Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The word is Terrorism

During a 1964 Supreme Court case involving pornography, Justice Potter Stewart wrote that hardcore pornography was hard to describe, but he knew it when he saw it. (Not an exact quote. I paraphrased.)

There are folks in DC that throw the words Terror, Terrorism and Terrorist around and use them however fits their purpose. Frequently they seem hesitant to say "Terrorism" when they fear they might offend some person, country or belief system. Dammit, acts of terrorism are blatantly obvious to most folks. Call a spade a spade. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck, you can bet a stack of Benjamins it's a damned duck!

The is from an online dictionary ...

ter·ror – [ter-er] noun

1. intense, sharp, overmastering fear: to be frantic with terror.
2. an instance or cause of intense fear or anxiety; quality of causing terror: to be a terror to evildoers.
3. any period of frightful violence or bloodshed likened to the Reign of Terror in France.
4. violence or threats of violence used for intimidation or coercion; terrorism.
5. Informal . a person or thing that is especially annoying or unpleasant.

ter·ror·ism – [ter-uh-riz-uhm] noun

1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially 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.

ter·ror·ist – [ter-er-ist] noun

1. a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism.
2. a person who terrorizes or frightens others.
3. (formerly) a member of a political group in Russia aiming at the demoralization of the government by terror.
4. an agent or partisan of the revolutionary tribunal during the Reign of Terror in France.

Isn't it obvious to someone besides moi that.... When a person(s) commits an act of Terror, they are committing Terrorism and their action(s) is Terrorist in nature? Am I wrong? I'm open to correction and/or opposing views.



2 comments:

  1. But Obama killed Osama, doesn't that mean terrorism is no more?
    http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/10/17/barack_obamas_awkward_debate_references_to_osama_bin_laden

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think there are folks residing on another planet who believe that. They believe a lot of other "stuff," too.

      Delete

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