Terrorism
By bostonphil
@bostonphil (4459)
United States
June 18, 2011 1:30pm CST
I am watching Carlos on The Sundance Channel. It is a three part series about Carlos The Jackal. And it is very good. It has caused me to think about terrorism and my younger days. In my younger day, I was around a lot of left wing radicals. I was never a radical. I would have called myself a liberal back then but now consider myself to be a moderate. But I found these persons very interesting and exciting. And they had some great parties. However, some went too far ending up in shootouts and bank robberies. There were murders and suicides. They did it in the name of political change and revolution. Watching Carlos: These terrorists and revolutionaries have some good points. But, the methods used have consequences for everyone involved. No one is untouched. How do other mylotters feel about terrorism and revolution. Does the end justifies the means?
3 responses
@xfahctor (14113)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
18 Jun 11
Ah...Carlos the Jackal. Those were the days. That was when they knew how to make a terrorist. Not the imbeciles they have nowadays setting their underwear on fire or stuffing small pipe bombs in their body cavities, blowing up no one but their own arses. And then they whine and cry when someone pours a little water over their faces or turns the music in their interrogation room to loud.
Sorry, I digress....
No, there is no "justify the means". I believe (from your statements on the left wing radical crowd), the people you are speaking of are people like Bill Ayers? Ayers was/is/always will be a terrorist. He can put on all the nice suits he wants and spew all the psudeo-intellectual garbage to his college classes as he wants...it doesn't change anything. He and his cohorts are/were/always will be terrorists. He should be sitting in a cell, not teaching our kids. The man is a low life dirt bag who is responsible either directly or indirectly for the deaths of people.
@bostonphil (4459)
• United States
19 Jun 11
Interestingly enough, I am referring to Bill and his wife, Bernadette. Isn't that her name? I was not directly involved with Bill and Bernadette (sounds like a song) but I was around similar groups and individuals. The persons I was involved were involved with Bill etc. and still are. They admire him. He is a hero. If I remember right, they were the SDS crowd and The Weatherman. I was casually involved with left wing radicals in both San Francisco and later Austin. And there was a sort of underground. They all were connected and they all seemed to know each other. I was an outsider looking in. I was never accepted but sometimes tolerated: other times not tolerated. They were very interesting and exciting. I was fascinated by them. And like I said they had great parties. But they were too far out for me and they got further out. They believed that the end justifies the means. I did not and do not.
@xfahctor (14113)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
21 Jun 11
"He is a hero"
He is only a hero to people who worship murderers. He is every bit the terrorist
Bin Laden was. The man was openly prepared to murder millions if he couldn't "re-educate them" in his cause and he made no bones about this in his group meetings.
Have a listen:
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRg9il_V328"
@bostonphil (4459)
• United States
23 Jun 11
I could not access the youtube link. I go a message from safari about not being able to find server.
@dark_joev (3034)
• United States
22 Jun 11
"One mans Terrorist, is another mans freedom fighter." I can give you an example. The founding of the United States the founders who we hold close to us and raise them up to Heros of Liberty and Freedom. But in the eyes of the British they where Terrorist trying to tear down civilized society. So really can you call someone a terrorist and believe that your point of view is the only one that is right. I mean from the points of view of our founders they where on the right side the side that was morally correct and well because they won they got to write that into the history books but if they didn't we would be talking of the civil war or the uprising that was crushed by the British Army against terrorist. We would be taught to look at George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and the others as being Terrorist and uncivilized men.
@bostonphil (4459)
• United States
23 Jun 11
I agree with what you say. For instance, take Fidel. If you were poor and a peasant in Cuba under Batista, Fidel was a freedom fighter and hero. If you were affluent or middle class under Batista, Fidel was a terrorist. Most of the Cuban community is Miami were doing well in Cuba under Batista. They are very conservative and hate Castro. And this is true of every society that has revolted. It depends on your role in life in that society as to how you see the revolutionaries. I am re-watching Carlos. And he continues to come across as an egomaniac, loser, screwball, fool, criminal, whatever. And his buddies come across the same.
@Netsbridge (3253)
• United States
21 Jun 11
Terrorism is defined as the use or threatened use of force to intimidate or coerce society for political or religious purposes.
While terrorism however has a clear-cut definition, terrorist, I have observed is very, very subjective: People and nations are known to conveniently term as "terrorists" those who would not share their views. In conclusion, I like what someone said about this issue:
"Terrorism is war of the rich, (freedom fighting) is war by the poor."
@bostonphil (4459)
• United States
23 Jun 11
I do not think of Carlos and his crowd as freedom fighters. They are out and out criminals engaging in terroristic behavior. Nothing they did seemed to benefit anyone at all except for maybe themselves. at times. They could have all used their intelligence and energy in much more positive ways.
