Terrorism is the use of terror for ideological, political or religious ends. The word “terrorisme” was first used in November 1794, when it was used to describe the “doctrine of the partisans of the Terror”, those who, some time earlier, had exercised power by waging an intense and violent struggle against the counter-revolutionaries. It was a way of exercising power, not a means of acting against it. The word evolved during the 19th century to mean action against the state rather than action by it (Terrorisme: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorisme).
Terrorism therefore stems from action by the State against its own people. Eco-terrorists are defined as “threats, intimidation and acts of violence against property or persons (civilians, police or military) committed in the name of ecologism”. (Ecoterrorisme: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Écoterrorisme).
But doesn’t terrorism come from those in power who use the police and the army against people who follow the advice of scientists to avoid the deaths and migrations linked to global warming? This is illegitimate violence.
These people in power could have acted in the 1990s to prevent the current disasters and can still act to prevent them in the future. This inaction in the face of global warming and despite the warnings of the scientific community is a form of terrorism that is amplified when these people use the police and the army against desperate environmental activists to make their voices heard. In effect, the people are allowed to elect but not to decide. Instead, our leaders encourage pollution. The Légion d’honneur for Total’s boss, the difficulty for farmers and fishermen to convert to organic farming in the face of a system that only allows them to survive by polluting, and so on.
Rather than attacking immigrants who come to take up jobs in developed countries, wouldn’t it be better to attack the oligarchs who plunder the wealth of developing countries, making life miserable for the people in the countries they pollute to no end? If people were treated well in their countries of origin, they would not seek to emigrate. And what about the migration and deaths caused by natural disasters resulting from climate change brought about by the thoughtlessness of these oligarchs?
The police and the army have a responsibility when they defend this oligarchy instead of defending the will of the people and saving lives by using the advice of scientists who have all the solutions to stop polluting and upsetting the climate. We have the solutions, we just have to do it!
This oligarchy is taking all the wealth and running our so-called democracies. When will we have popular initiative referendums so that we no longer need violence to make ourselves heard?
“People who rebel against injustice are called terrorists. Are they evil? No, they have found no other way out than violence.” Francis Ford Coppola
France is the 7th world power (https://www.journaldunet.fr/patrimoine/guide-des-finances-personnelles/1209268-classement-pib-quelles-sont-les-puissances-mondiales/#quels-sont-les-30premiers-pib-du-monde-). Why is it that the French have such problems with their purchasing power that they can’t, for example, afford unsubsidised and overpriced organic produce or invest in a greener home? Wouldn’t it be better to introduce a universal basic income so that everyone can live decently, rather than engaging in a race for jobs that leads to the suffering associated with unemployment, the RSA and bullshit jobs (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_jobs) that we are already paying for with our taxes? With the development of technology and AI, work will not be there for everyone, with or without immigrants. A universal basic income would enable everyone to live decently, so that wealth is redistributed and not monopolised by the oligarchy.
