9 Dead in SC church shooting

[Brian37]

That's still textbook terrorism though. The hijackers in 9/11 probably thought they were martyrs who were doing justice to the world, that's how terrorists think. They rarely think of themselves as "terrorists". Calling it "terrorism" stigmatises this kind of violence towards a political goal, it's necessary. You are right by saying we have to accept no such thing as a utopia, but part of doing that is to make it clear being violent to achieve goals is futile, unnecessary and is terrorism.

To me motives are unimportant, it doesn't matter what he was thinking. Mass violence to further a political goal is terrorism.

I also feel like if you try and be relativist and consider his point of view, you're pandering to him. It makes it sound like his actions are somehow less reprehensible because "well he thought he was right". I'm sure you don't really think he was right, and I know most people don't. We have to be honest here, we're dancing around calling it what it is because he's white and his victims are black. "oh well, it might be terrorism, but let's consider his point of view". Nobody else gets that red carpet treatment, nobody.

Yea, well you can stigmatize any word. "Atheist" while those who use it value themselves, others use it as a slur to stigmatize those who don't hold a god belief. I don't like the word "terrorist" because yea, it may be an attempt to shame the perp, like you said they do it to be martyrs for a cause. "Terrorist" to me elevates what should be a mere criminal into a ideological hero. 

Its been said before by countless, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". I don't think you solve human divisions by using that word. "Terrorist" is a political word. Criminal is a mundane word and that is what we need to do, call them criminals. It should not matter what their ideology is. Remove that ideology, you are left with a street thug murderer. McVeigh was no hero he was a criminal. Isis are nobody's hero, they are murders, criminals. We should not be elevating either with the word "terrorist". Calling them that I think gives them more motivation than simply calling them criminals.