Originally Posted by
gazhekwe
We have certainly harvested a bunch of home grown terrorists over the years, some with religious leanings, some not. Many many have been of Christian heritage if not practice. Some have been motivated by religion, some by antagonism toward one group or another, some by the desire go out in a blaze of inglory. In my mind, they have all been terrorists.
The distinction here is that this man, though clearly on a religious path, was not motivated to do this act by others of this religion, and cannot be truly connected with them in his current state of learning. He was motivated by rage over loss of his job, and dislike of the people he worked with, and quite likely a sense of injustice because of race.
There has also been a lot of confusion over terror acts. Are they criminal acts, or are they military acts? The two categories require different responses. An act connected with Al Quaeda or ISIL/S or Hamas is one thing, an act by one individual not so connected is another.