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Bethami A. Dobkin: Using the language of leadership against terrorism

The latest mass shootings constitute a public crisis that public officials now call acts of terrorism. As an educator and scholar, I welcome the terrorism label and the explicit connections to white supremacy.

I began studying terrorism, politics and media in the 1980s. I’ve been waiting since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing for domestic terrorism to be publicly recognized as such. Finally, we have an opportunity to bring the full force of law and respond to the perpetrators of racist killings.

We must also address the context in which white supremacy flourishes and the consequences of our language.