Monday, February 22, 2010

Moral/journalistic dilemma: standards of the NYT

" When a man fueled by rage against the U.S. government and its tax code crashes his airplane into a building housing offices of the Internal Revenue Service, is it a criminal act or an act of terrorism?" Thanks AP for this important question. Very good question indeed. Well, I will answer you using the standards of Bill Keller of the New York Times. If the man is Muslim or Arab, this would be clearly a terrorist act. But if the man is non-Arab/non-Muslim, it does not qualify as a terrorist act. And if the man is a staunch Zionist, this would be considered a heroic act and the perpetrator in this case would deserve a recognition by US Congress. OK?