It may sound like a ridiculous question, and I'd normally be inclined to agree with you, but not today.
You see, we when we think of "Terrorism" we think of Shootings, stabbings, bombings, etc, against innocent, or mostly innocent complacent individuals that do not really deserve to die or be harmed.
When we think of "Extremism" we think of people who are radical in their beliefs, often religious, and which demand to force their ideology onto others and more-so dictate how they live their lives.
But is that all there is to Terrorism and Extremism?
No way!
Sure, we can agree that killing innocent people is bad, or hurting them, and thus many "Terrorist" groups such as ISIS, or this splinter/fork of ISIS, Boko Haram, are bad and shouldn't be doing much of the things they do.
While I will likely go into that later in another post, I will leave that be for now. Innocent people shouldn't be hurt or killed, ideally, and purposely doing so is unredeemable.
But I'd like to talk about a different type of "Terrorist" and "Extremist" today. One that is not fueled by national pride, religion, or any sort of controlling desires, but instead one that is fueled by compassion.
Yuh-oh, how could making someone afraid or hurting another person/entity be compassionate?!
Huh, why are there masked friends holding cute bunnies?
Meet the ALF, the #1 domestic Terrorist group in the USA. Many of their members have went away for many years, many well over a decade, doing one thing and one thing only: Putting their life on the line to save another life. They've burned down animal testing facilities, smashed hundreds of computers, rescued thousands of small rodents, rescued a few monkeys, dozens of cows, pigs, and the list goes on.
Oh wait, did I forget? They also rescued dozens of beagles and cute puppy's from animal testing facilities!
So have they killed anybody, hurt anybody, threatened the lives of innocent people? No, there's never been a single death or injury attributed to them (aside from financial/property). They respect all life.
So, back to the question: Is terrorism and extremism really a bad thing?
You tell me. Do you think it's bad to be extremely passionate about something you believe in, and stand up for what is right, even putting your safety on the line to stop oppression?
And for the big question, if you're still not convinced, look at this last picture and answer my final two questions to you, silently in your head or in the comments down below.
Would it be wrong to be an extremist when it comes to banning slavery?
Would it be wrong to damage the slave owners property (not slaves) or otherwise terrorize them, even downright assaulting them directly?
I for one say no, it is not wrong to hurt someone who is hurting others if there is no other way to stop them and they refuse to change.
I say screw that slave masters feelings, his slaves are NOT his slaves and they are NOT property for him to own.
He SHOULD be afraid, and anyone making that slave master afraid is doing so rightfully so and deserves nothing more than some hard earned appreciation.
The government and the Capitalist will call anything that threatens their hegemony or the status quo that they built up terrorism as to try to rally support against and justify further abuses against those they oppress.
I, for one, support my radical, terroristic, Extremist, masked brothers and sisters in the good fight to a better world and a better place for the ones you love, from Rojava and their struggles against Asaad and ISIS to the ALF and their struggles against the cruel animal neo-slavery industry, to even some of my anarchists who express their feelings through smashing property and making corporate wallets scream.
You're all heroes.
Disclaimer: I am not undermining the events that happened during slavery, if you're one to think that; and if you do think that I'd seriously encourage you to tell me why you're undermining the animal holocaust and general mistreatment of them, not to mention other things I have mentioned.
As always, raw, unscripted, unplanned, no proof-reads, just what my hands decided to place into the story box today.
Picture 1: http://www.newsweek.com/boko-haram-isis-nigeria-554112
PIctures 2 and 3: http://www.animalliberationfront.com/
Picture 4: http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/slavery/