Man Intentionally Flies Airplane Into Government Building in USA...

[2NaFish]

he didnt have a rag on his head, thats why its not terrorism

I'm with you.

[2NaFish]

Thankfully I was on the other side of town at work....  As for my thoughts, I guess I can understand the mans frustration, but what I can't understand is him taking a cowards way out..  And it still is a act of terrorism.

and would you class it as a terrorist act? if not, how would you define it.

[Sean]

are al-quaeda not 'disgruntled people pushed over the edge'?

the fact that this guy appears to be a lone nutter is totally irrelevant when it comes to it being terrorism or not.

lol wut...   no and yea I think it has total relevance.

alright we can call anything anything then. A 'kitten' is a 'cat' but its more to a point to call it a kitten for social understanding. 

If a somebody speeds off in a car crashing into things, gets into a police chase, shoots off his or her guns... doesn't stop ... sure you can call it hit and run, failure to stop or whatever....    but sure call it terrorism then.
Depends on your definition of terrorism.  I don't think this guy from what we know belongs to any group or is an individual 'terrorist'.   

The dude snapped on an agency who was causing him harm.  He most likely tried to work with this agency for a long time who was causing him direct harm (most likely).  I don't think he did this for publicity for himself for his beliefs over the long run or for his 'cause'.

but what do I know......

[antonyrose]

and would you class it as a terrorist act? if not, how would you define it.

Yes I would, you don't need a rag on your head to commit a terrorist act...

[anythinggoes]

Slightly off topic but a Coup D'état, would that be classed as a terrorist action??

[2NaFish]

I don't think he did this for publicity for himself for his beliefs over the long run or for his 'cause'.

he crashed a plain into a government building, and you're saying he didnt do it for publicity and that it wasn't for a cause.

firstly, this is gonna be highly publicized - or deserves to be - and if he's not doing it for a cause, then why did he do it? Ofcourse he did it for a cause.

And you never explained why his being part of a group or not is relevant to his being a terrorist. To me it makes no difference.

[Sean]

he crashed a plain into a government building, and you're saying he didnt do it for publicity and that it wasn't for a cause.

firstly, this is gonna be highly publicized - or deserves to be - and if he's not doing it for a cause, then why did he do it? Ofcourse he did it for a cause.

And you never explained why his being part of a group or not is relevant to his being a terrorist. To me it makes no difference.

I don't need to explain any more other than the fact we both know there are many definitions of 'terrorism' and I pointed out that we could or could not call it as so.

As far as the publicity.......   he was suicidal......  he wanted to die first. I don't think he died for his cause

[2NaFish]

I don't need to explain any more other than the fact we both know there are many definitions of 'terrorism' and I pointed out that we could or could not call it as so.

As far as the publicity.......   he was suicidal......  he wanted to die first. I don't think he died for his cause

there may be many definitions of terrorism, but none of them state that being part of a gang has anything to do with anything. lone gunman or multinational organisation, if they seek to coerce through terror they are terrorists.

and if he didnt die for his cause, then why did he kill himself?

[Sean]

there may be many definitions of terrorism, but none of them state that being part of a gang has anything to do with anything. lone gunman or multinational organisation, if they seek to coerce through terror they are terrorists.

and if he didnt die for his cause, then why did he kill himself?

he was sick?  maybe he thinks his life would be ok if not hounded by the IRS. I'm thinking he tried to work with them on good terms for a long time and just snapped.

anyway I think the 'terrorism' thing is understatement is all.  Normal people have been snappin' and shooting each other because of the crisis etc....  and I think this is what we have here.  and those people shooting each other arn't called terrorist. or even people who do these things spur of the moment who end up in mental institutions ......  And I have seen these people working there.  They are sick before anything else.  So I would probably call this dude sick... suicidal to do this spare of the moment before a terrorist act.    and maybe since it was with an airplane this is sensationalized as much as the word terrorism is itself and so both wouldn't be right I guess.

[2NaFish]

if he was just sick then he would've hung himself or blew his brains out, instead he flew a plane in to a building.

this guy was clearly making a statement.

(just for the record, everything you say about him being sick and desperate could just as easily be applied to the 9/11 terrorists, or any other)

[Sean]

if he was just sick then he would've hung himself or blew his brains out, instead he flew a plane in to a building.

this guy was clearly making a statement.

and thelma and louise drove off a cliff.  Anyway there are tons of incidents where suicidal people acted out their aggressions in public. If you think the kid who shot up his high school with guns killing people before he blows off his head an act of TERRORISM ... then I agree with you, this was an act of.    I just think there is much more to talk about here.......     he could be the savoir of the human race

(just for the record, everything you say about him being sick and desperate could just as easily be applied to the 9/11 terrorists, or any other)

I was talking about mental illness on a whole other level than an organization who plans these attacks for years and train for them

[2NaFish]

shooting up a school is nothing more than an expression of anger, this guy is seeking to force a change in the way the gov acts through fear - ie the definition of terrorism. you're comparing apples and oranges.

this guy easily fits any definition of terrorism you care to find.

[nemo]

This seems not to be some plot by a group or anything like that.  I mean maybe you are getting hung up on its an airplane.  He could have walked in with a gun and shot the place up. That isn't a reason to call it terrorism.   more like disgrunted people pushed over the edge.

Now if this was a planned attack by a group then yes I would use the T word for local terrorism.

You've fallen into exactly the trap we were discussing earlier in the thread with regards to people forgetting what 'terrorism' actually means.  We're not saying he's Al Qu'eda here, or that he was fighting for a religious belief or anything like that, these are all things that have been incorporated into a very strange definition of terrorism that has been gaining prominence in the Western world over the past 10 or 15 years (and obviously accelerated rapidly post 9/11) where there seem to be a number of different criteria which point toward terrorism (some of which, such as being a muslim, seem to carry more weight than others) and if a given candidate scores enough points across those criteria we label him/her a terrorist.

"Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a lone attack), and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians)."

i'd say he fulfills all 3 clauses there, to me that makes him a terrorist.  It doesn't make him a terrorist organisation, it does make him an individual who used terror and violence against civilians as a means of promoting an ideological goal.

[Sean]

shooting up a school is nothing more than an expression of anger, this guy is seeking to force a change in the way the gov acts through fear - ie the definition of terrorism. you're comparing apples and oranges.

this guy easily fits any definition of terrorism you care to find.

ok then we disagree.  I see no difference in a school picking on the brain of a young sick kid who then takes his suicidal aggression on the very thing that in his  mind is hurting him..... to the point to  using his weapon against him....  snapping.....  and making a statement

and

IRS agency picking on the brain of a young sick man who takes his suicidal aggression on the very thing that his his mind is hurting him ... to the point he fly's free with his weapon... snapping ... and making a statement.

same thing.   he just choose to use an airplane.   and the kid a gun.   both mental illness first.    How they got to that point is something else.  but the end result is not because of an agenda.