terrorist

with the exception of blatantly terroristic acts, like the bombing of a civilian airliner, the use of "terrorist" varies according to the writer's perspective. A terrorist in one situation might be a freedom fighter, guerrilla, resistant, or commando in another. "This has become a code word for Arabs. When using it we can mask anti-Arab statements and politics while ignoring the terrorist acts of white people and European and U.S. governments, such as the bombings of civilian areas in Panama and Iraq" (Paul Kivel, Uprooting Racism). From Creating Just Language: to create or reinforce prejudices, a useful tool of governments is to demonize their enemies as terrorists. "The English would have called the rebellious colonists 'terrorists,' while the colonists would have called themselves 'freedom fighters.' The term is always applied to the less powerful adversaries and promulgated by the more powerful to cultivate disdain for the enemy. Unfortunately, once the term 'terrorist' is applied to a group of individuals with similar ethnic origins, the negative reverberations spill over to all persons of that particular ethnic background. There is seldom, if any, analysis of which of the adversaries are the real terrorists." Don Irish (in North Country Peace Builder) says, "Killing those labeled terrorists will not end terrorism, unless the despair which recruits them is addressed. Terrorists do not arise in a vacuum! There are reasons for their existence. They have personal hopes, dreams, and talents which are unfulfilled. They do not become suicide bombers willy-nilly, not caring for life. They have families whom they love and are loved by. If they don't have tanks, helicopters, bombers, and so on for physical opposition, they use what they have—rocks, or homemade bombs, or their bodies. Ultimately, the dominant group must deal with the real problems rather than the terrorism, which is a symptom." Reserve "terrorist" for those who create terror in the lives of others, killing bystanders and destroying infrastructure, but use it for all sides of a conflict when it is deserved.