Terrorism

Terrorism, Rampaging, and Pronouncements: Why Expertise Matters When Framing Public Policy

A sudden mass assault and a terrorist attack are both subsumed under the category of performative violence, but they are not the same crime and conflating them jeopardizes prevention efforts by obfuscating a thorough appreciation of the myriad forces underlying extreme violence. Yet, Kash Patel, the current director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in an early tweet on the recent shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minnesota displayed confusion about the distinction between those types of violent episodes. As such his announcement hampers understanding by the lay public and, concomitantly, the development of responsive public policy.