Who decides which faction are the Rebels?
Asked by
ETpro (
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April 1st, 2011
For instance, Libyans began protesting peacefully in the streets, seeking to end 40 years of brutal repression and corruption. They were met with a hail of bullets, and when they returned fire, they became “The Rebels.” Why not “Freedom Fighters”? What legitimacy does the Qaddafi regeime have under any rational rule of law?
Likewise, there is a civil war going on now in the Ivory Coast. In that one, they held a presidential election, and the incumbent President Gbagbo lost. But he refused to follow the rule of law, and cede power to the winner, Alassane Ouattara. When the majority of the Côte d’Ivoire’s people rose up to say no fair, they became “The Rebels.” But Mr. Gbagbo’s claim to leadership being illegitimate, why aren’t his supporters the Rebels?
Of course, in war, the winner writes the history and it looks as if the legitimately elected President is about to win. As soon as he does, I can guess the history will change, and the Gbagbo forces will be “The rebels we defeated in 2011.”
But the whole thing begs the question, when is someone a rebel, when are they a freedom fighter, and when are they fighting for the legitimate interest of the rule of law. What do you think?
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10 Answers
“Freedom fighter” is just a euphemism, and a subjectively biased one at that.
“Rebel” is a much more netural term. A rebel is a person who is resisting and fighting against the establishment (i.e, the government), there is no implied good or evil about it.
It’s not an issue of propaganda, it’s just what it is. The establishment cannot be “rebellious” if they are the status quo to begin with.
This is SUCH a good question..
The press, and the world view of your particular side of the political fence.
I think whoever go against the authority in power are considered rebels. There is probably a good bit of propaganda involved on the part of said authority, because there is a negative connotation to the word “rebel”.
“Rebellions are always legal in the first person, such as Our rebellion. It is only in the 3rd person, Their rebellion, that they are illegal.”
Ben Franklin
@sinscriven & @ladymia69 Great answer. Thanks
@cazzie Thanks.
@rebbel Ha! Good one. I guess so.
@SpatzieLover That’s kind of like how the victor finally gets to write the history and decide the names assigned/ In our revolutionary war, our histories call us “Patriots.”
@YoBob I think it was the press I found most annoying.
@mowens Excellent quote. Thanks.
Easy. The ones closest to honoring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are the freedom fighters and in the Libyan case, the rebels, because a dictator is still running their country.
@mattbrowne Yes. Whatever the label, I know who the good guys are in that one.
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