I think it is sort of interesting that terrorism is such a loaded term that people object to its use. Terrorism doesn't have to involve killing people. It just means scaring people into doing what you want.
While I understand what you're saying, the problem with terms like that is that they shut down rational thought for many people.
It's by no means the only such term, though: 'Republican' and 'Democrat' have the same kind of effect for a very large percentage of the problem with thoughts equivalent to, "Oh, he's an X. That tells me all I need to know about him and I don't have to know anything else."
