Terrorism: Sometimes It's A Good Thing
10.09.2002
Terrorism.
A word that, especially these days, sends shivers down one's spine.
A word associated with evil, dishonor and cowardice.
A word that invokes images of men with explosives strapped to their bodies, of the Oklahoma City bombing, of the Pentagon in flames, and of the twin World Trade Center towers collapsing.
A word defined by Webster's Dictionary as "the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons" and by Thomas Jefferson as "the act of terrorizing, or state of being terrorized; a mode of government by terror or intimidation."
However, terrorism is sometimes a good thing.
Sometimes terrorists and acts of terrorism can be, and have been, justified and even celebrated by history.
You don't believe me? Then let me share with you one of my favorite examples of a patriotic, freedom loving group of terrorists and their terrorist act - from United States history. An event known as...
The Boston Tea Party
This event during the Colonial tea tax boycott is the first and most famous of several other similar copycat 'tea parties' in various Colonial harbors. According to the Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum,
An American Patriot - Samuel Adams |
- On May 10, 1773, the British parliament authorized the East India Co., which faced bankruptcy due to corruption and mismanagement, to export a half a million pounds of tea to the American colonies for the purpose of selling it without imposing upon the company the usual duties and tariffs. With these privileges, the company could undersell American merchants and monopolize the colonial tea trade. Not only did this action create an unfair commerce to the merchants of the colonies but it proved to be the spark that revived American passions about the issue of taxation without representation. To fully understand the resentment of the colonies to Great Britain and King George III, one must understand that this was not the first time that the colonists were treated unfairly. In previous years, the 13 colonies saw a number of commercial tariffs including the Sugar Act of 1764, which taxed sugar, coffee, and wine, the Stamp Act of 1765, which put a tax on all printed matter, such as newspapers and playing cards, and the Townshend Acts of 1767 which placed taxes on items like glass, paints, paper, and tea. The Tea Act of 1773 was the last straw.
- On November 27, 1773, three ships from the East India Co., named the Dartmouth, Eleanor and the Beaver, loaded with tea landed at Boston and were prevented from unloading their cargo. Fearing that the tea would be seized for failure to pay customs duties, and eventually become available for sale, something had to be done. Demanding that the tea be returned to where it came from or face retribution, the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams began to meet to determine the fate of the three cargo ships in the Boston harbor.
- On the cold evening of December 16, 1773, a large band of patriots, disguised as Mohawk Indians, burst from the South Meeting House with the spirit of freedom burning in their eyes. The patriots headed towards Griffin's Wharf and the three ships. Quickly, quietly, and in an orderly manner, the Sons of Liberty boarded each of the tea ships. Once on board, the patriots went to work striking the chests with axes and hatchets. Thousands of spectators watched in silence. Only the sounds of ax blades splitting wood rang out from Boston Harbor. Once the crates are open, the patriots dumped the tea into the sea.
- The silence was broken only by the cry of "East Indian" as patriots caught Charles O'Conner filling the lining of his coat with tea. George Hewes removed O'Connor's coat, threatened him with death if he revealed the identity of any man present, and sent him scurrying out of town. The patriots work feverishly, fearing an attack by Admiral Montague at any moment. By nine o'clock p.m., the Sons of Liberty had emptied a total of 342 crates of tea into Boston Harbor. Fearing any connection to their treasonous deed, the patriots took off their shoes and shook them overboard. They swept the ships' decks, and made each ship's first mate attest that only the tea was damaged.
The Boston Tea Party, a clearly terroristic action, is celebrated and remembered with patriotic pride as one of the signature events leading up to not only the revolution, eventual freedom from "taxation without representation" and the formation of the United States of America. As such, it and the patriots who participated in this act of disobedience should forever be remembered.
Perhaps you can think of more such incidents? Tell me about them in the forum.
For more info on the Boston Tea Party, see Open Directory Project Search: Boston Tea Party.
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