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Comment by cltby | Hacker News Reader

It's quite unfair to call them terrorists when they've harmed no one and destroyed nothing. Remember, riots are the voice of the unheard!

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> It's quite unfair to call them terrorists when they've harmed no one and destroyed nothing.

People were harmed and property was destroyed. There's plenty of videos of fights breaking out and capitol windows being broken.

https://twitter.com/search?q=washingtondc%20windows%20until%...

I thought “people over property”? This seemed like a “mostly peaceful” protest. Or have the rules changed now that it’s the other side doing it?

Four people are dead. The building was ransacked. Bombs were placed. There were people obviously planning kidnapping (kidnapping at the least, most likely the plan included murder). This was not a peaceful protest.

Please don’t report rumors as facts.

The only dead person was one of the protestors.

If you check the news I think you'll see my information was correct. Please don't allege rumormongering when you may just be missing facts.

> they've harmed no one

Besides the democratic process

> destroyed nothing

Besides the capitol

> the voice of the unheard!

I've been hearing about them weekly for the last 4 years and I'm not even in the US

> It’s quite unfair to call them terrorists when they’ve harmed no one and destroyed nothing.

There have been quite a number of injuries and property damage, deployment of chemical irritants by the mob against law enforcement, and several explosive devices identified and defused in the attempt to use violence and threats of further violence to overturn the results of the recent election.

> There have been quite a number of injuries and property damage, deployment of chemical irritants by the mob against law enforcement, and several explosive devices identified and defused

You're right, I've revised my view of the incident. I now see this constitutes sedition, an attack on our very republic.

For consistency, I've also reconsidered my view of the BLM riots. In light of the billions in property damage; the tens of direct deaths and thousands of ensuing murders; the violent mob attacks on law enforcement, replete with "chemical irritants" and Molotov cocktails; all on a scale 1e3 to 1e5 larger than what's happening in DC; I have to conclude they were a grave act of terrorism.

They are disrupting political process via force in the name of ideology. They're domestic terrorists.

The standard was set last summer. Leftists spent three months torching police stations, attacking courthouses, looting businesses, and confronting politicians in their homes. I continue to be assiduously reminded that none of this constituted terrorism. Don't see why this should be treated any differently.

Sure, but they didn't interfere in the election of the President. Open your eyes.

Both you and the folks replying to you are painting with a broad brush.

Only some small portion of these protests are likely to be violent bad actors, and the proper protesters should not be disrupted by law enforcement

Show me the politician inciting the Summer's arsonists to destruction.

There are always people taking advantage of or inciting chaos to do reckless things. They need to be tried and, if found guilty, punished. Even if they're the president.

Show me the politician inciting the Summer's arsonists to destruction.

"People over property" is probably the most direct encouragement of property destruction.

At least one person has been shot. https://twitter.com/AP/status/1346918654076723202

It's true. "terrorism" is a bad word and we should not use it. The definition prohibits an objective meaning.

And I would rather see this police response for BLM, than that response for these people.

Say the dead comment I can't reply to:

> Thats probably because you hate black people more than you respect Democracy.

this is extra funny to me because it is also mathematically bogus. I'm saying I very much don't want the cops harassing BLM protests, even if it the price is letting these protests vandalize the Capitol building.

Maybe poster meant "That's probably because you like black people more than you respect Democracy". To which I answer, "...you call the Senate Democracy?"

I saw a video on twitter of a window getting destroyed.

There is a photo going around of a man carrying off a dais across the Rotunda. The British web site I saw it on made a joke about Antiques Roadshow.

They broke into the Capitol building. Smashed windows. They've attempted to break into the House and Senate chambers.

This was an act of political intimidation intended to derail a legislative body's constitutional duties.

It absolutely fits the definition of terrorism.

All I read on HN is how terrorism isn't a big deal, doesn't kill many people.

So this might be terrorism, but no big deal right?

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