What is a terrorist, and a terrorist nation to you?

Don’t bother with links ,I want personal opinions on the subject.

A terrorist is someone who deliberately kills non-combatants in order to spread terror and some kind of ideological message.

I don’t know that I’ve ever used the phrase “terrorist nation”, but to me that would refer to a nation that either greatly supports terrorists or itself is responsible for a number of terrorist attacks.

If you employ fear as a weapon you are a terrorist. Plain a simple.

“Terrorist” is mostly a label used by Western media and governments for political and propaganda purposes.

That is, ironically, the megacorporate news media and several politicians and elements of the US government have used fear of those they label terrorists as a political propaganda weapon, and a way to generate popular agreement for wars, violence, security measures and erosion of human rights, and so consolidate even more wealth and power into the military-industrial complex, the oil industry, and the creation of new security and intelligence gathering industries.

This is what I mostly think of first when I hear “terrorist” – I think of the propaganda and the ironic use of military force “against terrorists”, and how the Orwellian US “War on Terror” has killed and terrorized and alienated so many innocent people, and how that inspires more hatred toward to US.

A terrorist is a person whose actions are designed to incite fear to accomplish a goal, usually political or theological. These people are generally zealots about their ideologies. A Terrorist Nation is one that terrorists feel protected in.

I was called a class clown in grade school. I disagree. I consider myself a freedom fighter.

“Terrorist” is a label we get to assign to people to justify killing them (often after-the-fact). It immediately silences all debate about diplomacy, peaceful resolution or moderation because that person will be charged as a terrorist-sympathizer.

Thank you all for your answers.

@gorillapaws That is evidenced especially by the way dictators use the term. Assad and Erdogan have regularly called anyone who opposes their regime “terrorists”. I do think the word has a potentially useful definition, but it is misused so often it’s losing its efficacy.

@Darth_Algar By that definition, organized religion, parents and police should probably be considered terrorists.

@cheebdragon

Yes, organized religion has been the impetus of most acts of terrorism throughout history.

Parents? If they weaponize fear, then yes, absolutely.

Police? Yes, many do.