A slain doctor in New York.

An exploded hotel in Vail.

A bus boycott in Montgomery.

Which of these things is not like the other?

And which of these things worked?

During the past week, two pointless acts of terrorism were committed in the U.S.

Dr. Barnett Slepian, who performed abortions in western New York, was shot by a sniper in his house Friday night.

And last week, the Earth Liberation Front set fire to five buildings and four ski lifts in Vail, Colo., to protect the lynx, an animal not seen in the Vail area since 1973, according to a Newsweek article.

It doesn’t matter what people think about these issues. It isn’t important whether the general public wants to stop abortion or wants to save the environment.

What matters here is that one person is dead and over 33,000 square feet of land was damaged — and absolutely nothing was accomplished.

Killing Dr. Slepian and destroying Two Elk Lodge didn’t stop abortions or bring back the lynx. All they did was perpetuate violence, something both right-to-lifers and environmentalists are supposed to oppose.

History has shown that using violence as a means to an end does not work, especially when that end is supposed to be an end to a certain type of violence.

And, in this day of public relations and media trials, neither right-to-lifers nor environmentalists can afford to have their images sullied by these kinds of terrorism.

Let’s face it. How can anti-abortion protesters work to end “baby murder” when they murder adults? And how can environmentalists call for the protection of land for animals when they set fire to it, displacing many more animals?

The end result of last week’s terrorism was actually a setback for both groups, which they cannot afford if they are serious about their causes.

During the 1960s, African Americans fought for their civil rights using non-violent means, including boycotts, marches and sit-ins. They proved that people can fight for their cause without anyone else getting hurt.

Hopefully, the perpetrators of last week’s violence will look back into history and realize how to fight — and win — the right way.