Terrorism: The Evolving Definition
There is an unfortunate distortion in the last several years in the use of the word, "Terrorism". It continues to be associated with acts of violence that are either random, unexplained, or targeted towards groups of people. While acts of violence upon seemingly innocent civilians is abhorrent and unacceptable, rarely are these acts actually "terrorism" by definition.
Terrorism is an act of violence perpetrated on non-military/police personnel or civilian structures with the purpose of creating political or policy change. A pissed off employee, unhappy with his recent termination that shows up at his former workplace with a rifle and starts shooting is not "terrorism". It is murder or attempted murder. Addtionally, a radicalized religious fanatic that decides to kill "infidels" is not necessarily a terrorist either, but rather someone that has for one reason or another decided that killing "non-believers" somehow endows him/herself to some future benefits in the after-life from his/her chosen God.
But Jerry, who really cares and why is this important? The answer is: because words matter. We give words meanings so that we can comprehend, utilize and respond to them appropriately. If we continue to define most acts of apparently senseless violence as terrorism, then we diminish our ability to eradicate the people or organizations that are truly trying to undermine the political establishments that we have created.
Assigning such a broad scope of violence the term "terrorism" then allows enforcement of policies to combat terrorism an equally broad scope of powers. In the U.S. we have seen our various national security agencies and forces given "Carte Blanche" in combatting "terrorism" both domestically and abroad. Whenever actions are taken by these agencies that appear reprehensible in nature and are often a violation of our own laws, these agencies cry "War on Terror" and are absolved of culpability. Think Guantanamo. This has become a slippery slope in which the U.S. and its allies continue to perpetrate crimes under international and even U.S. law with impunity under the guise of "anti-terrorist" operations.
Motive Matters
There is a monumental difference between the idiot who shoots up a school and a woman who executes her rapists. They are both murderers, but the circumstances are significantly different and so are the ways in which society needs to address the incidents with potential solutions.
We need to understand the goal behind acts of violence before we randomly assign the word "terrorism" to tragedies. I'm not saying that we should reduce our vigilance in attempting to stop such acts of violence, but we do need to keep perspective in the process.
Case in point: One year ago, I was having coffee with a business associate in St. Petersburg when a man blew himself up on a train in the Metro not 1 mile from where I sat. This individual killed himself and 14 others and injured over 50 people. It was random, unannounced and horrific. The dead and injured didn't know the man and there remains no obvious reason for his actions.
However, the incident has been classified as a terror attack. Why? Because the man was a Muslim from a Central Asian country and had visited some Islamic sites. No proven association with any terror groups has been presented and he made no statements before his act of violence. He had been in Russia for 5 years and had worked as a mechanic.
Is there a chance that he had become radicalized by extremist groups that might want to change Russian policy in Syria or some other region? Sure, but there were no demands made in the aftermath, and yet somehow Al Queda gets credit. If he wanted to make a political statement, then why not leave something with such a statement - a note, a post on social media, an email to a media outlet? Were there political motivations? If so, what were they. It is also completely possible that he didn't even know he was carrying a bomb and was setup by some unknown person or group. Who would want to do that? The list is endless. The Russian government itself, the U.S. or it's allies, some extremist group that couldn't find volunteer suicide bombers, etc.
Conclusion - More Questions and More Answers
If we are truly concerned about acts of terror, then societies must find more inclusive ways to ask questions and verify answers. Independent commissions populated by citizen groups and media representatives are rarely used anymore and yet we know that they are more effective. Instead, we just trust the security services to inform us of what they have concluded. Often these are the same services that failed to prevent the tragedies to begin with. If you would like to see another textbook example, Google "Skripal" and let me know if you still trust the authorities to accurately inform us without any oversight.
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Our teens hate it, but I scrutinize everything they say now. Words like "triggered","shook","literally" all have meaning, but it is rarely the meaning they use them for. It's working, I think. Now they tell me to "stop bullying" before I can even say anything now.
Good post and point.
LOL Great comment! Thanks. Yes, I think it's working. My mom used to say that my biggest complaint as a child was that things weren't "fair", so she would make me explain what was "fair" in my opinion and usually it was only that I should get my way over someone else. I would like to think it worked in making me a thinker, but who knows? Maybe I'm just an insensitive, entitled, bullying, SOB, that hates fairness now.
Hahaha, that reminds me of the time our oldest wanted chicken nuggets and we had purged the house of the really crappy stuff like those and hot dogs. I made some chicken nuggets by cutting up some chicken breast and breading it, like I had done several times before. The trouble was this time she caught me cutting up the chicken. She said that she wasn't eating the real chicken and that it wasn't fair that she couldn't have the processed nuggets. She went so far as to say it was child abuse.
I told her that she might want to rethink telling a judge that we wouldn't feed her processed food and that we only had fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat in the house.
I would have been just like your daughter. I once threatened my parents with child abuse because I didn't have a box spring under my mattress like my friend. Lol
That's funny. When I was a kid Air Jordans came out and the town kids were all getting them. I felt left out and put them on my wish list, quite dramatically. My grandmother bought me a pair of what she thought were the $100 shoes at Sears for $39.
They were not Air Jordans and they taught me a valuable lesson.
I did not want to be lumped in with that bunch of Converse-wearing, bullying assholes. They also taught me that you probably won't feel punches when your adrenaline is pumping while you are getting beat up, so you can be free to hit back.
I didn't whine too much about being poor after that.
Unfortunately it's a symptom of current practice across the board. "Racism" has been watered down, "bullying" is being watered down--in both cases those labels are getting slapped liberally on people for merely disagreeing or being rude. Even the Weather Channel has fallen for it...we don't just have storms anymore, now every weather event is a Super Storm! or Death Hurricane! (ok, I made that up) but I've gotten to the point in all of the above examples of rolling my eyes and moving on instead of taking anybody seriously. I agree with you that somebody needs to call Time Out on the misuse of terrorism, because I'm leery of any process that gives government an opportunity to suspend people's rights with such a blanket excuse.
Thanks for commenting. Yes, I am with you 100%. I remember correcting my children every time they claimed something was "racist". That was years ago, but the destruction of our language continues. Some would say it has led to a society of "victims" instead of heroes, but where we are told that "victims are heroes". Sensationalism has won the day and the idiots that were paraded around daytime television many years ago as proverbial "circus freaks" are now a highly represented part of American society. It's amazing.
I'm with you that the biggest concern we should have is the wholesale sacrifice of our rights in the "fight against terrorism". Killing Americans without due process, perpetual war against countless countries, etc.
" Some would say it has led to a society of "victims" instead of heroes, but where we are told that "victims are heroes". "
That's really insightful...and I'm one of those who agrees that it's the case!!
I have complained for years how words have been changed. Words like Diva and nice for example. The list could fill many posts. It is a form of manipulation meant to direct the cattle (subjects/citizens/slaves) in the desired direction by the masters.
To fully understand this requires one dedicate their time to understanding what is real, which will explain why the motivations exist that causes this. I am still going down this rabbit hole after beginning my journey into it decades ago. It all begins in my understanding with realizing that in the hierarchy we are looked down upon, to be used as resources for the good of the owners. They would prefer our quiet acquiescence so they use tricks like definition change to corral the majority into the part of the pen they desire. Once one understands that we are viewed as property (a hard fact to really swallow on more than an abstract intellectual level) it becomes easier to find out how and why this has all come about.
A thought provoking post, as I have come to expect from you. One that most would prefer not to examine as they are more than content to let their master approved experts explain what todays truths are.
Thanks for the great comment, as always. Yes, once we accept that things aren't what they seem, it becomes very hard work to wrap our minds around it. I went down the rabbit hole a few years ago when the San Bernadino shooting in Cali went from 3 shooters to 2 overnight and both of them were killed immediately. No answers provided on motivation or anything. Instead we get the "iPhone can't be unlocked" BS where Apple supposedly stands up for our rights by refusing to unlock the phone, which thousands of people said they could do for free. Somehow, our national security groups couldn't manage it? yeah right. Once I saw that play out I started revisiting other incidents and facts don't add up. They just get labeled as "terrorism" or "gun violence" and the sheeples swallow it whole. This has led to some sleepless nights as I try to game theory it all out. Now, part of me thinks that I've just gone insane. lol Rabbit hole indeed.
Insightful read, though difficult subject matter! I think you are right that getting to the roots of motivation will help us better address these tears in our society. What a challenge though.
Thanks for commenting. Yes, I agree it is a difficult subject and hard to know the best way to address it. I have done quite a bit of research on the economics of terrorism and armed conflict and my best conclusion is that what we typically do in anti-terrorism campaigns isn't working the way we think they will. A more nefarious conclusion of some people is that terrorism isn't actually a problem of terrorists, but rather a justification to continue spending resources on countering it.
Most important thing about terrorism is the expanding of violence culture and making it normal in public mind.
Agreed. It has almost become commonplace and nearly everywhere. Thanks for commenting.
good post...upvoted and thanks for your support.
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