Murderous Terrorists Kill Brits

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by classicman

Perhaps your original premise isn't entirely correct.
According to one definition:
Quote:
Terrorism, according to Merriam-Webster is the systematic use of terror, "violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands."Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those acts which (1) are intended to create fear (terror), (2) are perpetrated for an ideological goal , and (3) deliberately target (or disregard the safety of) non-combatants.

So you are in favor of granting the wishes of those who would bomb or otherwise terrorize others?

How is that contradictory to what I said? And I would add that, who the terrorist is depends on which side you're on. In other words, to some Iraqis, WE are the terrorists, to the Palestinians, the Israeli govt is the terrorist. People don't generally start out using terrorism as a tactic, they generally use it when their voices aren't being heard and they don't have the resources (like an army) the other side has. Terrorism usually is a result of actions others have taken - or an effect of a cause. (cause and effect. Every action has consequences. When people take actions they know are controversial and likely to cause trouble, then can we really be surprised when the shit hits the fan?)

I think, when dealing with these kinds of situations, it is extremely important to try and understand where the other side is coming from, something we rarely do in this country (or something the more powerful rarely do). What is their beef? What is it they really want? What are they after? Why have they resorted to these kinds of drastic actions? Try to put yourself in their place, and see how you would feel. See if there is common ground that can be met by both sides. It really is about power: one side has it, the other one doesn't. If we could get out of these heirarchical, patriarchal social structures of power-over, and move into structures of shared power, or power-with, the world would be a much better place.

I honestly do not believe most people want to live in a state of war. I believe most people want peace. When you have a situation where people have been fighting for SO long, it's easy to demonize one side over the other. Well, maybe the "demons" have resorted to doing abhorent things out of necessity. If we don't try to understand their point of view and what they want, we will never solve the problem of terrorism.

And I have to add, I find it very hypocritical that some people support military wars that create terror for the people in the countries where they fight, no matter how noble they believe their purpose might be, and then demonize the other side for actually fighting back. We kill thousands of innocent people in airstrikes and such, we call them collateral damage. So why is it OK when we do it, but not when others target innocents? We may not be targeting innocents, but we know they are there, and we strike anyway. They are still dead.

Having said all of that, I want it to be understood that I do not condone the actions of terrorists. I do understand why some of them do it. Understanding the psychology of something doesn't mean you believe it is right.