The danger of all this “terrorism” rhetoric is how politically malleable it is: industry groups can mold it into “eco-terrorism,” KFC can hammer it into “corporate terrorism” to smear Peta, and on and on and on. The word can be melted and reformed into a weapon against the latest enemy of the hour.
The flipside of that is that people in power can choose to NOT use the word, choose to not smear someone as a terrorist. And, unfortunately, it’s not too surprising what type of activity isn’t labeled “terrorism.”
So when someone spraypainted racist graffiti on Peta’s office, it wasn’t “terrorism,” it was “vandalism.”
“We have 11 different victims, vandalisms occurred sometime between 11:30 p.m. Monday and 6:00 a.m. today,” said Norfolk Police spokesman Chris Amos…
Amos says investigators don’t believe the vandalism is work of “gangs.”
[Don’t you love how “gangs” is in quotation marks? Curious how “eco-terrorism” rarely appears that way.]
So let’s get this all straight. Groups like Center for Consumer Freedom, which protested a book signing by Peta’s Ingrid Newkirk with black masks, religiously call vandalism “terrorism.” Yet when racists vandalize CCF’s political opponents, the group distributes emails poking fun at it: “Irony: Vandal tags PETA headquarters with spray-paint graffiti.”
Clearly, they have their priorities straight.
Meanwhile:
- In Austin, a prominent activist who had been repeatedly harassed by the FBI is found dead, and mainstream media hasn’t had much to say.
- In Idaho, fire gutted an unoccupied home. Whaddayouknow, much like the Seattle arson:
The 3,000-square-foot home was going to be entered in the North Idaho Building Contractors Association Parade of Homes in August, said Todd Stam, the owner of Aspen Homes. Stam said he thought the blaze might be an act of ecoterrorism.
Buried in the article was the fact that the $720,000 home was unsold. And insured.
- In Kansas, police say a “vandal” used a propane torch to cut through power poles and police consider “eco-terrorism.”
- A “suspicious device” was found outside a research lab in Nevada, and immediately animal rights activists are suspected.
In contrast, when a man sent 17 letters to lawmaker, activists, and journalists, with threatening statements and a substance intended to look like anthrax, he was a “hoaxer,” not a terrorist. (A hoaxer inspired by right-wingers like Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin).
When the SHAC 7 post personal information about animal researchers, it’s “animal enterprise terrorism.” But when Michelle Malkin posts the names and addresses of students who protest military recruitment, it’s all in good fun.
The message we’ve seen, time and again: it’s not “terrorism” if right-wingers do it.
Related posts:
