[user104658]

Originally Posted by Ninastar

If this beheading had happened at any other time, other than a RED ALERT for terrorism, I'm sure a lot more people would not think it's terrorism.

But that is exactly my point. People are seeing ghosts in every window, because someone's told them that the castle is haunted. It's the whole purpose of terrorism - to make people fear attack. To see threats and danger at every turn when in reality the chances of being directly affected by such an attack are incredibly low.

I'm not being naive or saying that terrorist attacks don't happen. I'm just saying that it's frankly bizarre that news sources have to point out, in cases like this, that it's "probably not related to the terrorism alert level". That it has to be, pointed out that it's highly unlikely for there to have been a complex, multi-layer terrorist cell plot to murder an old lady and some cats.

This is continuing and perpetuating an illusion of constant danger where there is (effectively) none. You are more likely to crash your car and die driving home, or suffer from random cardiac failure right this very second, than you are to be killed or injured in a terrorist attack. "red alert" or not.