Reply #36: That, Sir, Strikes Me As Humorous

[The Magistrate]

Indeed, were one to engage it seriously, it would be difficult to determine where to begin, for first it would be necessary to extract some genuine meaning from the statement, and that is not an easy task.

"State terrorism", like its precursor "terrorism", means only violence of which the person employing the term does not approve. Your use of it tells me you do not approve of many actions by the Israeli military, but that was not in question in the first place, and it tells nothing at all about those actions you disapprove of. Therefore it conveys no useful meaning, and cannot be said to advance discussion of the matter.

Were you to commence with particulars, we would doubtless find that many Israeli actions you are of the opinion are dead wrong strike me as things that are necessary and supportable, and well within the normal bounds of state action throughout human history. There would be little profit to such an exchange.