> Anybody who murders, rapes or commits other violent- > crimes-against-persons needs to be caught and prosecuted 'to > the max' IMO, but does that make them a terrorist?
My knee-jerk reaction to this was that this was yet another case of authority abuse and overkill, but after thinking it over, I'm not so sure about that anymore. I don't think that I have ever heard of a gang getting together to pick up garbage or make a social call to the local senior center. Usually gang activity is reported as turf wars, theft, murder, violence, etc. How many times have we read or heard stories about gang members being required to murder innocent people (or some other asinine stunt) as an initiation? Granted, that may not be considered the "norm", but it isn't unheard of either. If a group of people (foreign or domestic) use violence, threats and intimidation to manipulate or terrorize others, then yes, they could be labeled as terrorists. (oops, that also describes some recent acts of some military personnel) Ask someone that has had to live with, or deal with gangs, if they would have any problem labeling them terrorists, or if the gangs act any different than terrorists.
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