What's a 'lone wolf'? It's the special name we give white terrorists

[workinclasszero]

What's a 'lone wolf'? It's the special name we give white terrorists
Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock seems to fit every definition of a terrorist – apart from being Muslim
Moustafa Bayoumi Wednesday 4 October 2017 07.19 EDT

We have a double standard in the United States when it comes to talking about terrorism. The label is reserved almost exclusively for when we’re talking about Muslims.

Consider Stephen Craig Paddock, the shooter in Sunday’s massacre in Las Vegas. Is he a terrorist? Well, the authorities aren’t calling him one, at least not yet.

This is all the more remarkable because Paddock’s actions clearly fit the statutory definition of terrorism in Nevada. That state’s law defines terrorism as “any act that involves the use or attempted use of sabotage, coercion or violence which is intended to cause great bodily harm or death to the general population”.

Stephen Craig Paddock shot and killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500 others. If that doesn’t qualify as a textbook definition of Nevada’s terrorism law, I don’t know what does.

And Donald Trump, who craves every opportunity to utter the words “radical Islamic terrorism”, avoided any mention of the word “terrorist” when discussing the tragic events of Sunday night.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/04/lone-wolf-white-terrorist-las-vegas

[FSogol]

1. It is especially strange when the media calls him a lone wolf and states the police are looking for

his accomplice in the same breath.

[workinclasszero]

11. The double standards in this country stink to high heaven

The NRA/GOP government keeps us wide open and vulnerable to gun violence from mainly white men.

[jmg257]

2. Would we all feel better if they did call him a terrorist?

BTW - was he connected to a terrorist organization?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. If they did, it might start a conversation about why so many of these incidents are committed by

white men.

[jmg257]

7. I think that conversation has already started. They always ask "why?"

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. I mean in a big-picture way -- what is it about our culture that radicalizes white men with grudges

to take these steps?

[Fred Sanders]

6. Yes. Then folks just might demand solutions for radical Christian terrorists. See FBI reports.

[jmg257]

8. Wishful thinking (respectfully). People know what he did, and all the others

before him.

But if calling him a terrorist helps, then why not.

[brush]

12. Yes. We would. He terrorized a city and those he killed and injured.

Honesty is always welcome.

[LanternWaste]

15. What specifically leads you to believe that our feelings are relevant

What specifically leads you to believe that our feelings are relevant in any way to accuracy?

[jmg257]

16. I don't really thjink they are - but if it helps he be called one, no issue.

[uponit7771]

19. I would

[Fred Sanders]

3. You got that right. America is being terrorized by white folk with guns, not radical Islam, but

that truth may never be told as long as the NRA has the balls of Republican s in a vice grip.

Show the carnage created by just one man with guns in America. Just do it.

[ck4829]

5. If we never used it for shooters then it'd be how white male "libertarians" would title themselves

Just making a note of that.

[FSogol]

13. "Friendless" would be the better term for libertarians. They're dumber than most wild canines

[ck4829]

14. I can see it now though...

"Nobody ever helped me. Ever. Luck or being born to the right parents is also just a myth of the liberal media, nobody ever gave me a handout. I'm a lone wolf."

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

[FSogol]

17. Mavericks!

[Not Ruth]

9. Twenty year old term, list of lone wolf attacks is endless

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_wolf_(terrorism)

[Not Ruth]

18. Per Teen Vogue, Paddock was not a Lone Wolf