Terrorist organizations, by contrast, are characterized by fanatical devotion to their agendas. Their agendas are not always clearly defined, or even sane, but it's that single-minded drive to impose their will, fight for freedom, whatever, that pushes them to commit atrocities.
So, what about Black October? The news--major news networks, not the entertainment variety--frequently paints them as a bogeyman. They are a favorite topic for alarmists along all points of the political spectrum and, if everyone is to be believed, they are responsible for everything from various economic crises, to plagues, to wars, to the largest ongoing bill for property destruction the world has ever seen. I don't put much credit in alarmists. In fact, that's an understatement. I feel active animosity for alarmists; especially ones with political agendas. For them, terrorism is a buzzword, the ultimate scare tactic, and Black October consistently tops the chart on their doomsday countdown.
Assuming my previous statement is correct, terrorists are defined by their causes, then I'm confused as to the validity of the claim that Black October is a terrorist organization. They've been known to steal resources from every first world country on the map, regardless of political inclination. They've never attacked a holy site of any of the world's major religions, or even made a religious statement. Come to think of it, since accepting the responsibility for the flu pandemic immediately following WWI, they haven't made a single public statement; even at that time they made no demands, it was more of a blanket apology.
For those of you who forgot your high school history, World War I was bad: 37 million casualties, civilian and military. The superflu that followed took around a hundred million. At the time, that was about 5% of the world's population. 5%, that's one out of every twenty people dead.
Most people have heard that Black October was somehow linked to the outbreak. Some consider this everyday conspiracy-theory trash. Some consider it solemn truth and think it reason enough to hate the organization no matter what they stand for.
This hardline hatred doesn't make sense though. No nation, religion, ethnic group or political preference was wholly safe from the massive viral outbreak.
Scholars, buffs and fanatics on the subject have all heard of a supposed "black gene" and even a connection to the sunken city of Atlantis.
There's too much here for a single article. All articles this month, therefore, will be directed toward a single goal: telling the Black October story, and trying not to get killed for doing so.
Cheers,
-B.H.
So, what about Black October? The news--major news networks, not the entertainment variety--frequently paints them as a bogeyman. They are a favorite topic for alarmists along all points of the political spectrum and, if everyone is to be believed, they are responsible for everything from various economic crises, to plagues, to wars, to the largest ongoing bill for property destruction the world has ever seen. I don't put much credit in alarmists. In fact, that's an understatement. I feel active animosity for alarmists; especially ones with political agendas. For them, terrorism is a buzzword, the ultimate scare tactic, and Black October consistently tops the chart on their doomsday countdown.
Assuming my previous statement is correct, terrorists are defined by their causes, then I'm confused as to the validity of the claim that Black October is a terrorist organization. They've been known to steal resources from every first world country on the map, regardless of political inclination. They've never attacked a holy site of any of the world's major religions, or even made a religious statement. Come to think of it, since accepting the responsibility for the flu pandemic immediately following WWI, they haven't made a single public statement; even at that time they made no demands, it was more of a blanket apology.
For those of you who forgot your high school history, World War I was bad: 37 million casualties, civilian and military. The superflu that followed took around a hundred million. At the time, that was about 5% of the world's population. 5%, that's one out of every twenty people dead.
Most people have heard that Black October was somehow linked to the outbreak. Some consider this everyday conspiracy-theory trash. Some consider it solemn truth and think it reason enough to hate the organization no matter what they stand for.
This hardline hatred doesn't make sense though. No nation, religion, ethnic group or political preference was wholly safe from the massive viral outbreak.
Scholars, buffs and fanatics on the subject have all heard of a supposed "black gene" and even a connection to the sunken city of Atlantis.
There's too much here for a single article. All articles this month, therefore, will be directed toward a single goal: telling the Black October story, and trying not to get killed for doing so.
Cheers,
-B.H.
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