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Was the South Carolina chuch shootings an act of terrorism

was he South Carolina Churc shooting an act of terrorism

  • It was aTerroist act.

    Votes: 26 53.1%
  • It was a hate crime only

    Votes: 4 8.2%
  • It was a crazy Guy

    Votes: 6 12.2%
  • terrorist 1st hate 2nd nut job 3rd in that order

    Votes: 13 26.5%

  • Total voters
    49

plutonium

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Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Since the 9-11 terrorist attack I believe USA have named acts of terrorism.. one I heard was that even if a gang threatens or hurt innocent people it is an act of terrorism ..if a Muslim kills an American it is an act of terrorism. radical Muslims hate Americans right? and if they kill a group of Americans like in Boston they were called terrorist well this boy hated blacks Americans and he killed a group of Americans does that make him a terrorist? or does the color make the difference between terrorism and a hate crime? what do you think. sorry for the miss spelling of the poll heading should read (Was the South Carolina church shooting an act of terrorism)
 
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Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Sure looks that way. Ideological and racial hatred, difficult to see this as other than domestic terrorism.

The "hate crime" debate has always been a problematic one. When it comes to acts like this, we would be pressed to find examples where "hate" was not a factor.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Republican, Fox News caused Terrorist Act.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Not terrorism.

Not a "hate crime".

Just your good, ol' fashioned, vanilla mass murder.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

well said
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Not terrorism.

Not a "hate crime".

Just your good, ol' fashioned, vanilla mass murder.

Vanilla being the operative word. Of the gunman were Muslim or just vaguely Arab, it would be branded terrorism.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Not terrorism.

Not a "hate crime".

Just your good, ol' fashioned, vanilla mass murder.
If the eyewitness accounts of what was said prior to the shooting withstand scrutiny, then it could (and should) very well be classified as a hate crime.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

I agree we use the word terrorism too freely but this was terrorism. I was withholding judgement until his motivation was revealed.

Terrorism is the targeting of civilians to advance a political or ideological agenda.

He obviously targeted civilians. That is piece 1. And now he has told authorities he did it to start a race war. There is the agenda and piece 2.

So yes, it was terrorism.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Vanilla being the operative word. Of the gunman were Muslim or just vaguely Arab, it would be branded terrorism.

... and that I have a problem with. It seems to me we are not being all that fair with the usage of these terms.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Of course it was.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

They don't have to be those "evil Muslims" (/sarcasm) to be terrorists. We've had our fair share of home grown terrorists, too, and this guy was one of them. It's easy to look at someone and label them out of ignorance, but honestly if someone commits an act of terror, they are a terrorist.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

There was no political intent as far as I have heard - so - probably not a terror attack. It looks like a definite racism attack.

But, at the end of the day - it wouldn't have happened had the kid not been bat-**** crazy. Sane folks don't do that.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Voted for the third option.

Terrorism as a word gets thrown around too much, but this was a terrorist act and a hate crime -- they are not mutually exclusive. Domestic terrorists have usually been the biggest threat to Americans, not foreign ones, and this stands as a reminder of that.

We have a militant, ruthless racist that wanted to incite a race war.

I hope they have the death penalty in South Carolina.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Since the 9-11 terrorist attack I believe USA have named acts of terrorism.. one I heard was that even if a gang threatens or hurt innocent people it is an act of terrorism ..if a Muslim kills an American it is an act of terrorism. radical Muslims hate Americans right? and if they kill a group of Americans like in Boston they were called terrorist well this boy hated blacks Americans and he killed a group of Americans does that make him a terrorist? or does the color make the difference between terrorism and a hate crime? what do you think. sorry for the miss spelling of the poll heading should read (Was the South Carolina church shooting an act of terrorism)
So far he sounds like a crazy nut job who hated black people and possibly a anti-religious bigot. Whether or not he was trying to coerce or intimidate the black and religious population into doing or supporting something with his shooting I do not know.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

The one reported item that makes me say "Yes" to the terrorist act is that he left the one woman alive and told her he was doing it on purpose so she would tell people what he did here. THAT is not just a nut job, not just a mentally ill murderer, not just a drug addled racist but an act of terrorism. IF that turns out to be accurate as it's been reported so far, yeah it was a terrorist act on top of everything else against the black community.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Janet Napolitano said in 2009 that we aren't supposed to use the term "terrorism" anymore. She said we're to call it a "man-caused disaster".

He was a man. He caused a disaster. He was probably filled with rage. He wanted to instill fear.

Does it matter?
 
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Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Perhaps it was reported earlier, but I just heard on CNN that the Justice Department is now looking into this as an act of terrorism. Seems it bit odd to me, considering that President Obama and his administration were loathe to use the term "terrorism" to describe other acts, such as the Fort Hood shootings, as terrorism. Now, suddenly, this incident is getting the full on treatment from the Department of Justice.

The definition of terrorism, to my understanding, is an action taken that attacks innocent, random people with the intent of changing government action or policy. I'm not seeing, from what has been uncovered so far, that this has anything to do with terrorism. But it is nice to see that the administration has brought the term out of hiding.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

The problem is anyone committing a crime such as this is mentally disturbed. All people are prejudice. All people hate to some degree. Even if you only hate people who commit crimes like this. The difference is most people use the reasoning and logical part of their brain to handle these emotions effectively. I personally believe these people who commit these crimes have brain damage and are not capable of controlling their emotions. I hope one day we will evolve enough to accurately diagnose these people and cure them before such things happen. The only way way this can happen is if and when we acknowledge there is a problem and start to work to that end.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

Not that it should much matter, but given the stated motive, yes, it was terrorism.

The relevant criminal charge is multiple counts of murder, and this guy is a monster who belongs in a cell for the rest of his life, just like anyone else who takes human lives in aggression.

"Hate crime" is thought crime, however, and no one who values personal freedom can ever support "hate crime" prosecution.
 
Re: Was the South Carolina church shootings an act of terrorism

There was no political intent as far as I have heard - so - probably not a terror attack. It looks like a definite racism attack.

But, at the end of the day - it wouldn't have happened had the kid not been bat-**** crazy. Sane folks don't do that.

If, as reported, his intent was to start a race war, that is a political motive.
 
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