Zooko Journeyman blathered:
There are many issues one could legitimately argue regarding a policeman who accidentally kills a non-combatant bystander during a fight. But comparing such a policemen to a terrorist who deliberately targets non-combatants with a bomb is beyond the pale. That, but for my interruption, this comparison would have passed unremarked among the cypherpunks crowd is damning.
As Tim and others have noted from time to time, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. A corollary to this is that one man's policeman is another man's terrorist. Calling Horiuchi - a //trained sniper// - a policeman is stretching credulity. Consider too that the Weavers weren't threatening anyone when they were initially attacked/ambushed by the Feds - so in what way were the Feds fulfilling a "policeman" role? In any case, it wasn't really my intention to "compare" the deeds of Horiuchi and McVeigh. I was merely noting that the defense of Horiuchi by Herr Direktor Freeh could have been used nearly verbatim in McVeigh's behalf. As you've pointed out, though, there /is/ that crucial difference though, isn't there? One of them has a badge and gets paid by the taxpayers, which makes him a "policeman."