What is 'Terrorism', and Why Can't People of Colour Be Victims of It?

From my latest post on ABC Religion and Ethics:

What is "terrorism"? What do we mean by describing an individual, a group, or an act as "terrorist"?

The most basic answer is that terrorism terrorizes, and thus any individual, group or act that causes others to feel terrified is terroristic in nature.

Such an answer is, of course, far too general to be of use, for then we would have to ask, for example, why the Charlie Hebdo deaths have been described in the media as caused by a "terror attack" while the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have not.

Continued...