I don't know what it is like to live in a world without terrorism. My generation has been shaped by the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing. Not only that, but there have been so many shootings within the United States that I don't know if I should fear international extremists, or domestic attackers more. The FBI uses the following terms to define terrorism.
"International terrorism" means activities with the following three characteristics:
- Involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law;
- Appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping;
- Occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum.
"Domestic terrorism" means activities with the following three characteristics:
- Involve acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law;
- Appear intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination. or kidnapping;
- Occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.
Just a matter of weeks ago, the San Bernardino shooting occurred. Not long before that, was the shooting in Oregon at Umpqua Community College. Earlier this year, there were mass shootings in Tennessee at a Chattanooga military recruitment center, and at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina. Those are just the ones in the United States. On Nov. 13, 2015, a series of coordinated attacks were carried out in Paris, killing 137 civilians. Less than a year ago were the attacks at a satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in Paris. Whether they were attributed to religious or racist motives, all of these attacks have one thing in common: extremism.
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Every year, when I fly from San Diego to Northern California for the holidays I am reminded that the actions of a few extremists have an effect on the whole world. I have grown up in a world where I am taught to live in fear of a small percentage of the population. Although it is scary to know how often these attacks happen and that they really can happy anywhere to anyone, I know I shouldn't live in fear of any one religion or blame everything on one group of people.
