Who Are the Terrorists?

Here’s a thought: calling people terrorists when there is no evidence that they are is itself a kind of terrorism.

We have probably all become desensitized to MAGA using words like “terrorist” to mean someone they dislike for some reason. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man who was mistakenly sent off to the Cecot prison in El Salvador, is apparently a “terrorist” for the crime of not actually being a criminal (i.e., someone convicted of a crime in a court of law, such as our current president, for example). This fact embarrasses the Trump administration, and so it has lashed out, trying to convict Abrego Garcia in the court of public opinion. In addition to the allegations of gang membership and spousal abuse, Trump has also produced a photo showing “damning” tattoos on Abrego Garcia’s hand. None of this is evidence of terrorism, though, or “evidence” at all in the legal sense, as it has not been presented in a court of law. The controversy surrounding this photo, whether “MS13” was photoshopped in, and if so, whether this was meant to fool us or meant to annotate the meaning of the images, is exactly the kind of issue that could and should be resolved in a court of law, rather than by memes and angry barbs on the internet.

While there are many different definitions of terrorism, the Oxford English Dictionary defines it concisely as the "unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” I’m not sure about the “unlawful” part since Trump seems to believe that anything he deems legal IS legal (“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law”). However, some in the Trump administration are throwing around the word terrorist about people who are clearly, objectively not terrorists. It is an attempt to scare and intimidate the American people — for political aims — which means it fits the OED definition.

These last few months, I have been haunted by the feeling that I need to DO something. The constitutional republic that I love is literally being dismantled before our eyes. I write this Substack, I post on Faceback, I contact my congressperson, I speak out wherever I can — but none of it feels like enough. I remember, when studying Nazi Germany, being horrified that the German people just let atrocities happen around them. Why didn’t they DO something? If I live long enough to come out the other side of this nightmare, I want to know that I tried to stop it. That I stood up for decency and the rule of law.

While it is natural, and perhaps inevitable, that we’ve become inured to hearing MAGA spokespeople spout utter, baseless nonsense, we need to fight against becoming desensitized. We can’t let blatant lies go uncontested. We can’t give in to the terrorism that is being perpetrated by MAGA. What’s more, we need to be taking notes, so that those who are committing crimes for this administration and violating the Constitution may someday be held accountable.

If enough people make it clear that we ARE paying attention and that we intend to hold them accountable, some of those enabling the more vile acts of this administration will think twice. Maybe. At this point, I admit it seems unlikely. But honestly I don’t know what else to do. And perhaps the thought of having a taste of their own medicine will scare some of them into the radical, crazy idea that due process for everyone is a critical part of living in a free country.