Monday, March 28, 2005
Calling A Spade A Spade
In our current state of political discourse, the word terrorist is brandied about too much. People on both sides of the left/right, blue/red, liberal/conservative split in this country like to call people on the other side terrorists.
It seems to me that conservatives use the term to describe liberals more, but after all, I am biased.
That said, let's examine what a terrorist actually is. Anyone who encourages or uses violence to achieve a political goal is a terrorist. That begs the question, then, Who is Randall Terry? In short, he's a terrorist. The leader of Operation Rescue, he advocates the murder of OB/GYN doctors and the use of violence to disrupt women's health clinics. That's terrorism.
Laying his pipe bombs aside (at least temporarily), Terry is now the "spokesman" for the Schindler family (Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings). You can connect all the dots here.
Terry, and many like him in the extreme far right, are seeking donations to keep Terri Schiavo alive. These various organizations are collecting these donations through their various websites. Meanwhile, the Schiavo family says that their website is the only legitimate place to make such donations.
This situation has reached a new low. Terrorists are speaking on behalf of families, and "religious" organizations are collecting money for a cause they've not been authorized to (I call that stealing).
It seems to me that conservatives use the term to describe liberals more, but after all, I am biased.
That said, let's examine what a terrorist actually is. Anyone who encourages or uses violence to achieve a political goal is a terrorist. That begs the question, then, Who is Randall Terry? In short, he's a terrorist. The leader of Operation Rescue, he advocates the murder of OB/GYN doctors and the use of violence to disrupt women's health clinics. That's terrorism.
Laying his pipe bombs aside (at least temporarily), Terry is now the "spokesman" for the Schindler family (Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings). You can connect all the dots here.
Terry, and many like him in the extreme far right, are seeking donations to keep Terri Schiavo alive. These various organizations are collecting these donations through their various websites. Meanwhile, the Schiavo family says that their website is the only legitimate place to make such donations.
This situation has reached a new low. Terrorists are speaking on behalf of families, and "religious" organizations are collecting money for a cause they've not been authorized to (I call that stealing).
