Was America founded on terrorism?

[steelio]

Oh yeah didnt the puritist flee to america to escape ... Christianity? Or at least what was being strew as such in england by a King that wanted religion to help with his rule... hmm starting to sound familiar... no it was not King George (bush) I dont think.

 

[inveterate]

You kill to get what you want. Doesn't matter what you name that killing, be it terrorism or justice. Fact remains if you win you're right. Anyone who thinks politically correct knows this very very well, they just choose to lie and maybe step a little bit ahead of those who are absent minded of their own nature.

 

[inveterate]

We must not hold grudges about the past however, because if anyone is happy with who and what they are and have today, then everything in the past is necessary to produce that. Grudges will only end what was gained, never produce.

 

[McGyver]

hell, given the history of this administration and their knowledge of "september the 11th". i would say they are truly the masters of terror.

 

[Xyclone]

Just remember this quote:

One person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter.

 

[raildogg]

waiting for Nik to come and start saying how the white man has done no wrong ...

 

[gopunk]

um, no. that's just called conquest... look up the def. for terrorism. there's a distinction between normal war and terrorism, and it's not that civilians are affected.

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: gopunk
um, no. that's just called conquest... look up the def. for terrorism. there's a distinction between normal war and terrorism, and it's not that civilians are affected.

Some of our practices were terrorism. We terrorized the Native American population so that they would submit to us. Yes, the white man did win territory through conquest but also through clever negotiating where they would taking all the profit.

That is not to say that I'm not proud of this country, because I am. Thomas Jefferson and our constitution show our great history. I am shameful of our other mistakes, however.

 

[walrus]

The Puritans were just like the Taliban. Only the Taliban didn't invade another country and kill all it's Inhabitants. So I guess that makes the Puritans a lot worse.

 

[ModerateRepZero]

while the definition of terrorism is disputed, generally speaking, there are several criteria that must be fulfilled for some to label the action as such.

- desire to achieve a political goal
this is what separates terrorists from common criminals, who generally don't commit crimes to change policy or draw attention to a national cause

- targeting of innocent civilians
another generally accepted distinction between terrorists and criminals, although there is legitimate dispute over whether using weapons (ie explosives) which inadvertantly cause civilian casualties falls under terrorist activity.

- intends to cause fear or terror as a means of bargaining or drawing attention


that said, I do not think that America was founded on terrorism, considering that the European settlers and conquistadors were interested in wealth and land, and not motivated by political goals. Nor was the American revolutions an act of terrorism, since I don't recall most Continentals attacking families and relatives of Loyalists.

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: ModerateRepZero
while the definition of terrorism is disputed, generally speaking, there are several criteria that must be fulfilled for some to label the action as such.

- desire to achieve a political goal
this is what separates terrorists from common criminals, who generally don't commit crimes to change policy or draw attention to a national cause

- targeting of innocent civilians
another generally accepted distinction between terrorists and criminals, although there is legitimate dispute over whether using weapons (ie explosives) which inadvertantly cause civilian casualties falls under terrorist activity.

- intends to cause fear or terror as a means of bargaining or drawing attention


that said, I do not think that America was founded on terrorism, considering that the European settlers and conquistadors were interested in wealth and land, and not motivated by political goals. Nor was the American revolutions an act of terrorism, since I don't recall most Continentals attacking families and relatives of Loyalists.

I'm sure there was approval from the Spanish monarchy towards the conquistadors. The British government was involved early on.

Politics enter into the situation when you talk about wealth and land. In fact, they play a huge role in it.

The Europeans, particularly the British, since we are talking about America, were definately interest in America's land and wealth. I guess land equals wealth in many cases. However, there were "obstacles" in the way. The way they chose to remove those obstacles was borderline terrorism. Especially in some cases, where methods of terror were applied to scare the Native population into submission.

 

[Gamer X]

America was founded on genocide and I guess genocide is a form of terrorism because you
terrorise people.