Only the weak minded see terrorist around every corner.

[crazyjoe]

Why have so many fallen into the right's trap, hook line and sinker? In one breath we say the right is over reacting to "terrorism", "big scary terrorists", blah blah blah.
Then some nut, acting alone, flies his Cessna into a building, killing a total of one person, and some on this board are screaming "TERRORISM!!"
They look stupid, and they are pushing the republican agenda.
unbelievable.

[CBGLuthier]

1. body count is the determining factor?

Or is it lack of conspiracy?

Oh well, thanks for letting us know what you think.

[Cha]

3. Must be.

[crazyjoe]

6. so everyone's a terrorist to you? I guess bush has you convinced

[CBGLuthier]

38. Pardon?

I merely asked about your specific criteria. Do not make assumptions about what I believe.

Personally, I believe ALL terrorists are criminals who have committed criminal acts and should be treated as such. This includes being tried by the existing criminal justice system. Otherwise we discriminate entirely based upon motive which I find unacceptable.

Mr.Bush has convinced me of nothing other than the fact there are a lot of very stupid people in this country.

Keep up the efforts to improve your reading comprehension. All of us are proud.

[Cha]

2. Okay..joe stack was a fucking selfish prick..

[GoCubsGo]

4. I agree with the "weak-minded" part. However, I think you are missing the point

What people are pointing out is the hypocrisy of those who usually scream "terrorism" at the drop of a hat. Especially when the perpetrator's skin is some darker shade of brown. Had that guy who slammed his airplane into the IRS building been anything other than a white guy, they would be screaming about how President Obama is not keeping us safe from terrorism. The weak-minded ninnies are silent now. That's what everyone is upset about, not "terrorism" itself.

[City Lights]

8. Thank you!

:thumbsup:

[crazyjoe]

9. so your solution is to scream "terrorism" at the drop of a hat ?

[GoCubsGo]

35. Did I say that?

No. My solution is to not scream "terrorism" AT ALL. As you pointed out, it's a term used by those who like to whip the bed-wetters in this country into another frenzy. I agree with that. I was just pointing out here that the folks on this board are NOT "screaming TERRORISM", for the most part. They are merely pointing out the hypocrisy of those who scream it on a selective basis.

[ShortnFiery]

5. Well then we'll have to also reign in our "illustrious" Politicos of BOTH Parties?!?

when it suits them they spew FEAR and threats of TERRORISM like it's their "manna from heaven." :puke:

http://www.streetdirectory.com/lyricadvisor/song/wccpaa/bomb_ourselves/

But isn't terror terror irregardless if your victim is a fan of Karl Marx
So let's bring on the cluster bombs and napalm, kill off some people, fish and sharks

Well I thought I would head north, go someplace where I might feel safe
These thoughts all seemed a bit unsettling, I was feeling a bit like a lost waif
It was then I thought I'd move to Costa Rica, though such a thing seemed terribly uncouth
Because I suddenly realized with horror, the terrifying clear and present truth

I guess we're gonna have to bomb Washington, DC, 'cause terrorists are lurking all around
Sending soldiers, guns and money wherever death squads and dictators may be found
So let's appreciate the situation, take your Orwell off the shelves
If we are to listen to our President then we're going to have to bomb ourselves

[Statistical]

7. So if he killed 100 people would that have been terrorism? 1000?

The fact that he was an incompetent terrorist any "only" killed one person doesn't make him any less of a terrorist. The Fort Dix shooters were not able to kill (or even injure) a single person. Are they not terrorists? The manner of his violence was one that maximized terror. Plane, explosion, fire, people feeling trapped, connection to 9/11, lasting visible damage, etc. The impact goes far beyond the single person killed.

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=terrorism
Terrorism (n): the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear)

[crazyjoe]

10. OJ killed two people, is he a terrorist?

do you not see how stupid it is to call everyone a terrorist?

[Statistical]

15. You are the stupid one if you can't see the difference.

Was it OJ INTENT to terrorize people beyond the victims?
If OJ had the means do you think he likely would have killed 10 random people instead? 100? 1000?


Was it this guys INTENT to terrorize people beyond single person killed?
If this guy had the means (filled plane with explosives, larger plane) do you think he would have killed more people?

[NNN0LHI]

19. Every racist person I know in real life always plays the OJ card every chance they get

Anyone else ever noticed this phenomenon?

Don

[crazyjoe]

24. Am i suppose to go on the defensive now?

haha

[NoFace]

39. you are beyond hope 'crazy joe'....good luck with those flight lesson.

[DCBob]

17. The fact that he was psycho lone wolf and not affiliated with any kind of radical organization...

suggests this is not an act of "terrorism" in commonly accepted use of the word.

[Statistical]

18. Well that is part of the issue. There is no single accepted definition of terrorism.

The Definition of terrorism has proved controversial. Various legal systems and government agencies use different definitions of "terrorism". Moreover, the International community has been slow to formulate a universally agreed, legally binding definition of this crime. These difficulties arise from the fact that the term "terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_%28definitions_of%29

[DCBob]

21. Yes, but the "terror" in "terrorism" is fearing another attack.. This guy is dead...

and there are no threats from others associated with him or his message. Just a angry senseless misdirected single act of violence to me.

[Statistical]

22. You think nobody in a federal building is fearing a copycat attack or that a...

a better organized group was taking notes.

You don't think any teabaggers, timothy mcveigh types, or milita groups are looking at how easily this guy with minimal resources was able to cause extensive damage and terror in a federal building.

I think if you did a survey of federal building workers the level of fear would be substantial.

People aren't always logical.

I flew 5 days after 9/11 (had to for work). The plane was empty. Logically it was the safest time to fly. Not only was security ultra tight but the low number of people/flights means the risk of accident was also reduced.

[DCBob]

23. If there are copycat attacks and some semblance of an organized effort...

then yes that would be terrorism. No question.

[crazyjoe]

26. ding ding we have a winner!!

I hate when other people do that, but i couldn't resist

[zbdent]

11. by the definition posed by one RWer on the Bill Press show this morning,

Tim McVeigh would not have been classified as a terrorist ... he was just committing a war crime ... because he bombed a FEDERAL building, not a "civilian" target ...

oops ... fixed to add "war" to "crime"

[mmonk]

14. And the terrorists were targeting political symbols in the

World Trade Center buildings, pentagon, and capital hill, same as McVeigh in their eyes.

[Bluebear]

12. People who call people weak-minded and stupid sound like Republicans.

So, there's that.

[crazyjoe]

27. i'm rubber and your glue, whatever you say bounces................

shouldn't you be watching MTV ?

[Bluebear]

37. you're an idiot. bye!

[izzybeans]

13. It is weak minded to fear or see terrorists every where. It's just as weak to ignore it when it

happens. This guy was 100% more successful than the taint bomber that rightwingers are all up in arms about being tried in a just manner. If you are looking for weakness, you'll find it there. Unless of course you buy the Bush era weak is strong Orwellian argument.

[KharmaTrain]

16. Fear = Control

Isn't it something...we're supposedly the "mightiest nation" on earth yet some dude with a bomb in his underpants is enough to paralyze 30% of the country with fear. Like the elephant and the mouse. And no matter how draconian the government can get, it's still not enough, we're still living with color-coded warning and the corporate media more than happy to feed the fear.

The reason? Power and control and money. The right wing loves a boogieman. If it wasn't Ivan the Commie, it's Hugo the evil drug lord or Abdul the terrorist a-rab. These boogiemen mean we need a "strong defense" and justifies the billions thrown at the military-industrial complext to "keep us safe". It also keeps the sheeple in line...wave that sword over their heads and they'll always fall in line. Fear means votes. It's been a win/win game for the GOOP for nearly a century. It's a lot simpler than to really discuss an issue and reveal their puppetmasters.

[Liberal In Texas]

20. We can split hairs ad nauseum but

ter·ror·ism
   /ˈtɛrəˌrɪzəm/ ter-uh-riz-uhm
–noun
1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.
2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.
3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

It seems this guy who attempted to commit mass murder in a spectacular manner meets both definitions 1 and 3.

He didn't pick out the building at random. He targeted an IRS office for his own agenda.

The only difference between this guy and the underwear bomber is that he wasn't recruited by a bona fide terrorist organization, although as yet we don't know how much the incitement by RW media and the TPers egged him on.

To me his actions look closer to terrorism than lone nut gone crazy, especially in how premeditated it was.

[Odin2005]

25. "Terrorists" are the new "Witches".

Burn the Witch! Burn the Witch!!!

[mmonk]

28. Witches in the story book way aren't real (I'm not talking about wiccan).

Terrorists are not all Muslim men from foreign countries (another story book description). He carried out a act with a manifesto attached that involved references to governance.

[Odin2005]

30. I'm talking about the hysterical reaction, not the actual existance of the entities in question

It's the same old "there are evil forces out there, we will protect you from your worst nightmares if you give us more power" meme.

http://www.fourthturning.com/forum/showpost.php?p=291634&postcount=23

[mmonk]

32. Ah. OK.

[TankLV]

29. You can go back to your repuke/teabagging friends now...

we know WHAT you are...

[sinkingfeeling]

31. You just can't seem to get beyond this topic. A lot of us take the definition of a terrorist

from the US Patriot Act or a common dictionary. No body said anything about being afraid or is screaming about it.

One who uses violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.

[earth mom]

33. How long before any of us here on DU are branded terrorists for despising the banksters

insurance companies and pharma giants?

I've asked this question on a couple of other threads because it's an important question.

I don't like that so many around here are buying into the big brother mindset.

[Statistical]

36. If someone from DU blew up a bank in an attempt to use terror to change policy ....

well then they WOULD be a terrorist.

[fascisthunter]

34. you can't see a difference between the right using terrorism

as a meme and this asshole crashing a plane into an IRS building to make a political economic statement? Wow... that's some mighty mental gymnastics there...

[RevCheesehead]

40. They are also easily manipulated by Jedi masters.

May the force be with you.