| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

JuliusFinalAnalogy

Page history last edited by PBworks 18 years, 5 months ago

In the light of recent events around the world terrorism has been an increasing concern on the minds of people everywhere. What terrorism is, and who qualifies as a terrorist are two questions that frequently rise surrounding the topic. Terrorism and terrorists are terms that are readily used during times of war and panic to identify people that have broken a law and attracted some public interest by the stir that they have created. With such a substantial amount of media attention given to the topic it is hard to know what sets a terrorist apart from any other law breaking individual. Terrorists are to society what a bully is on the playground in grade school.

 

The main tactic that both the terrorists and the bully use to achieve their goals is fear. Both rely on the fact that at times people, and children alike, can be too afraid to confront their problems and would sooner meet the demands of their enemies. In many cases this can lead to a successful endeavor for both the terrorist and the bully. For example, when a bully threatens to inflict pain on someone if they don’t give him their lunch money, he is relying on the fact that most eight-year-old school children will be too afraid to confront the problem at that point and give in to the demands. In a similar fashion, terrorists in South America will kidnap the children of rich and powerful people to use as a bargaining chip. Then they demand that a ransom be paid or to manipulate the parents for political reasons. Most parents would do anything to keep their children out of harm’s way and thus they give into the demands. In cases such as these, terrorists will aim to use what they have gained to fuel further terrorist attacks on people or governments. (Why aren't these people just kidnappers?) This is why terrorists and bullies receive a certain amount of respect for their capabilities amongst the people that they target. In many cases bullies need only to prove that they are capable of the acts that they threaten once or twice to then be able to continue their threats and receive a desired result. Terrorists groups like Al Qaeda generate an instant fear and respect whenever they are seen on the Middle Eastern television stations making new threats on Americans and many other groups of people. It does not take very much to have everyone in America remember the events of September 11 and fear the possibility that it will occur again. Attacks like these spawn a similar hatred that is felt by those that are targeted by the terrorists and bullies. The fact that both terrorists and bullies are equally difficult to eradicate only contributes to build the feeling of contempt that is felt for them.

 

There are essential differences that exist between terrorist organizations around the world and bullies on playground in grade schools. One difference between the two parties is the tactics that they use to achieve the things that they desire. Terrorists have a wide variety of tactics that they use on noncombatant people and groups. These include suicide bombs, car bombs, hijacking, kidnapping, cyber terrorism, and many others. Although the threats may differ for bullies, their tactics are somewhat limited and much less severe than those of terrorist organizations. Another major difference that exists between the two is that terrorist organizations’ targets are different than a bully’s. Terrorists will typically target large groups of people. These people may or may not be for whom the message is intended. In a case such as the terrorist attacks on September 11, the people that were directly harmed were not the sole target. The terrorist were attacking all Americans and trying to manipulate the US government. A bully’s intent is much more simple and direct. They will target the individual that they seek to instill fear. This is one of the main reasons that bullies cannot be considered terrorists. Terrorist attacks are typically directed toward groups of people. Attacks on an individual person, much like the bully’s tactics, do not qualify as terrorism. Many schools include attacks on individuals in their definition of terrorism. If this were the case, there would be grounds for arresting nearly one student out of every grade school class. Common sense should prove to everyone that actions like those of a grade school bully are not on the same level as those of a terrorist organization.

 

Perhaps a more important difference would be that bullies are typically in a visibley strong postion whereas terrorists are not.

 

Terrorists encompass a wide variety of people. Attacking at random and without identity terrorists have created a mystique that has caused confusion about what qualifies as terrorism. At their core they are merely people or organizations that seek to make gains using fear tactics, much like a grade school bully.

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.