what is the difinition of "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter"?

Answer 1

Blowing up people in suicide runs does not equate freedom fighter.

Answer 2

Depends on your point of view. The founding fathers fighting in the revolutionary war were viewed as terrorists of sorts by the British. This doesn't mean every terrorist is a freedom fighter though. Some people are just fanatics and just plain crazy. It isn't a great piece of cinema but the movie "Red Dawn" with Patrick Swayze can give you some insight to this. It is a fictitious story of the Communist Russians and Cubans invading the US and a band of kids fighting an unconventional war against them. You cheer for the kids but you realize they are using the same tatics as insurgents around the globe. There is no right or wrong in that statement just a matter of your point of view.

Oh and as a multiple combat veteran you neo-cons need to relax a little, I knew very few of your kind standing shoulder to shoulder with me in any formation.

Answer 3

The phrase simply means that a label you apply to someone or something depends on your point of view.

We in the United States and the rest of the free world have labeled members of Al Queda as terrorists. People in places where Al Queda has influence may believe that Al Queda are fighting for their freedom from the western world.

It comes down to a what you believe is a more appropriate label.

Answer 4

One man's terrorist is not another man's freedom fighter.
Consider, when someone calls the terrorists in Iraq "freedom fighters", they are implying that America's objective in Iraq is to take the freedom away from the people. Trying to initiate a free and independent electoral government does not meet this criteria by any definition.
The terrorists are fighting against freedom - they are killing their own people. They are fighting for an agenda of hatred and domination - hardly the "freedom fighters" that some people like to tag them with - Cindy Sheehan included.

Answer 5

It's simply a matter of who is doing the killing and who is being killed.

The first terrorists in this country were men with names probably familiar to you. Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Henry and Washington were considered terrorists for defying the King and attacking the redcoats. Our forefathers felt they were occupying this land illegally, so they fought back in any way they could, even using guerilla tactics. (Sound familiar yet?)

Israeli murderers are called 'commandos,' Arab commandos are called 'terrorists.' The contra killers were known as 'freedom fighters.' Depending on your perspective, it is propoganda. Liberalism has little to do with it.

Answer 6

Margret Thatcher said it and she was describing the British fight with the IRA and she would know better than most what it is like to fight terrorism they very nearly successfully killed her.
How many people would have described this terrorist organization as freedom fighters and raised funds to help them murder innocent civilians and still find some justification for it .

Answer 7

its a meanlingless platitude, like saying one person's trash is another man's pleasure. the problem being, that some things are just trash. and people who blow up other people are still called terrorists in sanity land.

i wonder if the person below understands the difference between uniformed armies targetting other uniformed armies in armed, open combat -vs- boarding a plane of civilians, hijacking it, torturing the civilians aboard before flying them into a building full of other unaware civilians. or planting a bomb in a discotech, or a subway, or a train, or cafe.

Answer 8

I think it was Reagan who said that, and he was talking about the Nicaraguan Contras who were waging war against the government, as well as murdering international aid workers in cold blood, not to mention mining the commercial harbor.

I wonder if the poster above applies his pat "People who blow up other people are still called terrorists in sanity land" statement to Reagan as well?

Answer 9

For example: while Bush claims he has been figthing for freedom in Iraq, most of the world thinks he is a terrorist.

It all depends on whether or not you are the aggressor spouting propaganda, or a neutral third party simply looking at the facts.

Answer 10

Its the people fighting in Palestine and Kashmir for their freedom! Some people say that they are terrorist but some people think that they have a right to have freedom and they are fighting for that!!!