In light of the 9/11 attacks, should acts of terrorism be treated differently from other common-law violent crimes? Should terrorists be executed for...

The term
"terrorism" and "terrorist" are incredibly politically charged terms that
are often used by states and political groups to delegitimize/dehumanize their enemies/political
opponents and to encourage widespread acceptance of violence done against people deemed as
"terrorists." Since 9/11, muslim folks living in the US have been subjected to intense
xenophobia, islamophobia, vigilante white supremacist violence, and state oppression via mass
surveillance and FBI raids.

Over 500,00 civilians (conservative estimate)
were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of the United States' war of aggression against
the people of these countries. Yet, governments, such as the United States government, designate
individuals and groups as terroristseven though they themselves committed mass murders on a
scale that only the genocidal power of states and their militaries are capable of.

Currently, folks involved in the antifascist movement in the US have been repeatedly
deemed as domestic terrorists by the president and his administration and by right-wing media
and far-right political groups. This unofficial designation of antifascist movements has allowed
for the growing acceptance of white supremacist/far-right vigilante violence done against
antifascist groups/individuals and acceptance of designations of people in antifascist movements
as domestic terrorists, which opens the door for intense political repression and state
punishment.

Often, the word "terrorist" is used against people and
groups who oppose the power of a state or status quo. For instance, there is an alarmingly
growing rate of white supremacist mass shootings in this country against people of color and
jewish people (such as the El Paso shooting that followed the release of the shooter's online
white supremacist manifesto). However, these people are often not deemed as terrorists, and
white supremacist groups that have been significantly on the rise since 2016 (such as the League
of the South, the Proud Boys, and the Atomwaffen Division) are often not deemed as terrorists
while antifascist groups and muslim folks are continuously facing the oppression that comes with
being deemed as terrorists.

As such, I do not believe that people deemed as
terrorists by the state should be subjected to harsher laws and punishments, as this term is so
often manipulated in politically charged narratives that only serve the people in power. Rather
than focusing on increasing the power of the state to deem anyone as a terrorist, I would
encourage people concerned with building a better world to turn away from state-based solutions
and think about building grassroots movements for social justice and true
freedom.