Tyra Simpson

English 115 - Th. 4pm

Professor Altman
22 September, 2016

Shitty First Draft: Anarchy vs. Terrorism within 3 works.

With every established government, comes people who try to defy it. Whether that
be people who dont believe in the type of government established, or its rules, or even just the
government in general. These people who disagree with the government will often try and
change or abolish the existing government in order for a new one to form. A very controversial
question arises when these groups begin to express themselves discussing the labels that they
should fall under. Two of the labels of people who tend to act out against the government include
anarchists and Terrorists. These two labels have a lot of similarities in that they both seek to
make political changes and act out against the existing government. However, while both are
very extreme labels, one is slightly more extreme and subtly different. An anarchist should not be
considered a terrorist, even if a terrorist may be considered an anarchist. One of these reasons is
that an anarchist tends to want to take action to act out against a bad government system to make
life better for all people in the society, while a terrorist usually seeks to just protect certain
groups of people while hurting others to change the system of government. Another reason is that
while terrorists are usually more direct with violence, and seek to use it more expressively,
anarchists may not steer directly towards violence before acting out against the government.
Lastly, anarchists tend to focus more on reconstruction while terrorists tend to focus more on
destruction. Ideas that show the differences between anarchy and terrorism, such as the target of

certain groups, their use of violence, and their overall focus are expressed through various
examples within the graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, the article, Anonymous
Hackers Efforts to Identify Ferguson Police Officer Create Turmoil, by Nicole Perlroth, and the
article, Anonymous: peering behind the mask, by Jana Herwig.
Anarchist tends to want to take action to act out against a bad government system to
make life better for all people in the society, while a terrorist usually seeks to just protect certain
groups of people while hurting others to change the system of government.
V doesnt just hurt ordinary people, he targets people who participate in the harsh actions
of the government.
Quote
Example from Anonymous Hackers Efforts to Identify Ferguson Police Officer Create
Turmoil
Quote
Example from Anonymous: peering behind the mask
Quote
While terrorists are usually more direct with violence, and seek to use it more
expressively, anarchists may not steer directly towards violence before acting out against the
government.
V does kill people and use violence, but he also used mind games and manipulation.
Quote
Example from Anonymous Hackers Efforts to Identify Ferguson Police Officer Create
Turmoil
Quote

Example from Anonymous: peering behind the mask

Quote
Anarchists tend to focus more on reconstruction while terrorists tend to focus more on
destruction.
V believes that roses can grow from the rubble, that society can rebuild from the ashes
that he causes.
With anarchy, from rubble, comes new life, reinstated. (Moore 258)
Example from Anonymous Hackers Efforts to Identify Ferguson Police Officer Create
Turmoil
Quote
Example from Anonymous: peering behind the mask
Quote
Overall, the differences between anarchy and terrorism, while subtle, are pretty clear.
Terrorism is a label given to extremist actions within anarchist groups. A terrorist may be an
anarchist, but not all anarchists are terrorists. Different works express the differences between
anarchy and terrorism and the line between them. These differences include the target of each of
the groups, their use of violence, and their overall focus and plan. Examples of this are shown
within V for Vendetta by Alan Moore in how V acts as an anarchist but is labeled as a terrorist by
the government. V does not see himself as a terrorist for his actions, but does see himself as an
anarchist. In the article, by, . In the article, by,. All of these examples express the difference
between anarchy and terrorism.