Domestic Terrorist?
There are a number of definitions of terrorism….
- “the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion” – Webster
- “The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.” – Yahoo
- “the term ‘terrorism’ means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targetsby subnational groups or clandestine agents” – US Law
There are a number of individuals out there, most notably started among right-wingers by Michelle Malkin, that Scott Roeder’s assassination of Dr. George Tiller was domestic terrorism. This is the kind of thing I would expect from the left-wingers who are simply attempting to flare up emotions against pro-lifers. Just as they attempt to label Dr. Tiller as a great and inspired champion of womens rights, I call him a mass murderer. It is all about words and proper context. My depiction of Dr. Tiller is however accurate, he is a mass murderer by any definition. Yes, his murder was legal, but so was Adolph Hitler’s. Some will scream that no, Hitler violated international law or something just as insignificant, but the fact is Hitler made up his laws as he went along and in his country, it was perfectly legal for him to exterminate sub-humans like the Jews. In the United States, it was perfectly legal for Dr. Tiller to exterminate sub-humans like unborn children.
The operative words in the definitions of terrorism are, “coercion” and “noncombatant targets“. Roeder’s objective was to kill someone who he thought was killing babies. He killed a specific individual for a specific purpose and did not engage in indiscriminate killing to make any political point. He was a murderer, by any definition of the term. If you want to categorize him as a terrorist, then you are going to have to do the same with anyone who kills another person with premeditation. To so loosely paint the deed with the brush of terrorism diminishes true terrorism (like 9/11) down to a simple act of murder.
Also, for you lefties who seem to be missing this other important point, Roeder was NOT a pro-lifer. He may have been anti-abortion, but he was no pro-life advocate. The absolutely conclusive evidence of this is the fact that he killed Tiller the baby killer. Puts them both in the same category with the only difference being the magnitude of each persons guilt. I personally would have not had either of them over for dinner.
“I feel sorrow for the Tiller family. I respect the sanctity of life and the tragedy that took place today in Kansas clearly violates respect for life. This murder also damages the positive message of life, for the unborn, and for those living. Ask yourself, ‘What will those who have not yet decided personally where they stand on this issue take away from today’s event in Kansas?’
Regardless of my strong objection to Dr. Tiller’s abortion practices, violence is never an answer in advancing the pro-life message.” – Sarah Palin
Seriously?
First and foremost, it’s unjustified, at the least, to imagine that Roeder thought that killing Tiller wasn’t aimed at making a politically coercive point. He targeted a specific, very well-known, and politically controversial abortionist. It’s theoretically possible, I suppose, that he just wanted to gun down one guy and didn’t want to send a message that providing abortions will get you shot.
But there’s no reason to assume that to start with, and his choice of Tiller as a target suggests otherwise. So, yes, coercive.
Likewise, whatever you want to say about Tiller or abortion, he wasn’t a “combatant.” Which is what you have to be in order to not be a “noncombatant.” Someone working on death row, for instance, helps to kill people, but if a terrorist shot him in violent protest against the death penalty, he or she would still be gunning down a noncombatant. And, therefore, still be a terrorist.
Long story short: Roeder is a domestic terrorist. If you deny that, you are, in some small (or large) way, engaging in apologetics for domestic terrorism.
Okay, lets classify all murderers as terrorists then. One person killed a person he was angry with. Happens every day. All you are doing is diminishing the definition of terrorism to fit some political agenda yourself.
Timothy McVeigh was a domestic terrorist. The guy in Little Rock was a domestic terrorist. The Tiller incident was a simple homicide.
Simply to make the point:
Contrasted with:
Enough said. Roeder is NOT charged with a terrorist act.