Terrorism is a scary word. It is used by the government and media alike to denote actions so heinous that they cannot be categorized any other way. Terrorism is mass death. Terrorism is everything the U.S. stands against. Acts of terrorism, however, are not perpetrated by a single ethnic or religious group.

A terrorist is a person aimed at making political gains through destructive actions. This does not mean, however, that there are unified politics at work behind all collective acts of terrorism. Those who committed the atrocities of 9/11 had a specific agenda. So did Timothy McVeigh when he went forward with the Oklahoma City bombings. Many lives were lost in both cases. Both acts were an attempt to make a point — a large one on a huge scale.

Notably, though, McVeigh was a Caucasian American who had once served in the United States military, whereas al-Qaida — the international terrorist organization responsible for the attacks on 9/11 — is a militant Islamic group founded by Osama Bin Laden. Obviously, “acts of terror” can arise out of totally distinct ideologies.

What does this tell us about terrorists, exactly? It tells us, perhaps, the most important thing of all. There is not an “average” terrorist. Unfortunately, when a large scale act of destruction occurs, many Americans scream toward Islam as the ultimate cause. But why? The deadliest act of terrorism aside from 9/11 is the Oklahoma City bombing. The Sandy Hook school shooting could very well be labeled as domestic terrorism — and it was perpetrated by an American-born Caucasian. I find it disheartening and extremely un-American that some misguidedly view the entire Islamic population as terrorists — we still have those people who hesitate to board a plane alongside a man reading the Quran or a woman in a hijab.

Belonging to a particular religion or culture does not make one a terrorist. A terrorist is a person who is politically radicalized to the point at which violence seems the only logical answer. Terrorists can be men or women. They can be tall or short. Perhaps they have blue eyes or brown. They may be extremely politically liberal or violently conservative. They may also be Catholic or Muslim or Atheist. They may be of Arab descent, or they might have been born in the U.S. to white parents. They could also be anywhere in between.

There is nothing we can say for certain about terrorists in general, other than that they are violent extremists. We cannot condemn an entire group of people for the actions of few of its members, and it is important to remember that more people are good than evil — we ought to air on the side of that assumption.

Jeri Cosgrove is a third-year English student with a concentration in creative writing.