August 3, 2007
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One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter – agree or disagree? And why?
On the surface I agree, since the question is about perspective. I’m sure there are many terrorists who consider themselves to be freedom fighters even while I and others perceive them to be terrorists.
However, let us look for a moment at the definitions of these terms:
ter·ror·ist
n.One that engages in acts or an act of terrorism.
ter·ror·ism
n.The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or
an organized group against people or property with the intention of
intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for
ideological or political reasons.
freedom fighter
n.One engaged in armed rebellion or resistance against an oppressive government.
So, we can see that a freedom fighter is someone who uses force or aggression to rebel or resist a government. Therefore the term could only apply to those who were using violence against a government. A terrorist, on the other hand, seeks to intimidate a government through use of force or aggression against people (private citizens) and property (private property). Once the line is crossed from attacking the government to attacking the citizens and private property, freedom fighting has become terrorism.
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