Not that I disagree with you re: TIM, I'd point out that your avatar thinks he's a great man.Siansonea II wrote...
@ Seboist: I'm just going to assume that you're being a provocateur at this point. You can't be serious. If on the off chance you ARE serious—seek help. You've got some seriously skewed ideas about what constitutes a great man. That is, unless you're just goofing on everyone for laughs, as I suspect.
But you're right, he's not a great man, not by any means. He is a remarkable man, in the same way Hitler and Stalin and bin Laden were remarkable men. He, and they, possessed qualities that would be admirable, were they dedicated to goals and philosophies that weren't repugnant and far afield from basic human decency. His determination, drive, charisma, and clarity of vision are all extraordinary. It is a shame his vision of the future is so trogladytic. He'd be a powerful ally for Shepard, were he not hellbent on driving the galaxy to war.
As for Cerberus itself, it certainly is a terrorist group, or at least part of it is. The generally accepted definition of "terrorism" is the use of violence or the threat of violence by a nonstate entity to acheive one's goals. That certainly describes many of the actions taken by Cerberus, or at least the core of Cerberus. It looks much like, say, Hamas or Hezbollah in the Middle East, or the now defunct Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. It has a very small core of hardened militants (the textbook "terrorists"), as well as a number of ancillary and associated groups working in different fields to further some aspect of the group's goals. Think of it as concentric circles; the further away from the center you are, the less militant you're likely to be, the less fervent you're likely to be. You're likely not a fighter; you might even be engaged in works that are not only lawful, but benevolent. People associated with these groups often provide education, humanitarian aid, even legitimate governance in some cases. Those furthest from the center may not identify with the core group, or even be aware they're working with a militant organization.
Is everyone in or associated with these groups a "terrorist?" Well, that depends on you personal opinion. I'm not the moral absolutist you seem to be, Sian, so I'm inclined to give those further out from TIM a break. In particular, I hold the Lazarus Cell distinct from Cerberus proper, excepting Miranda, Jacob, and possibly Kelly Chambers. Conversations, both those between Shepard and various crewmembers and those overheard by Shepard, make it clear that most if not all of the Normandy's crew were recruited specifically to serve Shepard, rather than being pulled from the ranks of Cerberus. Most don't seem aware of Cerberus' ideology, which would make sense. It appears to promoting itself as a paramilitary militia seeking to protect colonists in the Terminus Systems. They joined a group in order to fight a grave threat to human colonies, not to dominate or exterminate all nonhumans. To me, they aren't terrorists.
But the Illusive Man himself? His inner circle, people like Kai Leng? Absolutely terrorists. And absolutely deserving of a terrorist's fate.





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