RE: The terrorism meme

From: Grant Callaghan (grantc4@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun 17 Nov 2002 - 05:08:57 GMT

  • Next message: Jeremy Bradley: "RE: The terrorism meme"

    For me it's as simple as this: anyone who uses terror as a weapon is a terrorist. A husband who beats his wife, a criminal who bombs the car of a rival, a drug dealer who cuts the ear off a client who won't pay, or a religious zealot who thinks he can change the faith of infidels by bombing them into submission. They are all terrorists. The word is a description of the means people use rather than the religion they belong to. If the government uses terror to achieve its ends they, too, are terrorists.

    Grant

    > > At 07:47 PM 16/11/02 -0600, you wrote:
    > > >> At 09:46 AM 16/11/02 -0500, you wrote:
    > > >> SNIP...............(Lawry)
    > > >> > Would a wife-beater be a terrorist? Would a
    > > >> >policy-maker who threatens harm to foreign populations, or
    > > >> >domestic ones? SNIP....... Cheers to all, Lawry
    > > >> >
    > > >> Good Questions Lawry
    > > >> I think that, whilst the wife (or husband) beater rules and coerces
    > > >> by the use of terror, the personal abuse involved is for personal
    > > >> 'gain', and is therefore not terrorism. A policy maker on the other
    > > >> hand, eg. those who refuse to address climate change, who makes
    > > >> policy decisions which impinge on the lives and quality of life of
    > > >> civilian populations, including unborn generations, for political
    > > >> and/of commercial 'gain', is a terrorist. Remember that 'working'
    > > >> definitions seem to include the concept that terrorism is a
    > > >> criminal act committed against civilians or a civilian population
    > > >> outside of a declared war. The other criteria is that the terror
    > > >> act intentionally targets the wellbeing of the target community.
    > > >> Therefore, the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour
    > > >> by the French SS was, whilst carried out by a sovereign State,
    > > >> probably was a criminal act of terror. That's what I reckon any'ow
    > > >> mates. Jeremy
    > > >>
    > > >This doesn't make sense. The French were hoping to dissuade
    > > >Greenpeace from harrassing their nuke tests; that's 'gain', just
    > > >like Palestinians gaining all of Israel or Israel retaining its
    > > >territory. The Russians are hoping to retain sovereignty over
    > > >Chechnya, just as the Chechens are fighting to gain it, and the
    > > >Muslim terrorists killing Hindus in Kashmir want Islamic control of
    > > >the province. And Osama Bin Laden is hoping for the same thing that
    > > >Saddam Hussein is, that is, to become the Caliph of a reconstituted
    > > >Pan-Muslim nation. Earlier, Moammar Qaddafi hoped for the same.
    > > >Even the Unabomber was hoping to wean people off computers, and Tim
    > > >McVeigh was hoping to further the cause of white separatism and
    > > >domination put forth in his Bible, THE TURNER DIARIES, as was Bob
    > > >Mathews, when he formed The Order. And George Metesky, the Mad
    > > >Bomber, was hoping to force concessions from Con Edison Power
    > > >Company.
    > > >>
    > > >>
    > > It makes sense to my memetic conctruct Joe. These people (those who
    > > have actually participated in, or organised acts of terror) all had
    > > ideological aspirations. That makes them all terrorists, as opposed to
    > > the partner basher who may be either unbarably harrased, misguided or
    > > just a violent, sick-minded thug. BTW in my veiw terror acts are also
    > > carried out by people who are either unbarably harrased, misguided or
    > > just a violent, sick-minded thugs. Jeremy
    > >
    >Would this include those who hope to murder their way into an eternal
    >position in Paradise, there to enjoy the perpetual ministrations of
    >seventy-two virgins?
    > >
    > > ===============================================================
    > > This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
    > > Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
    > > For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
    > > see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
    > >
    >
    >
    >
    >===============================================================
    >This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
    >Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
    >For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
    >see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit

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    =============================================================== This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit



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