What Would You Call It?

Today I had FOXNEWS on in the background when I heard a story that infuriated me. White House correspondent Helen Thomas, an admitted as-left-as-you-can-go liberal, took Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary, to task for not condemning Israel for their "deliberate massacre." She was talking about the incident in the Mediterranean Sea where nine members of a flotilla meaning to bypass Israel's blockade were gunned down. Look closely at those words: DELIBERATE MASSACRE. I wonder if she knows what they mean?

Deliberate, as defined by New Standard, is to consider carefully and at length, weigh. Consulting a law dictionary, Merriam-Webster defines deliberate as to think about and weigh or discuss issues and decision carefully. Deliberate can be compared to premeditated. So before we even get to the definition of massacre, let's look at what Ms. Thomas is insinuating with her comments. She is effectively saying Israel with forethought in mind went aboard those vessels with the intent to kill, or in other words, the massacre was the plan from the beginning.

Massacre, as defined by New Standard, is the indiscriminate, ruthless killing of human beings or animals, slaughter. So again, reflecting on Ms. Thomas' comment, Israel considered carefully, then with premeditation, ruthlessly slaughtered the flotilla members. As far as I'm concerned, her words are slanderous at best. The event off the coast was an unfortunate event but not a massacre; and the event definitely was not a deliberate massacre.

Her use of the word massacre made me wonder if other "massacres" have been deemed a massacre when they might not actually be a massacre? The first that came to my mind was the Boston Massacre. This incident occurred in early 1770 outside the Custom House. A crowd gathered and taunted the sentry on duty. A group of redcoats arrived to lend aid. Confusion reigned and the soldiers fired their muskets. Five people would eventually die from the incident, three immediately, two of them later (New Standard, pg B-370). Was this a massacre?

In 1966, a 25 year old ex-marine ascended the tower on the University of Texas campus and began a reign of terror that would not end until some brave souls got into the tower and took his life. Known as the Texas Tower Massacre, this event resulted in the loss of 15 people's lives and the wounding of 33 others (Macleod). Charles Whitman, with premeditation and ruthlessness, took his mother's life, his wife's life, and the lives of people who were unlucky enough to get in his sights while in the tower. Was this a massacre?

In 1972, eight Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic village in Munich, Germany during the early morning of the Summer Olympics. They would kill two Israeli Olympic members and take another nine hostage. In the end, all of the hostages would die (Rosenberg). The terrorist group Black September, with premeditation and ruthlessness, took the lives of the Israeli athletes. Was this a massacre?

In 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard, while trying to disperse a crowd of students protesting the invasion of Cambodia, fired into the crowd killing four students and wounding nine others. The protesters had gathered on the campus of Kent State and when the National Guard arrived to disperse the crowd, tension arose which ended with the unnecessary taking of lives (Lewis). Was this a massacre?

You should be able to see a pattern. In three of the incidents mentioned, an armed group of individuals was provoked by another group. In each of the three incidents, items were thrown or the soldiers were assaulted which led to the soldiers unleashing a barrage of bullets onto the crowd. In each incident, an unfortunate taking of human lives occurred. Were they massacre? Some would say they were. What they definitely could not say is that the massacres were deliberate.

The other two incidents were events where a group or individual purposely with forethought sought out to take human lives. Their intent was to kill. The event in Munich was limited by the number of Israels available for the killing. The event in Texas was going to continue until either the madman was killed (which is what happened) or he ran out of ammunition. There is no doubt that both of these incidents were massacres. There is also no doubt that both of these incidents were deliberate massacres.

Some reporters and writers should stick to questions that are brief and the point vice showing their visceral attitudes. However, I'll let you decide if provoking an armed group is a deliberate massacre. What's your call?

Mike

In the references is a link to a wikipedia article which lists many, many more massacres which have been documented throughout history. I was amused by the fact someone added the killings which occurred in England yesterday....but not the Israeli raid..........
(as I was getting ready to publish, I noticed that the wiki article had been edited removing the England trajedy...one of the reasons I don't trust wiki.....)

References:

Sheppard, N. (2010). Helen Thomas accuses Israel of 'deliberate massacre, an international crime'. Retrieved 02 Jun 2010 from http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2010/06/01/helen-thomas-accuses-israel-deliberate-massacre-international-crime#ixzz0pkxZ9JhT

Krauss, J. (2010). At least 10 killed as Israel raids Gaza aid fleet. Retrieved 02 Jun 2010 from http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100531/wl_afp/mideastconflictgazademoaid

MacLeod, M. (n.d.). Charles Whitman: the Texas sniper. Retrieved 02 Jun 2010 from http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/mass/whitman/index_1.html

Rosenburh, J. (n.d.). Munich massacre. Retrieved 02 Jun 2010 from http://history1900s.about.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/p/munichmassacre.htm

Lewis, J and Thomas Hensley. (1998). The May 4 shootings at Kent State University: the search for historical accuracy. Retrieved 02 Jun 2010 from http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/LEWIHEN.htm

Merriam-Webster's dictionary of law. (1996). MA: Merriam-Webster.

New standard encyclopedia dictionary. (1984). IL: Standard educational corporation.

Downey, D. (Ed.). (1987). New Standard Encyclopedia. IL: Standard educational corporation.

List of events named massacre: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_events_named_massacres