DomeGuy@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Terrorism is a problematic word. Some adults use it to mean “violence I dont like”, but that’s just a kind of lying.
I dont like discarding words, however, so here are two workable definitions for you:
(Broadly covers most mainstream reporting and legal criminal enhancements)
(Very specifically targets the action without regard for the actor.)
Also, while this may be obbious, my dislike for any definition of terrorism as just “bad violence” means I need to acknowledge that sometimes terrorism is a morally right action. Guy Fawkes, John Brown, and intentional riots would be plausible examples of the same.
but if some group targets non-civilian targets, they will be labeled terrorists just the same. Doesnt matter if they are justified or not, unless of course the target is someone global leaders dont like.
“unauthorized violence” seems more apt definition.
heartSagan5@lemmy.zip 5 days ago
Those seem like legal definitions because at the root of it it’s (IMO) “applying severe fear to coerce someone to act to avoid further acts of severe fear (usually in favor of the fear actor).”
DomeGuy@lemmy.world 4 days ago
By that definition, scolding a child who nearly walked into traffic is terrorism.