Letter: By any definition, Whitehorn is clearly a terrorist

Laura Whitehorn and Visiting Professor Becky Thompson have achieved what I would have never thought possible: They motivated me to side with the Duke Conser-vative Union. It is Whitehorn who does not understand the definition of the word "terrorism"--not, as she suggests, members of the DCU.

For her convenience, here it is, from Webster's Dictionary, 1994: ter-ror-ism (n): the systematic use of terror esp. as a means of coercion. ter-ror (n): 4. violence (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands. Before either White-horn or Thompson accuses the editors of Webster's or myself of falling victim to post-Sept. 11 hysteria, I would ask that they note the publication date listed above. I would also note that the definitions above conform nicely to those I learned in Martin Miller's "History of Terrorism" class years ago. Notice that resultant casualties are not mentioned: Whitehorn's justification that she took every precaution to ensure no one was hurt is meaningless. Granted, Whitehorn's actions were not "systematic" (thanks in large part to the United States court system), nor is she a "group." However, these are very thin threads upon which to hang an argument.

Put simply, for Whitehorn to refer to herself as a "political prisoner" after planting a bomb in the U.S. Capitol is outrageous. That she would express surprise over the DCU's reaction to her campus visit boggles the mind. Even worse, Thompson calls Whitehorn's actions "the opposite of terrorism" and suggests they were motivated by patriotism. This is irresponsible in the extreme and just plain wrong. Whitehorn had other, legitimate means of protesting the United States's involvement in Grenada and she made a conscious decision to ignore them, choosing instead the path of violence and intimidation. Yet to this day, she does not seem to comprehend the nature of her actions.

I hope that in the future, Duke's faculty uses a greater degree of discretion when inviting speakers to campus.