Terrorism as a Political Tool

  In Terror and Abolition, Atiya Husain addressed how for much of history, the United States has painted any anticolonial efforts or efforts to bring communism to a nation with a broad stroke of terrorism.  Terrorism itself is not a substantial things, but instead it is a label that people put on violence as a way to solicit a response.   Husain also explains how there is a racial component to terrorism that plays a major part.  This racial component is usually seen through a domestic lense, as Husain writes, “if a white man and a brown man do the same thing, the former is explained away as an individual aberration due to mental illness while the latter is a terrorist” (Husain).  The idea of terrorism only being applied to non-white people does not only occur within the United States, but it also exists in the way that Americans view anticolonial efforts around the world.  The most obvious way that this can be seen it through the response to resistance by Ukrainians in response to Russian invasion and in the way that Palestinians are viewed in their resistance to Israels apartheid state.  The people of Ukraine have been praised for the way they have fought back against Russian invasion, rightfully so because the Russians are clearly wrong.  On the other hand, Palestinians are labelled as terrorists and Husain even writes, Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation  has long served as the dictionary definition of terrorism” (Husain).  The most glaring and obvious difference between the Palestinians and the Ukrainians is that the Ukrainians are white and look like Americans.   The two groups do the same things to resists occupation, but since the Palestinians look like what most Americans consider to be terrorists, they must be terrorists as well.  There is also the fact that the United States makes billions of dollars funding the Israeli military so it is in their interest for Americans to view the people that their money is being spent to hurt as terrorists.  The Ukrainians on the other hand are fighting against Russia, who is an enemy of the United States so it serves in the interest of the United States for Americans to view Ukranians as fighting the good fight.  All of this goes to show that terrorism is just a label that is used to promote certain ideas.  There is no difference between actions of white supremacist groups and groups protesting for racial equality, such as Antifa, other than the label of terrorisim put on the non-white group.  Husain says that the idea of terrorism needs to be abolished and that is correct.   The word terrorism is also too effective in soliciting the response that people who use it intend to.  People are willing to ignore the details of what they are being told is terrorism.  The word terrorism needs to stop being used.  

Sources:

https://bostonreview.net/articles/atiya-husain-terror-and-abolition/

https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution

Comments

  1. Kyle LionettiApril 24, 2022 at 1:51 PM

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  2. James NespoleApril 26, 2022 at 7:34 PM

    I think that you bring up a great and important point that terrorism is used as a tool to demonize certain groups to push some type of agenda. The term "terrorism" or "terrorist" I would argue is universally understood to be a "bad thing." Therefore, certain groups are characterized as being terrorists to demonize them. I feel your comparison between Palestine and Ukraine is warranted and well supported. Furthermore, I would add that the American colonists who took part in the Boston Tea Party wouldn't be considered terrorists by most, yet their actions seem pretty similar to some of the people we call terrorists in Palestine. Overall, I thought your blogpost was very direct, well argued, and well structured.

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  3. Madison McCormackMay 3, 2022 at 12:33 PM

    I really liked the idea that you argued in your blog. I think your argument is well established, and you support it will adequate amount of evidence as well. I'm really intrigued by the idea that a white man and a non-white man who do the same violent act are seen completely differently. The former as someone who suffers from mental illness, and the latter as someone who is a terrorist. I think it depends on people's inherent biases, and in an idealized society, when they realize that they have classified these people differently, they would recognize their biases and change themselves.

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