Why do people find it hard to distinguish between jihadis and other people who commit acts of terrorism?

There seems to be this desire, and particularly in America in my opinion, to lump weirdos like Ted Kaczynsky, Timothy McVeigh, and others into the same genus as the bombers, throat cutters, burn-you-alive crowd that identifies themselves as Jihadists.

There have been terrorists forever. Barabbas was arguably a terrorist. And there have even been organizations that planned bombings and murder on a large scale, such as the followers of Luigi Galleani.

But jihadis are all members of the large religion of Islam, and they are world wide. Their peculiar moral framework allows mass maiming and murder and to be regarded as a virtue, even among the follows of the Faith who do not partcipate in jihad. They seek victims from among anyone who does not practice their faith, and among those who do. They are a completely different type of threat to you and me than the others because you can’t arrest them and put them in prison or execute them and thus eliminate the problem that they represent.

They deserve special consideration. Being politically correct and lumping them in with survivalists and psychotics only makes it easier for them to operate with impunity in your neighborhood.

So why do so many people want to act like they are “no different”?