desertrat said:
Yeah, I think a terrorist type 1 and a terrorist type 2 designation should be used.
Type 1 being a foreigner who is attacking the US anywhere.
Type 2 being a special interest type or a criminal type like a gang member, but still a resident of the US.
You would also have to remember that the American Patriots who liberated this country from the British Monarchy would be labeled "Terrorists" by today's standards. If they had such a vile word in use back then and labeled the colonist who were standing up for their freedoms 'terrorists', do you think as many of their countrymen would have gotten behind them and supported them in their struggle for liberation?
I guess what I am trying to say (without hijacking this post) is that we can't use the term 'terrorist' indiscriminately, it needs to describe a very narrowly defined action, such as how the muslims use explosives to kill and terrorize the general civilian population in order to achieve some political victory. Everything else is just a criminal act.
If we start labeling these other criminal acts terrorism, then we are on that slippery slope that gets more laws passed to restrict our liberties.