SamuraiGuy

(This may not be exactly what this sub-forum was intended for but I knew I woujld get the best response here)

Hey just wondering if anyone thinks there is any circumstances in which terrorism could be defended as a ethical means to bring about changes in politics?

Do you guys take an issue with people who use it if that is the only possible way they can make their voice heard?

Is there never a time when it is acceptable?

etc....

Just a general question, not really 3 specific ones, just trying to figure this out and looking for some input.

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"a few User CP's that are pretty significant ones(like a BoarSpear or SamuraiGuy one). " - GracieHunter

I choke people, I dont poke people. -- Me

Were you born to resist or be abused? I swear I'll never give in, I refuse. -- Foo Fighters

I want a girl that spends more time on her back than Royce Gracie.

I'll knee you in the face like your name was Josh Koschek -- Me

Mike Brewer

Can you give me an example of a time or situation when terrorism was the only way to make someone's voice heard? That's really the crux of the discussion, so we'd need to start defining it from that point.

As an objectively assessed thing, terrorism is nothing more than a warfare tactic. It's an easy thing to view negatively, but it's really just another way of fighting. Like carpet bombing or dropping A-bombs on civilians, it's a tactic that's not very discriminating.

Maybe one of the very best cases AGAINST terrorism was Catro's revolution in Cuba. Terrorism would have killed off any hope Catro's rebels would have had at achieving anything. It would seem terrorism (duh) alienates and angers the population that most small networks depend on for support against superior forces. In that sense, guerrilla warfare is a much better answer for effecting political change than terrorism. Terrorism is about drawing attention to a cause, and it works. But it is almost never the best method for actually inspiring change. It can be a part of an overall strategy and still work, but the problem a lot of groups have now is that they see it as the actual mechanism for change - the strategy if you will - instead of as a tactic serving a larger strategy. Make sense?

Mike Brewer

Samurai -
This is a long set of videos, so I'm not going ot embed them. Instead, check out these links for an insider's view of what terrorist organizations like Jemma Islamiyah and Al Qaeda do to rework the mind of Muslims and get them to become terrorists. It's insightful, and may give you the answers you're looking for. If nothing else, they draw an important distinction between insurgencies and terrorism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj2Ag5PiaWg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvI2U...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKPBs...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkKG_...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aPet...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xLaw...eature=related

SamuraiGuy

Hmph, when I posted this I had to write an essay on this basic topic, if terrorism is ever an ethical means of political change....

Had to write it before you responded, and I rushed it off in the fashion that I normally do..

Think I learned more from the posts and videos then the essay though haha.

__________________
"a few User CP's that are pretty significant ones(like a BoarSpear or SamuraiGuy one). " - GracieHunter

I choke people, I dont poke people. -- Me

Were you born to resist or be abused? I swear I'll never give in, I refuse. -- Foo Fighters

I want a girl that spends more time on her back than Royce Gracie.

I'll knee you in the face like your name was Josh Koschek -- Me