What was then the worst mass murder in this country--was not called terrorism

[Horse with no Name]

It still bothers me that people are insistent on calling the Ft. Hood shootings a terrorist attack.
It simply was not. It was one man who went berserk and took out his aggressions on innocent bystanders. Terrorism was immediately invoked after learning the nationality of the accused.
Less than a few miles up the road, in the same town, 18 years previous, what was considered "the worst mass murder in U.S. history", another man took out his aggressions on innocent bystanders and not once did I ever hear the word terrorist brought up. The words "bloodbath" and "massacre" and "rampage" were used readily, but never terrorist.
There is a commonality in these two attacks--one that will never be addressed in the latter. Mental illness.
Make your own assumptions on the reasons why "terrorism" was invoked. I know I have.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/first100/1001214.html
>>>snip
Before Oct. 16, 1991, the Central Texas town of Killeen was perhaps best known for its proximity to the Army base at Fort Hood, and Luby's was known only regionally as a popular cafeteria chain that served a wide variety of inexpensive dishes.

But on that day, both came to be linked to what was then the worst mass murder in U.S. history.

At 12:45 p.m., 35-year-old George Hennard of nearby Belton drove his pickup truck through a window at the Killeen Luby's and killed 24 people.
>>>snip
Under the Thursday, Oct. 17, headline "Bloodbath in Killeen," a story by Chronicle reporter Cindy Rugeley summarized what witnesses had seen: "He calmly and methodically strolled through the cafeteria, randomly shooting innocent people as they crouched under tables. Often he would stick the gun at a victim's head or body and fire."
>>>snip
The story included an officer's description of the scene: "DPS spokesman Mike Cox said after the attack that the cafeteria looked like a slaughterhouse or a scene from a movie. 'There are bodies scattered throughout the entire cafeteria,' Cox said. 'The floor is covered with broken glass, bullet holes, bullet fragments, blood. It's almost a surrealistic, nightmarish scene.' "
>>>snip

[WCGreen]

1. If it had been a white guy from Texas, it would have been a crime...

[alittlelark]

2. It was a white guy - not sure of his statehood...

[WCGreen]

7. I just saw one pic of the guy and he looked Northern African to me...

I know he is a Muslim and I have a feeling a lot of the good people in Texas don't consider a Muslim to be white...

[niyad]

11. think the previous poster meant the luby cafeteria killer

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Another famous Texas mass murderer

from an earlier time, former marine Charles Whitman. I don't recall him being called a terrorist either. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman

[Hangingon]

19. Again no connection to terrorist leaning clerics.

[LakeSamish706]

4. Well guess what? It still pisses me off that people are calling 9/11 a terroist attack....

And we still have not had an appropriate re-investigation into this...

[from outer space]

5. Justice - judge jury and executioner,oops - media style!

The procedure of Justice in America is built on the foundation that one is innocent until proven guilty, with the corollary that, if you're remotely Muslim, even a psycho bipolar PREtraumatic stess disorder split personality strip-club-visiting-beer-drinkin'/mandress-wearin'-mosque-visitin' Mozlem, why, then you're guilty until proven, ah who am i kidding, they don't need to wait for a verdict!

[naaman fletcher]

6. Seems ok to me..

Assuming that the Fort Hood shooter did this to make a political point, then it's fair to call it terrorism. The Killeen shooter wasn't apparently trying to make a political point.

[Historic NY]

8. Richard Speck July 13, 1966, kille 8 nurses.., ..

Charles Whitman August 1, 1966 killed 14 wounded 32 from the University of Texas at Austin tower,

http://crime.about.com/od/serial/Serial_Killers_and_Mass_Murderers.htm

[JVS]

9. VA tech was more

[enigmatic]

10. This was the worst mass murder

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bauerle/disaster.htm

[guitar man]

12. There have been far worse mass murders

Like this one :cry:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre?wasRedirected=true

[bsd13]

13. Does it really matter what we call it?

Let's call it a "hate crime" because the guy clearly hates Americans, and American policies. But whatever, let's just call it something and then string him up.

[gleaner]

14. In 1984 in San Ysidro ....

James Oliver Huberty left his house and told his wife he was going to "hunt humans." He went to a nearby McDonalds. Once inside he began shooting. Before his rampage was over he had killed 22 people. He was a white guy, an unemployed security guard who had wanted to be a policeman. He died during his rampage and so no one was ever able to question him as to exactly why he had done it.

Joan Crock, the widow of the owner of the McDonalds chain simply shut the restaurant down and turned the land into a park. She donated it to the community hoping to restore some peace to the hearts and minds of the people of San Ysidro.

No one ever called Huberty a terrorist, or ever thought of him as anything other than a random killer who had finally lost whatever tenuous grip he had held on reality. The story played for a few weeks and then sank quietly out of the minds of everyone except those of us who remember watching the news and wondering what possesses people to do things like this. I don't understand the Fort Hood shooter either, but I tend to view him as the same kind of barely here and not quite sane person that Huberty was.

[niyad]

16. I remember that-- and remember being in the park created after.

[gleaner]

20. It is very hard to forget .......

I hope the park was the peaceful healing place that Joan Crock intended it to be. Thanks for your response.

[Swamp Rat]

15. Manifest Destiny

[anigbrowl]

17. an excellent point. Terrifying =/= terrorism. nt

[Hangingon]

18. I dont believe George Hennard had islamic ties or jihadic ideas.