The Stig
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by The Stig on Jan 16, 2011 9:44:17 GMT -5
There are also a lot of Americans, including some in the government, who have a long record of supporting terrorist groups. Peter King and Ted Kennedy, for example, were both ardent supporters of the IRA (a terrorist group by any definition).
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RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
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Post by RusskyHoya on Jan 16, 2011 11:32:25 GMT -5
So you believe Bill Ayers wasn't a terrorist? Of course he was, by any definition. I'm really not following here. The point isn't where or not Ayers was a terrorist (although if one goes by Dan and Bruce's 5 criteria, then it becomes open to debate, since he has insisted that all of the bombings he was involved in were against property only and did not kill/injure anyone). No rational person, Palin included, is actually worried that Ayers is actively connected to terrorism, and he was never convicted of any related charges. Instead, the goal is purely political - because "terrorism" is this end-all and be-all of evil, Obama is guilty by association. "Palling around with terrorists" is very much a rhetorical throwback to the "consort with known communists" slanders of the 50s. Terrorist becomes something one IS, rather than something one DOES, which then allows for the delegitimization of the individual - and anything (s)he touches - without having to truly analyze the situation. And, as SSHoya and The Stig have noted, the standard is heavily politically dependent. In the political sphere, it does not get applied to Begin or Yitzhak Shamir, who were terrorists of a far more violent and successful sort than the Weathermen, nor to the many prominent people in the U.S. who "palled around" with the IRA, nor Nelson Mandela and the Umkhonto we Sizwe, nor those who aided and abetted the Nicaraguan Contras, etc. etc. In some ways it's inevitable - polemicists will always appropriate the popular terms of the day - but rigor usually gets sacrificed as a result. One need only look as far as Palin, Santorum, and Biden, among others, labeling Julian Assange a terrorist to observe the leeching of meaning from the term. (As a historical aside, the perpetrators of "la Terreur" didn't seem to view the term as a pejorative, and Nechayev described himself as a terrorist in full seriousness.) |
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The Stig
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 2,844
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Post by The Stig on Jan 16, 2011 21:25:17 GMT -5
One need only look as far as Palin, Santorum, and Biden, among others, labeling Julian Assange a terrorist to observe the leeching of meaning from the term. And in the same vein, the now ex-president of Tunisia called the protesters "terrorists" in the hope that the West would see them as a threat and support his attempts to crack down on them. In the end, terrorism is simply a tactic, not a movement. Sometimes people we like us it, sometimes people we don't like use it. |
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Bando
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
I've got some regrets!
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Post by Bando on Jan 17, 2011 18:58:10 GMT -5
There are also a lot of Americans, including some in the government, who have a long record of supporting terrorist groups. Peter King and Ted Kennedy, for example, were both ardent supporters of the IRA (a terrorist group by any definition). Peter King is now, of course, the chair of the Homeland Security Committee. Terrorism: totally fine when done by white people! |
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hoyainspirit
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
When life puts that voodoo on me, music is my gris-gris.
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Post by hoyainspirit on Jan 18, 2011 10:24:09 GMT -5
There are also a lot of Americans, including some in the government, who have a long record of supporting terrorist groups. Peter King and Ted Kennedy, for example, were both ardent supporters of the IRA (a terrorist group by any definition). Peter King is now, of course, the chair of the Homeland Security Committee. Terrorism: totally fine when done by white people! At least he's got a lot of experience dealing with terrorism.  |
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