Calling Terrorism Terrorism, Regardless of Race

When you think of the words "terrorism" and "terrorist," what comes to mind? In general, we have been taught to associate terrorism with foreigners, and people from outside the US threatening those inside the US.
Terrorism, simply put, is an act to cause extreme terror or fear in individuals and communities. So why does the media and law enforcement keep telling us that the Aurora, Colorado, incident does not seem to be a terrorist act?
What happened early Friday morning was indeed an act of terrorism. It struck fear into the hearts of the nation, it killed some and left even more wounded; it will haunt all who were there and all who helplessly watched it unfold. People doing ordinary things on an ordinary day in an ordinary and supposedly safe place were shaken up with this violent act--they were terrorized, they were forced to feel fear in a normal, civilian situation.
The perpetrator is a terrorist, despite being a college-educated, middle class white American. His demographic information does not exclude him from terrorism; his deadly and unspeakable act is what gives him this status.

In addition, officials and the media are now focused on a reason for the violence. They want to know "why" a person like Holmes would do this. This, again, is a place where race comes into play. Middle-class white men are more likely to commit despicable acts of mass murder. Hugo Schwyzer makes some excellent points about why in his article, "Why Most Mass Murders are Privileged White Men". Simply put, white men are more likely to feel "entitled" to public spaces like university campuses and movie theaters. They are more likely to feel frustrated or enraged when they don't feel a sense of belonging or ownership, or when their problems are not addressed and their voices not heard. "But while men from all backgrounds kill their spouses, affluent white men are disproportionately represented in the ranks of our most infamous mass murderers. In other words, the less privileged you are, the less likely you are to take your violence outside of your family and your community," Schwyzer writes. 
When a person of a minority background commits a heinous crime, we attribute it to something in their culture or religion. Perhaps they are a religious extremist or were not taught an appropriate way to deal with mental illness or emotion. When it is a white person, we do not attribute their crime to their being white, or to their religion, we search for some hidden motive. "What went wrong?" As Peggy McIntosh wrote, a white persons morality reflects their individual will (Schwyzer article). A non-white person's morality might reflect their will, but will also factor in their background and upbringing and community beliefs. 


Terrorism is not determined by race or citizenship. Terrorism is determined by any deed that strikes fear into innocent people's hearts, shatters lives, and leaves a lot of questions and uncertainties in it's wake. A terrorist is not a Muslim person or a black person on that definition alone. Holmes is a terrorist and his act in Aurora a  terrorist act. This country has come to define and associate "terror" with "other" when "terror" ought to be associated immediately with the fear and destruction and heartbreak that has entered our nation this week. This terror came from within our country by a privileged person of our society; all can terrorize.


--Megan