October 5th 2026

Cry Terrorism

Cry terrorism

One of Aesop’s Fables, Cry Wolf, tells the story of a bored shepherd boy who, seeking some excitement, cries out that a wolf is attacking his sheep. The first time, the villagers rush to help him.

And the second time.

Maybe even the third time.

But it was all a ploy. There was no wolf.

One day, a wolf appears, and the boys’ cries fall on deaf ears.

The wolf of 2026 is terrorism.

And people – particularly politicians and those who seek to gain – are crying terrorism so much at so many incidents, often moments after the incident, before anyone has established facts, that the word has become ho-hum.

A terrorist incident happens every day of the week on the current news cycle.

Ho-hum is the point.

All the drama, all the shit stirring fear, all the othering.

The othering. It is shocking. Those others. Not like us.

Terrorism – illegal acts are distinguished from ordinary crime by their ideological or political motive and intent to intimidate. Crime + political motive + intent to intimidate or coerce.

The Australian Parliament describes terrorism as: A terrorist is a person who uses violent actions, destruction, or the threat of violence to create fear and coerce a government, public, or group to achieve political, religious, or ideological goals.

Before we cry terrorism and assign the label, we might interrogate what happened. We might also consider that if an act of violence, or the threat of violence, is perpetrated by one of our allies, or even our own government, does that also make it terrorism, or are we cherry-picking based on our political or ideological goals?

The word terrorism has lost its meaning.

Published October 5th 2026. Photo taken October 5th 2023