hate crime", for others it's "if they commit violence because of a characteristic they don't like", and for a few, it's any wrongdoing against a minority whether it was truly racially motivated or not.

I think a distinction between "terrorism" and "hate crime" is specious. Being from the MLK generation, we always considered the actions of groups like the KKK as terrorism.

 

[Hank77]

The mother in law was not even there, so the act was against the community.

In 2014, Kelley, then 23, married again, the paper reports. The sheriff confirmed that Kelley's former in-laws and ex-wife attended the First Baptist Church from time to time, although they were not present during the attack.

They would have known the people going to this little church. They were hurt even though they weren't there and he knew they would be.
They may be feeling guilty, in some way feeling they were partially responsible even though they shouldn't.