One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.
A “freedom fighter” risks their life to fight an oppressive state and its military apparatus. A terrorist targets unarmed civilians to induce fear and enforce political conformity.
You aren’t fighting an oppressive state. If you want to see an oppressive state, look at the UK government currently using the Terrorism Act to arrest 82-year-old pensioners and bundle them into police vans simply for holding placards that read, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” That is actual state oppression.
But you aren’t fighting that state. Instead, you are cheering for a street mob to violently beat a civilian who holds zero institutional power, simply to ensure that people who share his political opinions “stay afraid.”
Punching up at an authoritarian regime makes you a freedom fighter. Using violence to silence a civilian while completely ignoring the actual authoritarianism being wielded by the state right in front of you makes you a street thug. Don’t flatter yourself by dressing up mob violence as a liberation movement.
A “freedom fighter” risks their life to fight an oppressive state and its military apparatus. A terrorist targets unarmed civilians to induce fear and enforce political conformity.
You aren’t fighting an oppressive state. If you want to see an oppressive state, look at the UK government currently using the Terrorism Act to arrest 82-year-old pensioners and bundle them into police vans simply for holding placards that read, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” That is actual state oppression.
But you aren’t fighting that state. Instead, you are cheering for a street mob to violently beat a civilian who holds zero institutional power, simply to ensure that people who share his political opinions “stay afraid.”
Punching up at an authoritarian regime makes you a freedom fighter. Using violence to silence a civilian while completely ignoring the actual authoritarianism being wielded by the state right in front of you makes you a street thug. Don’t flatter yourself by dressing up mob violence as a liberation movement.