Final+Essay

Natalie Izevbigie Charles Grimm ENGL 1102 31 March 2017 Views on Terrorism  Terrorism is a major issue that has been the topic of discussion around the world for almost the past twenty years. There is a lot of controversy surrounding what exactly qualifies as an act of terror and what types of groups or people are most likely to carry out these crimes. According to the Oxford English Dictionary terrorism is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. While this definition seems very clear, the perception of what a terrorists is can be different depending on where you are or who you are talking to. Although there have been instances of terrorism that have happened before then, since 9/11 a common narrative has been formed that classifies certain groups of people, mostly those who are of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, as capable of enacting this type of violence and that we should monitor and beware of them. This greatly ignores the rising domestic extremism that is taking place in the United States and makes terrorism more about ostracizing people who fit into particular demographics as opposed to combating violent attacks.

The racial framework that exist in American society contributes to the ways in which we talk about terrorism. Racial framing, a concept created by sociologist Joe Feagin, is the collection of racial ideas, stereotypes, images, emotions, and inclinations to discriminate. Stereotypes of violence are often attributed to African Americans, Latinos, and Middle Easterners. There are systems that are put in place where people use this generalizations as a justification to profile people who are apart of these groups. When talking specifically about terrorism, Middle Easterners are the main ethnic group that are branded terrorists.