Down with synonyms

Submitted by Michael Elvin (United States), Sep 7, 2004 at 13:22

Can it be that these newspapers are just looking for synonyms to enliven their prose? We do get bored with a story about the terrorists that brings up the word terrorist 28 times. Besides, if you want to address the wider readership, many do consider them freedom fighters.

We could as easily object to the MM (mainstream media) habit of referring to the state terrorists of Israel, Russia and the US as "government forces". In light of the fact that the civilian toll these forces have exacted exceeds the number of innocents the Islamic terrorists have killed, it would seem as appropriate to refer to them as the "state terrorists"-- that is, those terrorizing a population in the name of extending state control over the unwilling occupants of a contested area-- such as Palestine, Chechnya or Iraq.

Where is even-handedness?

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