Jared Loughner, the maniac that went on a rampage in Tucson, Arizona killing six people Saturday is a terrorist, plain and simple. But what is it that makes us afraid to use that term? Is it because he doesn't wear a white flowing robe or doesn't have a beard? Or maybe it's because he's American and on our soil — but really, what he did and what he stands for is no different than some fuck that flew an airplane into the WTC. So let's call this sick puppy what he is — and label him along with the many others just like him: terrorists.
What Loughner did last weekend was heinous and sickening. And just like acts done by others we refer to as terrorists, it was cowardly. This whack-o had an agenda and a plan that he carried out. He also has sympathizers that like him, believe the US government is what's wrong with the world and that its members should pay dearly. That scares the hell out of me.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think all idiots that spew hate and divisive rhetoric, forcing people to cower in fear should be locked up at Guantanamo Bay. Hell, we'd have to disband congress and followers of Limbaugh, Palin and Hannity would have to find other ways to fill their time. (Nice how I worked that in.) But just because someone doesn't "look like a terrorist" doesn't mean he isn't, it just means we need to get our mind around this way of thinking and used to the fact that our enemies are all around us, and maybe even the neighbor next door.
I Got Issues* 