By Laura Howells, Jacob McNair and Emily Pardo
When should journalists use the word “terrorism?”
Why refer to the attack in Edmonton as terrorism, and not the mass shooting in Las Vegas?
Does it matter that neither the Edmonton attacker nor the Quebec City mosque shooter from January have actually been charged with terrorism?
In this episode, we explore what the word “terrorism” means, its racial implications, and whether journalists should use the term at all.
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This week’s guests include:
- Lorne Dawson, director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society.
- Khaled Beydoun, law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, author of American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear, and writer of a recent Washington Post op-ed about our “stunning double standard” when it comes to talking about terrorism
- Shree Paradkar, race and gender columnist at the Toronto Star.
Reference links:
Distinctions of terrorism matter: Analysis
Michelle Shephard, Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/10/02/analysis-distinctions-of-terrorism-matter.html
https://www.cjr.org/special_report/journalism_cover_terrorism.php
The motive doesn’t matter: Mass shootings are always terror
Doug Saunders, Globe and Mail: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-motive-doesnt-matter-mass-shootings-are-always-terror/article36463398/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&
Why we should resist calling the Las Vegas shooting terrorism
Masha Gessen, The New Yorker:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-we-should-resist-calling-the-las-vegas-shooting-terrorism
Mass murder or terrorism? Who decides what to call it?:
Diana Swain, CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/mass-murder-vs-terrorism-1.4344766
Quebec City and Edmonton attacks: Why it’s difficult to lay terrorism charges in Canada
Sean Fine, Globe and Mail: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-city-and-edmonton-attacks-why-its-difficult-to-lay-terrorism-charges-in-canada/article36479538/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&
‘Lone wolf’: Our stunning double standard when it comes to race and religion
Khaled Beydoun, Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/10/02/lone-wolf-our-stunning-double-standard-when-it-comes-to-race-and-religion/?utm_term=.9dfaac47787c
Grieve for Las Vegas, Edmonton, but sidestep the trolls
Shree Paradkar, Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/10/02/grieve-for-las-vegas-edmonton-but-sidestep-the-trolls-paradkar.html
