A timely question considering some are annoyed that the Chapel Hill killing/assassination/conflict was called terrorism by some, a simple parking dispute by others, and it seems that political ideology played a major role in which term was applied.
Perhaps a side topic, but something that has grown increasingly interesting to me, is this newfound comfort level that some folks have in talking about Muslims. I'll be the first to admit that the dickheads killing civilians around the world are helping form the opinions of people inclined to hate an entire group, but it used to be that a person who stood in a corner screaming "go back to your country terrorist!" (you third generation, American-born Arab guy who happens to be Muslim) was looked at as a xenophobic idiot. Now the level of acceptable speech towards Muslims seems to have been lowered to the point where some pretty vile, mean-spirited, derogatory comments are looked at as not that bad.
I've experienced it first hand in public, in the workplace, at school. I take pride in having thick skin, and if someone wants to be an uninformed bigot, Shaq-fu them and their wig wearing mama, but I do worry about the environment my kids grow up in, and the types of comments that seem to be considered acceptable today, that maybe a decade, fifteen years ago, were considered quite rude and hurtful.
Perhaps a side topic, but something that has grown increasingly interesting to me, is this newfound comfort level that some folks have in talking about Muslims. I'll be the first to admit that the dickheads killing civilians around the world are helping form the opinions of people inclined to hate an entire group, but it used to be that a person who stood in a corner screaming "go back to your country terrorist!" (you third generation, American-born Arab guy who happens to be Muslim) was looked at as a xenophobic idiot. Now the level of acceptable speech towards Muslims seems to have been lowered to the point where some pretty vile, mean-spirited, derogatory comments are looked at as not that bad.
I've experienced it first hand in public, in the workplace, at school. I take pride in having thick skin, and if someone wants to be an uninformed bigot, Shaq-fu them and their wig wearing mama, but I do worry about the environment my kids grow up in, and the types of comments that seem to be considered acceptable today, that maybe a decade, fifteen years ago, were considered quite rude and hurtful.