

Ask HN: Have the terrorists won? - l33tbro

Given the fact that we appear to now be surrendering the very freedoms the &quot;terrorists&quot; wish to take, does this call for an Al-Quaeda victory lap?<p>One further, is an initiative like PRISM actually an act of domestic terrorism?<p>One more, wouldn&#x27;t the logical response to a terrorist attack be granting of more freedom and liberty to the American people (to signify they can&#x27;t break our stride)?
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fexl
It amazes me that an attack which cost only a few hundred thousand dollars
could provoke a decade of mass paranoia, a widely applauded loss of freedom,
trillions of dollars in wasted wealth, billions of hours of wasted time, and
many thousands of deaths.

So, yes to more freedom, and please refuse to be terrorized
[https://www.schneier.com/essay-124.html](https://www.schneier.com/essay-124.html)
. Freedom is the absence of coercion, and that is all the security I care to
have. The chance of being murdered by a politically motivated hot-head is so
low that it doesn't even register on my list of concerns.

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crispycret
"You heretic of the great states of America, you doubt our leaders? The very
men that lead our children through education, a no child left behind policy.
Or the war to protect our freedom from Iraq an Afghanistan how can these men
terrorize America, and to say they surrender to Al-Qada, how dare you!" \- A
likely response from about 70% of America(a guess based off no statistics)

Too bad the statement above confuses me! That's the exact reason why they
commit domestic terrorism... ahh the irony!

It will make for a good story in the future called "The Fall of Advance
Humans". It shall be a mere legend as near primitive people will wonder, how
this advanced world could destroy itself.

Then 1000 years later, history would have been repeated, and there will be a
legend called "The Fall of the Advanced Humans, That Once Wondered How an
Advanced World could destroy itself... They found the answer"... etc.

sorry for the rambling. I like your post though I agree 100% that PRISM is an
act of terrorism on our freedoms.

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ― Benjamin Franklin

~~~
crispycret
“I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government
from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of
them.” ― Thomas Jefferson

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sixQuarks
Yes, absolutely the terrorists are winning. This was their plan all along. As
Dan Carlin (common sense, hardcore history podcasts) says, the terrorists are
trying to be like annoying fleas on a dog. They want the dog to bite itself to
pieces. Their plan is working flawlessly - and so quickly, it's scary.

There are nearly 40,000 drunk driving deaths per year. If we are willing to
give up privacy for security, why aren't there DUI checks on every onramp?
Drunk driving kills more people than terrorism by orders of magnitude.

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rayj
We in the USA are much more likely to die from chronic illness due to
overeating/soda that a terrorist attack. If you want to kill Americans, just
buy stock in Coke and McDonalds.

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stray
The terrorists had won the moment the "PATRIOT" act came onto being.

