Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The only thing this goof managed to do was destroy some poor guys building and kill an innocent worker. Wonder if it mattered to him that the IRS will still be going after his now homeless wife? What a jerk. I still think he could fit the domestic terrorist picture since his act was to influence policy. But he was no Tea Party, GOP member, he hated Bush as well as Obama. So a whack job he is.
Tomato, tomato. Potato, potato. A murderer is a murderer by any definition.
Whether you want to call him "murderer" or "terrorist", that's up to you. But he's still a murderer.
What makes him different than the nuts who go into a building and start shooting people? Should the Columbine kids be considered "domestic terrorists"?
There is such a thing as taking a term too far. Terrorists are defined by our society as people whose who belong to a group/movement/organization whose purpose is to "kill us". There is no "movement" composed of maniacs who are behind this guy and are trying to annihilate all of the IRS.
Trying to nuance the term to apply to some murderers, and not others, is pointless.
Call him what he was. "Deranged murderer". There's been plenty of them in our history, there will be plenty more.
Tomato, tomato. Potato, potato. A murderer is a murderer by any definition.
Whether you want to call him "murderer" or "terrorist", that's up to you. But he's still a murderer.
What makes him different than the nuts who go into a building and start shooting people? Should the Columbine kids be considered "domestic terrorists"?
There is such a thing as taking a term too far. Terrorists are defined by our society as people whose who belong to a group/movement/organization whose purpose is to "kill us". There is no "movement" composed of maniacs who are behind this guy and are trying to annihilate all of the IRS.
Trying to nuance the term to apply to some murderers, and not others, is pointless.
Call him what he was. "Deranged murderer". There's been plenty of them in our history, there will be plenty more.
Terrorists are not explicitly defined as belonging to a group. According to Webster's dictionary, terrorism is defined as
the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion
And that definition can be applied in this case as this person attempted to use violence as a means of coercion to send a message to the IRS. He targeted a specific group of people unlike those who walk into a building and shoot random people. He aimed his plane at an office building on a particular floor no less that included nearly 200 IRS employees. And he left a 6 page manifesto claiming why he did it and what it was designed to accomplish just like a terrorist. I know it's difficult for you to accept that terrorism isn't limited to Islamic fundamentalists but at some point you will have to acknowledge that
Why isn't he referred to as a domestic terrorist. His intentions were clear. He was trying to kill IRS employees in his attempt to bombard an IRS building. I thought only Muslims commit acts of terrorism but I guess he doesn't count because he is White, non-Muslim and only targeted the IRS. That's not terrorism right? He isn't a suicide bomber because he didn't use bombs...just a plane right? It doesn't matter if he took out half the side of the building right? Yeah, he is not a suicide bomber. He is just an angry person from Texas.
Terrorism, domestic or foreign, is to use violence & instill fear in order to affect political, social, religious change.
This man obviously had a personal grudge, albeit one that may be shared by others. However, I don't think his motives were to change any policy, but to give the gov't the finger.
Clearly he was unstable and no wrongs that he may have felt were done to him justify his actions.
Terrorism, domestic or foreign, is to use violence & instill fear in order to affect political, social, religious change.
This man obviously had a personal grudge, albeit one that may be shared by others. However, I don't think his motives were to change any policy, but to give the gov't the finger.
Clearly he was unstable and no wrongs that he may have felt were done to him justify his actions.
If his purpose was to simply get back at the IRS, he wouldn't have typed a 6 page manifesto and deliberately made it available so that it would be read after he committed his act. He wanted the public to know his thoughts with the intent of changing the public perception of the IRS. The IRS is a major political and social entity in this country since it affects taxation, an issue that countries have gone to war over, an issue that helped form this country. He also used a dramatic piece like a plane crash to send his message instead of simply shooting some IRS employees. All of this indicates this was an act of domestic terrorism
If his purpose was to simply get back at the IRS, he wouldn't have typed a 6 page manifesto and deliberately made it available so that it would be read after he committed his act. He wanted the public to know his thoughts with the intent of changing the public perception of the IRS. The IRS is a major political and social entity in this country since it affects taxation, an issue that countries have gone to war over, an issue that helped form this country.
Yeah, so? He was a depressed, angry - He suffered tax-rage. He clearly had a lot to get off his chest before he plowed into that building and thought only of himself.
He wanted to take his personal misery and inability to cope with it and make himself a martyr for the masses. That's maybe how he wanted to be portrayed in death, but he has not changed a thing, other than hurt some innocent people and IMO look like a pathetic, selfish individual.
You wouldn't want to give them some time t investigate, would you?
So we should ignore evidence that has already presented itself such as his 6 page essay detailing his dislike for the IRS and his admitted use of this incident to send a message?
Yeah, so? He was a depressed, angry - He suffered tax-rage. He clearly had a lot to get off his chest before he plowed into that building and thought only of himself.
He wanted to take his personal misery and inability to cope with it and make himself a martyr for the masses. That's maybe how he wanted to be portrayed in death, but he has not changed a thing, other than hurt some innocent people and IMO look like a pathetic, selfish individual.
So a person has to actually change something for him to be designated a terrorist. I thought you just said that a terrorist can be defined as one who seeks to cause change. Are you changing your definition now?
RIP STACK...YOU ROCKED! .... UNTIL YOU ROLLED YOUR PLANE!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
