the Trouble with Terrorism

Some of my favorite episodes of Star Trek, any series was with the Trouble with Tribbles. I wish this was a warm and fuzzy post, it is not. Stop here and skip it if you don’t like this sort of conversation.

Without giving you a lot of detail, let me impart that I have met and been “messed up” by real terrorists. The definition is usable on anyone who behaves just like the ones in movies and television. Those stereotypes are fairly accurate, with the exception the terrorists I crossed paths never had one stand out as a comedic break in the scene or story, they were all very serious.

What I discovered in the real “terrorist” persona is that they were pushed, they were at a wits end to become the person who is more intimate with their automatic weapon of death than ANYTHING ELSE in this world we exist in, even their own bodies are treated lessor. I have witnessed terrorists take better care of their weapons than their own bodies. Does this sound profound? That’s may be how different they are to you and I, unless you are a terrorist reading this. I understand why their tools of destruction and power are so important. Every terrorist I met “in the field” had a death wish on their head. There was someone or a group who wanted them dead. Some may have just felt this because they had so many former loved ones murdered by themselves in a rage or by other lunatics.

What is the “terrorist mind”? This may surprise even a terrorist. They were terrorized first. That is the only way they could become a genuine terrorist, they were terrorized first. Part of their growth into being a terrorist is getting over having been terrorized. That’s what made some of them so committed and tough. Pain and loss. They’ve already experienced it long before they murdered someone themself.

What makes terrorists so dangerous is their fear of being terrorized by others. Their fear is greater than the average person who NEVER has been terrorized. They’ve either experienced terrorism upon their own body and mind, or have seen it up close and personal enough–meaning some just witnessed it in childhood when they were the most emotionally vulnerable. Some may have been abused and repeatedly until they broke in childhood or adulthood. Not everyone breaks though. Long time terrorists know they don’t need to break every one they meet. Some even volunteer to be evil. Others, just are not good potential terrorists even if you break them.

Terrorists are tough. That is undeniable. Some are also very intelligent people. Some have been thrown in situations for a long time they had to react in, others sought fighting and controversy.

The common desire for a “terrorist” is CONTROL. The ones I’ve met were in a constant state of not having enough control. Something in their life was GONE, a key that would allow them to have a normal life of having a job, family, a home and a steady easy future. I have met many criminals, who had already blown off being a good citizen for the rest of their lives. They had already committed to being dangerous to others, in big or small ways. Forever. Why they were doing this is varied. Money, or to stay in a city, or country, or to keep the life they have. Something desperate enough that they’d give up their humanity forever and taint their own life to be one with Satan or the devil, or evil itself. I could go on with the names of evil entities but I think you understand what I am saying. Terrorists have given up their humanity, willingly. And that’s what’s scary about them. They made a conscious decision to do it. They even force themselves to stick with it.

That is the Trouble with Terrorism. It is a choice usually by someone who doesn’t want to be injured. They go to great extremes to protect themselves, to the point of damaging anyone who could potentially be a threat. They exist for being on the offense, not so much the defense. They think ahead and strike, damage, undermine, pull the rug out from, disable, destroy things before they can be a conceivable problem for them. But what happens when the terrorists don’t do the right thing even for themselves? Or if they are NOT good at strategy and prediction? Some of the more expendable ones have had itchy fingers and made excuses later. They may not have wanted to think, and just “removing unwanted” things… oh such as people, has become too commonplace. Are they being self-destructive? Are they using terrorism to get back and be vengeful? Some do. I think the reality of the “average” terrorist is that they are an injured person… who is not healing.

In the animal world, injured animals are the most dangerous. They’ll even destroy relatives, or pack members they need.

In the case of Star Trek’s tribbles, when there is readily available food they’ll eat constantly and multiply until the resources dwindle and they start to die off again. They can’t steal more of something that does not exist. In the end they’ll either start eating each other, or remain vegetarian and die of starvation. Tribbles in the Star Trek universe are used for terrorism against a food supply on a starship or elsewhere. They will keep eating and multiplying until all the food is gone. Do you know of any “human tribbles” in the United States? Humans tend to want money more than food. Human tribbles tend to terrorize indiscriminately: doesn’t matter how good or bad, how smart or dumb, beautiful or ugly a target is. They feed on grief of others, fortify themselves with stolen possessions.

Thankfully, most real United States citizens work hard for their money and are not terrorists–they don’t need to be. The United States was originally built by people from all kinds of nations–SEEKING WORK. Seeking to EARN a better way of life they could not get elsewhere. Secondarily, immigrants wanted to be able to study and be able to honor the religion(s) they wished to hold dear–it was mostly Christianity in a variety of forms. The U.S.A. was deemed a land of OPPORTUNITY for BUSINESS. It was not by design, still is not a place of pure leisure. That’s why U.S. citizens are not normally (and it is illegal to be) a terrorist. They…WE… do not live for vengeance and thievery, those are NOT main focuses here. That’s why terrorism is not a welcome thing. Terrorists appear to be lazy, angry people who steal wealth through force, not work and dedication. Very stand out un-American!

Captain Kirk of Star Trek: the Original Series looks exasperated with all the tribbles! When there are just a few of them, they are cute. But hundreds of thousands potentially eating their way through all the stored food can cause a shortage!