"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter"; valid or not?

Question

Is it only a matter of perspective?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Like Yasser Arafat said, "if you fight for a just cause, then you're a Freedom Fighter, otherwise you're a terrorist".

Then again, that could still be misinterpreted as what defines a just cause? I know for sure Islamic fundamentalists are not justified and I consider them scum for their acts and how they misinterpret the Quran to fuel their demagogue leaderships. This is coming from a Muslim, so no I'm not hating on any religions.

Answer 2

i think so . in our current situation with terrorism. why do you think it's so hard to stop terrorists? because they truly believe that what they are doing is good.

even in their twisted heads. most of them think that killing us is the answer to all problems. to us. clearly that is NOT. but still that is valid.

Answer 3

very true. many people feel that the black panther party were "terrorists" to some degree, but to many in the black community they were heroes. they were depicted in the media as violent people that hated whites. when in fact, they only used violence when it was used against them first. their primary goal was to uplift the black community with free clinics, free ambulance services, and they did that. but to those outside of the community that were comfortable with downtrodden blacks, the b.p.p. were evil, corrupt, and scary. the same could also be said about the "war on terror" in iraq. i have a hard time believing that the people there are glad to see american troops ride through their neighborhoods in tanks.  

Answer 4

Not even close. Terrorism negates the whole idea of freedom. It attempts to impose an ideology though intimidation and bloodshed. Not free thinking.  

Answer 5

This is not always the case.  Lets say the Taliban are no ones freedom fighters they are the enemy of the world, the world they have no real 'cause' other then gaing power and authority, whereas if we talk about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict then sure 'one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter".  Palestinians are defending their land they are not terrorists but Israel and the American media labels them as being terrorists, whereas Israel belives that Palestinians should leave their  land so Israel can take it.  No matter  how bad israel they are fighting for a "cause" although it is an evil one.

Answer 6

Valid.  

Definition of terrorism: the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.

If you think the U.S. hasn't committed such acts during times of peace, especially in the Middle East over the past five or six decades, then you need to read up on your history.

When I read this question, I think you must be connecting "freedom fighter" to the so-called "insurgents" in Iraq.  I think the best answer to this question is another question:

If some other country invaded the US and tried to tell us how our government should be run, wouldn't you be prepared to pick up a gun and fight for our own national self-determination?  Would you consider yourself a freedom fighter, or would you be just a terrorist?

Answer 7

How can any thinking person with a shred of humanity think that someone who kills innocent men, women and children is a freedom fighter?!!!

That would be really sick!!!!!

Answer 8

Valid. Only because so many of us have polar views, what is evil to some is good to others, and therefore your question aligns perfectly with the fact that complete opposites do appear in todays world.

Answer 9

Haug, The US military has killed more innocent men women and children than any other instrument in the this century - and were in the top three in the last. Your governments have been and are terrorists.  This is why they will not accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court.

The so-called terrorists are fighting for their freedom in the only way they can against the brutal repression and oppression that has been visited upon them - in the case of the Palestinians and Hamas despite numerous UN resolutions calling for a halt to the US/Israeli criminal actions.

Answer 10

Well lets see, if a:

Firefighter is a person who fights fires

Bullfighter is a person who fights bulls

then a Freedom Fighter fights AH HA Freedom LOL

Answer 11

'Almost' 100% true; some people are truly malicious and want nothing more than to instil terror in everyone, but they are a very small minority of the 'terrorists'.

A terrorist is merely a combatant that has broken the rules of engagement (dressing in civilian clothes and taking part in warfare for example, legally makes you a terrorist I think), so to fit the description they must have something they're fighting 'for' (except that minority I mentioned, they fight for the sake of fighting), and by extension there would be a 'side' that they're on, etc...

Though not all terrorists are fighting for freedom, all terrorists are fighting, and therefore have sides which perceive them as the noble, or 'good' combatants, while the other side perceives them as the 'bad' ones.

Legally however, ALL terrorists are bad, since to be named a terrorist you need to break some very severe International laws.

Answer 12

Valid

Everything in life is. When you take a good enough look at anything there are at least two sides to it. If you look even closer, you may find many more  different sides to it. What makes the God that rules over America better than their God that rules over them? We believe we are living civilized lives and then we kill others that do not believe as we do. It all goes back to our animal instincts and survival. We do the things we do for the sake of our own survival. Some of us try using peace and some use terror.

They say there are two sides to every coin, this is not true, there is the fine edge that if you stand it up just right,  for just a little bit, those two sides will  roll together.

Answer 13

definitely is true