Times Square Vehicle Incident Doesn't Appear To Be Terrorism But Let's Understand Why People Would Think It Is

The first thing I did when I learned of the massive car crash in Times Square which has claimed one life and injured 19 others was to call my Dad. Fortunately he was working out in the gym watching the spectacle on TV.


The second thing I wondered was if terrorism had hit New York City again. At the moment, it appears this is not the case. The person in custody is a Hispanic male from the Bronx who had two previous DWI arrests although witnesses did indicate the driver seemed to be deliberately targeting people.


But now that it appears not to be a terrorist incident, lefties are taking to Twitter to say things such as:


"Pretty sick that the alt-right (far-right) are crying big fascist tears because the Times Square accident wasn't a terror attack."


"If you're disappointed that the Times Square incident appears to be a DWI and not terrorism, look at your life and look at your choices."


"The name of the Times Square driver is Richard Rojas. So it's safe to say the incident in NY is NOT Muslim Terrorism. Stop freaking out."


"Regarding the horrible heartbreaking crash in Times Square, please be careful about shouting terrorism the moment anything happens."


I don't think any reasonable person wishes this was a terrorist attack. Indeed, it is entirely reasonable to think this was a terrorist attack. First, Times Square is one of the most well known places in the world and thousands of people are there at any given moment. Second, let us not forget the would be Times Square Bomber seven years ago this month. If not for an alert T-shirt vendor there would have been enormous bloodshed. Can we really say someone won't try to target Times Square again. Remember the World Trade Center saw not one, but two terrorist attacks. Third, ramming attacks have become Islamic terrorists preferred weapon be it in Israel, Nice, Berlin and in London outside the Houses of Westminster less than two months ago.


It is worth remembering that London's Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan stated following the attack that terrorism was "part and parcel of living in a big city." If elected officials in the West are telling us that terrorism is a fact of life then why can't people consider Islamic terrorism as a possibility without being called Islamophobic?


So even if today's events at Times Square aren't terrorism one cannot blame a reasonable person for considering the possibility.