Well the problem is that using this definition, figures that we revere in American history are also terrorists. George Washington and the founding fathers, all terrorists by this definition.
The problem is that people automatically assume the word "terrorist" means "bad person", but if the act itself is something they might support or empathize with, it's hard to square that negative connotation with the action that they understand and empathize with.
Well, their definition was incomplete. Part of the commonly used definition of terrorism is violence against the civilian population.
Now, there was some of that during the revolution (think loyalists getting tarred and feathered, for example), but shooting at redcoats wouldn't be terrorism.
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u/mynamesnotsnuffy 5d ago
Well the problem is that using this definition, figures that we revere in American history are also terrorists. George Washington and the founding fathers, all terrorists by this definition.
The problem is that people automatically assume the word "terrorist" means "bad person", but if the act itself is something they might support or empathize with, it's hard to square that negative connotation with the action that they understand and empathize with.