this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2024
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Protesting isn't terrorism.
Terrorism doesn't have an agreed upon definition, we've charged people with terrorism for occupying a forest, we've also done it for flying a plane into a building. The only unifying factor is a political action the government doesn't sanction.
Which is ridiculous and should be called out as such. Meanwhile we're letting grown men with guns threaten kids over religious ideas.
It's like we all forgot what terrorism actually is.
It has a clear definition. Maybe look it up some time?
In the absence of consensus my opinion prevails (because I said so), and I say the thing OP referenced doesn't count as terrorism. Anyone who disagrees with me is, to put it simply, wrong.
(Occupying a forest sure as Hell doesn't count either, by the way -- and that's one I can speak about with particular authority, being a resident of a nearby neighborhood and personal acquaintances with some of the people involved. Frankly, the Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol are the terrorists here: their actions have not been legitimate enforcing of laws, but rather the acts of a gang trying to claim turf to build their jackbooted-thuggery theme park.)
Except that includes most states, especially the US that kills 10 unintended for every intended target. It's as useless of a term as "authoritarian".
Of course this includes many states. That doesn't mean the term is useless, you just don't like the implication of that.
Except people don't use it that way. If you say "I live in Syria and I am afraid of a terrorist attack", 99/100 people would not understand what you said to possibly mean that you were afraid of the US drone striking you.
If they did, and anyone can use the term to refer to most any political organization and action that is associated with attacks on non-combatants, it becomes useless.
You would be surprised how many people outside of the west correctly identify US drone strikes as terrorist attacks. And no, that does not make the term meaningless at all.
I disagree. The governments try to make all terrorism sound evil, and they call anything they don't like terrorism. The word needs to either stop being used (which isn't going to happen) or associated with as many good and relatively peaceful things as possible as well. As long as the state has a monopoly on terrorism and anyone labeled a terrorist is viewed as evil, the state has all the power on dissent.
Why the fuck would I accept their definition?
Because by using their definition consistently you ridicule and defang the phrase, same as 'queer'. Even by your definition, there have been good terrorists like the abolitionist John Brown, so it is in everyone's best interest to stop acting like terrorism is worse than fascism.