Kimberly Pariyavanh

ASA 2 A03

23 October 2015

Blog 6

Response to “Monster, Terrorist, Fag: The War on Terrorism and the Production of Docile Patriots”

            When it comes to insults and comparisons, I think people forget how their words change a perspective on a person or issue. In the reading, media used metaphors such as “…two different heads of the same monster”. As these descriptions appear, people are more likely to wish violence upon these individuals instead of putting on a critical lens and trying to grasp what other issues contribute to one committing terrorist attacks. I also found it interesting about how there is this “West perspective” and how people often try to use it to justify the mindset of those who are considered terrorists. Sometimes theories and findings that apply for one country may not smoothly transfer to another one because there are different values, cultural aspects, and even environmental settings. I think it is important to consider some of the factors in an attempt to gain a full understanding on an issue that takes place outside of what is familiar and what we consider home.

Question: When did terrorism studies first make its appearance? Who was the first to release a study or article about this topic?

Image title: "Harsh Bin Laden Zombie Target"