Andrew Adeoloa
Mass shootings are a form of terrorism. I have yet to be moved by an argument, poignant or resounding enough to convince me otherwise.
Our society, notably its media, is quick to label foreign attacks on its soil as acts of terrorism, especially when related to Muslims. On the condition that the perpetrator is American and practices the religion of Islam, he is branded as a “homegrown” terrorist, suggesting that he acted on behalf of a foreign group, even in cases in which no evidence support the contention. By contrast, shootings by other Americans receive much-reserved criticisms. In the wake of these violent incidents, the mental state of the culprit is the focus of public scrutiny and the media refrain from using the “terrorism” headlines.
An extensive review of our media tendencies and dispositions reveals a lack of consistency in the ways these harrowing incidents are reported. To deny the validity of this is to willfully display ignorance.
The fact is, the shooting attack this past weekend at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was an act of terrorism, even if our media outlets will not report it as such. The perpetrator of this repugnant act consummates the values of a “homegrown” terrorist. His terrorizing of patrons of Planned Parenthood and neighboring facilities culminated in the death of a police officer and two civilians — one of whom was an Iraq War veteran — and left nine wounded. These aren’t actions of just another mentally challenged individual, but of a domestic terrorist.
Robert Lewis Dear, the man accused of the killings at the Planned Parenthood clinic, was reported as mentioning “baby parts” after his apprehension and expressed anti-abortion and anti-government rhetoric, according to a briefing provided by an enforcement officer on the investigation.
The intense political opposition directed recently at Planned Parenthood by House Republican leaders following the undercover videos released by anti-abortion activists have created an atmosphere of fear for the clinic. Despite Planned Parenthood’s continual remonstrance that the videos alleging illegal fetal organ donation were erroneous and unscrupulously edited, the political attacks continued to the extent that the Republican Party is now pushing to defund the health care provider.
Since September, three of the clinic’s buildings have been vandalized. In a recent interview on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards expressed her discomfort, explaining that “the violence and vandalism are troubling signs that the language that political leaders use could have dangerous repercussions,” adding that “it is really disturbing to see the kind of hateful rhetoric about Planned Parenthood, about the women who come to us, about the doctors who provide health care.”
It is apparent Dear’s “terrorist” attack was motivated by his disdain for legal abortion; his language — “baby parts” — speaks to this. The languages used by opponents of Planned Parenthood have been provocative from the start without abetting to violence. However, fiery language need not advocate violence to be so regarded as provocative. These language attacks from conservative groups have been done behind the veil of strong philosophical disagreement on principle, while continuing to make incendiary remarks.
Even more reprehensible is that this rhetoric by opponents of Planned Parenthood has been so far based on inaccurate and heavily edited videos released by a group of anti-abortion activists.
The pervasiveness of these “terrorist” attacks is troublesome. Rhetoric aside, it is a political choice that we make to allow this carnage to occur every so often in our nation. Mass shootings are becoming commonplace, and the fact of the matter is, to echo President Obama’s sentiment: “We have to do something about the easy accessibiliaty of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them.”
