Political Correctness...it's very own thread of candor

[James Riley]

As a Recon Team Leader in the Marine Corps I went to the FBI Academy back in 78 as part of a Quick Reaction Crisis Mission Course (anti-counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action). We studied "terrorism" then and it seems not much has changed. The link above says "There is no single, universally accepted, definition of terrorism." The "experts" struggled with it back then and they struggle with it today. It's hard to define it while, at the same time, exempting the U.S. from being a State Sponsor.

Nevertheless, I have to wonder who got the word "property" tossed into the C.F.R. definition: "Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as 'the unlawful use of force and violence against . . . property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives'” [Emphasis mine.]

So, terror includes violence against property. Anyone who feels a sense of terror when an empty building gets spray painted doesn't know what terror is. What was that distopian novel where the government gave an opposite meaning to words? It's like WMDs including assault rifles.

I suspect private for profit industry sought to have property included so we could go to war with hippies that trashed their buildings. Let's call out Dev Gru and kill those bastards at three in the morning, or water board them after taking them off to Gitmo. Maybe a little drone action. You know, because the board of directors a thousand miles away on the golf course felt "terrorized" by a burnt bull dozier.

 

[RobG]

I suspect private for profit industry sought to have property included so we could go to war with hippies that trashed their buildings. Let's call out Dev Gru and kill those bastards at three in the morning, or water board them after taking them off to Gitmo. Maybe a little drone action. You know, because the board of directors a thousand miles away on the golf course felt "terrorized" by a burnt bull dozier.

I have a memory of ELF et al being declared terrorists after 9/11 even though they don't target people. 'Cuz, you know, if we don't stop them in their tracks they'll overthrow the government and we'll all be camping in the woods, smoking weed, and talking sustainability just like those BHA green decoys.

 

[James Riley]

I have a memory of ELF et al being declared terrorists after 9/11 even though they don't target people. 'Cuz, you know, if we don't stop them in their tracks they'll overthrow the government and we'll all be camping in the woods, smoking weed, and talking sustainability just like those BHA green decoys.

Especially here in Colorado where it's legal!

Actually, I will confess I should take it down a notch. I would not like it if someone trashed my place because of their sincerely held beliefs. I'd be P.O.d. Majorly. But, I think we can find another word besides "terrorism." We are already spying on ourselves and trashing our civil liberties. If we start calling everything "terrorism" or a "hate crime" or a "WMD" then before you know it, the security of a free State is gone. Maybe we should go back to felons, and criminals and crimes and felonies and etc.

 

[Nemont]

So I guess as long as destroying property of others to coerce political change is not described as terrorist activity we are all good. So there you have it there is never any terrorist who lean left.

So burning up $100 million worth of property is just smoking weed and talking sustainability?

Hopefully you won't wake up with your dwelling on fire, I lived through a house fire as kid, it was terrifying but hey the only thing that happened was our house burned down, big deal right?

Nemont

 

[RobG]

So I guess as long as destroying property of others to coerce political change is not described as terrorist activity we are all good. So there you have it there is never any terrorist who lean left.

So burning up $100 million worth of property is just smoking weed and talking sustainability?

Hopefully you won't wake up with your dwelling on fire, I lived through a house fire as kid, it was terrifying but hey the only thing that happened was our house burned down, big deal right?

Nemont

There are a lot of things I don't want or condone, but using the label "terrorism" to justify additional surveillance and disproportionate punishment is a scary abuse of government power. That inclusion was not meant to protect us from Al Qaeda.

 

[James Riley]

So I guess as long as destroying property of others to coerce political change is not described as terrorist activity we are all good. So there you have it there is never any terrorist who lean left.

So burning up $100 million worth of property is just smoking weed and talking sustainability?

Hopefully you won't wake up with your dwelling on fire, I lived through a house fire as kid, it was terrifying but hey the only thing that happened was our house burned down, big deal right?

Nemont

See my post just before yours.

1. Taking property out of the definition would be a good thing;
2. I think there *are* terrorists (killers, even) who lean left. I'm just not seeing any mass murders like we've been talking about;
3. Intentionally burning up $100 million worth of another's property is probably a crime, no matter *why* you do it;
4. I had some contact with EF types back in the day and they bent over backwards to avoid harming people and making sure no one, human or animal, was around when the S went down. But *if* it happened by accident you would be missing the requisite mens rea/intent to qualify as terrorism. Terrorist *intend* to get you so that those left alive are terrorized.
5. It's really not a big deal if you lived, unharmed. That's why you always see all those people standing outside their pile of ashes saying "At least no one was hurt and we still have each other." That's relative, of course. What *is* a big deal? I mean, there were people claiming to be "horrified" by Trump calling out that judge. LOL! "The horror, the horror!" Col. Kurtz, Apocalypse Now.

 

[Nemont]

You ever crawled out a window while a fire raged and you are 7 years old? Do you understand the word terror, fright, scared? I have been in combat too and I was not as afraid during combat as I was during that fire. I had much more control and awareness around me when I crossed the berm into Iraq and headed toward the Republican guard than I did being awoken with smoke and fire raging in my house.

Horrified isn't the same as terrified.

I am done with this topic. It is meaningless exercise because there isn't a single politician of any stripe who is going to crawl down from our "war" with ISIS because they are only interested in furthering their political careers and not actually dealing with anything that requires deep,nuanced thought and requires seeing over the Horizon. Obama will continue to order drone strikes until he leaves office and whom ever is next isn't going to call off the killings by drones or stop the "war" on ISIS/ISIL.

Nemont

 

[RobG]

Nemont - I know where you are coming from, but I think you are a little off. Setting fire to a house with people in it is quite a bit different than burning down unoccupied buildings.

 

[James Riley]

You ever crawled out a window while a fire raged and you are 7 years old?

No, I have not. My point was, no radical Eco freak left wing secular nut jobs ever did that to anyone. At least not so far as your FBI link provided. I know the difference between horrified and terrified. My point was not that they are the same but, rather, that we deprive words of their meaning when we misuse and water them down to include everything, simply because we, subjectively, want them to.

 

[Tufrthnails]

Holy smokes I drop off the net for a few days and you guys got WAY down the rat hole. I'm just gonna take my Bigot beliefs that Islam is the problem since it orders it's followers to murder all the infidels..... oh wait.....were's that little popcorn guy hmmm not here.....

 

[James Riley]

Holy smokes I drop off the net for a few days and you guys got WAY down the rat hole. I'm just gonna take my Bigot beliefs that Islam is the problem since it orders it's followers to murder all the infidels..... oh wait.....were's that little popcorn guy hmmm not here.....

Religion doesn't kill people. People kill people.

 

[noharleyyet]

Holy smokes I drop off the net for a few days and you guys got WAY down the rat hole. I'm just gonna take my Bigot beliefs that Islam is the problem since it orders it's followers to murder all the infidels..... oh wait.....were's that little popcorn guy hmmm not here.....

 

[bobbydean]

This thread did take a few unusual turns. I followed some of them

No Harley, was this what you intended or did it take a life of its own?

 

[noharleyyet]

I thought it was in and out of the weeds but civil. I already knew the answer.

 

[bobbydean]

You are wiser than I.

 

[James Riley]

As the kids today might say: "I know, right?"

 

[hank4elk]

"So.......like...............for sure."