terrorist -- n. One who engages in an act of terrorism. (American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition) terrorism -- n. The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence to intimidate or coerce societies or government, often for ideological or political reasons. (American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition)
A previously unknown group calling itself the Secret Organization group al Qaeda Organization in Europe released a statement Thursday claiming responsibility for the London subway and bus bombings. -- CNN July 8
I was floored this morning when I read that the BBC re-edited some of its of its coverage of the London Underground and bus bombings to avoid labeling the perpetrators as "terrorists."
The more politically correct term?
Bombers.
According to the article
The BBC's guidelines state that its credibility is undermined by the "careless use of words which carry emotional or value judgments."
Consequently, "the word 'terrorist' itself can be a barrier rather than an aid to understanding" and its use should be "avoided."
This is chilling story on several levels.
First is fact that the higher ups at the BBC are unable (or unwilling) to an act of terrorism for what it actually is. Rather than report the truth, the BBC would rather play it's politically correct games to appease who, exactly? The terrorists? (Excuse me, I mean bombers.) Do they think that using the term bomber instead of the word terrorist is going to pacify these people? It sounding more and more like Karl Rove was really on to something.
Second we have a news organization re-editing its own coverage to fit it's own political agenda. Is it just me or is there something eerily similar to George Orwell's 1984
In 1984 the main character, Winston Smith, works for government's propaganda machine The Ministry of Truth. It is Smith's job to rewrite the past newspapers and magazines so they can further the political agenda of the Party and Big Brother
This process of continuous alteration was applied not only to newspapers, but to books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters, leaflets, films, sound-tracks, cartoons, photographs -- to every kind of literature or documentation which might conceivably hold any political or ideological significance. Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct, nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record. All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary. (1984, Chapter 4)
Maybe it's time we rename the BBC to something more appropriate like The Ministry of Truth.