It never had any, and I mean literally never, neither in common usage nor in military usage. It has always been code for whoever the imperial core doesn’t like and isn’t a pre-existent government (in which case they become a state sponsor of terrorism).
How do we classify wanton killing of innocent people? Lockerbie bombings come to mind.
I mean just call it what it is. Politically motivated bombing, mass shooting, etc. Basically what the media already does when it’s a white person doing these things.
It does have a useful definition I think in “a non-state actor using violence to serve some political goal”, as that at least lets one categorize a murderer who just hated that specific guy as having something different going on with them compared to a murderer who wants their act to shock a nation into taking some action. It’s commonly misused as “someone using violence that we don’t like”, but there is still some utility in understanding a person’s motive for doing something.
It never had any, and I mean literally never, neither in common usage nor in military usage. It has always been code for whoever the imperial core doesn’t like and isn’t a pre-existent government (in which case they become a state sponsor of terrorism).
How would you classify Timothy McVey? This isn’t a loaded question, as I largely agree with you.
How do we classify wanton killing of innocent people? Lockerbie bombings come to mind.
Mass murderer?
I mean just call it what it is. Politically motivated bombing, mass shooting, etc. Basically what the media already does when it’s a white person doing these things.
It does have a useful definition I think in “a non-state actor using violence to serve some political goal”, as that at least lets one categorize a murderer who just hated that specific guy as having something different going on with them compared to a murderer who wants their act to shock a nation into taking some action. It’s commonly misused as “someone using violence that we don’t like”, but there is still some utility in understanding a person’s motive for doing something.
This is the part that faaaaaaaar too open to interpretation.
That’s the secondmost problematic part.