History Main / YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters

While "terrorist" and "freedom fighter" are both relatively modern terms, and the idea that "terrorists" are necessarily the bad guys only appears after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the basic argument of whether unofficial or unlicensed combatants have the same moral status or legal protections as officially sanctioned soldiers has actually been around for a while. During the age of WoodenShipsAndIronMen, people would have been familiar with the idea that "Your {{Pirate}}s Are Our {{Privateer}}s," and portraying people fighting against a tyrannical overlord as criminals (bandits, brigands, reivers, etc.) fighting against lawful authority is a classic delegitimization tactic of [[TheEmpire most imperial or colonial states]] -- and, conversely, some actual criminals have been romanticized into anti-authoritarian icons of resistance because CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority when the laws or the governments enforcing them become too heavy-handed or seen as illegitimate. Originally, the term "terrorist" was embraced by the real-life BombThrowingAnarchists, who used those bombs to destroy property and did everything they could to not kill people because "I'm a terrorist, not a murderer". The past really is a foreign country.

* {{Discussed|Trope}} in ''Film/{{Clerks}}'', which famously [[WhatMeasureIsAMook debates the plight of all the contractors and construction workers]] who may have died in the destruction of the incomplete Death Star in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. {{Averted|Trope}} in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' films themselves, the TropeNamers for NoEndorHolocaust, which scrupulously leave any and all consideration of moral compromise on the part of the Rebels in the realm of FridgeLogic and the occasional ExpandedUniverse work.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' already has a number of examples listed farther down the page through the expanded universe but ''Film/RogueOne'' brought this trope into the official Disney canon. While the Rebels are still portrayed as the unequivocal heroes of the story, they're heroes who sometimes need to get their hands dirty. Saw Gererra and his band of extremists are the most outstanding examples. The Rebels are shown using assassination and similar tactics which aren't in the earlier movies, for instance -- {{deuteragonist}} Cassian Andor is introduced interviewing a contact, whom he then murders to protect his cover when a stormtrooper column approaches -- while Saw's group outright endangers civilians by attacking Imperial troops in crowded streets. Even the rebels using {{Blackmail}} to press Jyn Erso into their service, making her a target to the Empire, is morally dark gray at absolute best.

* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': In "[[Recap/AndorS1E7Announcement Announcement]]" the ISB refers to the Rebel raid on Aldhani as a "terror attack", and the Rebels generally as "terrorists".

While "terrorist" and "freedom fighter" are both relatively modern terms, and the idea that "terrorists" are necessarily the bad guys only appears after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the basic argument of whether unofficial or unlicensed combatants have the same moral status or legal protections as officially sanctioned soldiers has actually been around for a while. During the age of WoodenShipsAndIronMen, people would have been familiar with the idea that "Your {{Pirate}}s Are Our {{Privateer}}s," and portraying people fighting against a tyrannical overlord as criminals (bandits, brigands, reivers, etc.) fighting against lawful authority is a classic delegitimization tactic of [[TheEmpire most imperial or colonial states]] -- and, conversely, some actual criminals have been romanticized into anti-authoritarian icons of resistance because CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority when the laws or the governments enforcing them become too heavy-handed. Originally, the term "terrorist" was embraced by the real-life BombThrowingAnarchists, who used those bombs to destroy property and did everything they could to not kill people because "I'm a terrorist, not a murderer". The past really is a foreign country.

While "terrorist" and "freedom fighter" are both relatively modern terms, and the idea that "terrorists" are necessarily the bad guys only appears after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the basic argument of whether unofficial or unlicensed combatants have the same moral status or legal protections as officially sanctioned soldiers has actually been around for a while. During the age of WoodenShipsAndIronMen, people would have been familiar with the idea that "Your {{Pirate}}s Are Our {{Privateer}}s," and portraying people fighting against a tyrannical overlord as criminals (bandits, brigands, reivers, etc.) fighting against lawful authority is a classic delegitimization tactic of [[TheEmpire most imperial or colonial states]]. Originally, the term "terrorist" was embraced by the real-life BombThrowingAnarchists, who used those bombs to destroy property and did everything they could to not kill people because "I'm a terrorist, not a murderer". The past really is a foreign country.

While "terrorist" and "freedom fighter" are both relatively modern terms, and the idea that "terrorists" are necessarily the bad guys only appears after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the basic argument of whether unofficial or unlicensed combatants have the same moral status or legal protections as officially sanctioned soldiers has actually been around for a while. During the age of WoodenShipsAndIronMen, people would have been familiar with the idea that "Your {{Pirate}}s Are Our {{Privateer}}s." Originally, the term "terrorist" was embraced by the real-life BombThrowingAnarchists, who used those bombs to destroy property and did everything they could to not kill people because "I'm a terrorist, not a murderer". The past really is a foreign country.

While "terrorist" and "freedom fighter" are both relatively modern terms, and the idea that "terrorists" are necessarily the bad guys only appears after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the basic argument of whether unofficial or unlicensed combatants have the same legal protections as officially sanctioned soldiers have actually been around for a while. During the age of WoodenShipsAndIronMen, people would have been familiar with the idea that "Your {{Pirate}}s Are Our {{Privateer}}s." Originally, the term "terrorist" was embraced by the real-life BombThrowingAnarchists, who used those bombs to destroy property and did everything they could to not kill people because "I'm a terrorist, not a murderer". The past really is a foreign country.

* This happens in multiple Gundam series, such as the AEUG and Karaba of ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'', and the League Militaire of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Victory Gundam]]''.

* The title characters of ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'' are considered as criminals before and after they were framed. However, a number of them are good people at heart. When a princess decides to seek them out to save her kingdom, they become this trope.

* ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'' features LaResistance "Funeral Parlor," and the government GHQ. So far we're on Funeral Parlor's side, but they're pretty ruthless in their methods... [[spoiler:[[FromBadToWorse and then they get replaced by Shu's Kingdom of the Void]].]]
* In the ''Manga/{{Area 88}}'' manga, Mickey meets Rishar Vashtal, Saki's brother and a leader among Asran's anti-government forces. Rishar explains the anti-government forces' reasons for engaging in the civil war, showing that both sides of the conflict have legitimate aims. Mickey feels conflicted after meeting Rishar but remains loyal to Area 88.
-->'''Mickey:''' I didn't want to hear his problems. It'll be harder for me to fight now.
* In ''Manga/{{RideBack}}'', The GGF (or GGP, as in the anime) shows fractures after overcoming superpower forces as terrorists themselves, becoming a believed-benevolent world military enforcer. A splinter group of GGP ex-pats becomes a terrorist force against their old comrades.
* ''Literature/{{Shimoneta}}'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syoV9y_s00M OP]] explains that pornographic material has been legally banned nationwide in Japan for the last 16 years. Anyone caught with such material faces stiff penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment. So Ayame adopts a secret identity ('Blue Snow') to spread awareness about porn, proper sex education, and for the simple right to tell dirty jokes. To the Japanese government and the media, she's the "ero terrorist" leader [[LaResistance of SOX]], but, to the students at Tokioka Academy and the rest of the country, she's their heroine.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' applies this to both sides of the [[spoiler:Marley vs. Eldia]] conflict. [[spoiler:Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie (the Armored, Colossal and Female Titans) were sent by the Marley government to attack Paradis Island and retrieve the Founding Titan from within its walls]]. Naturally, they (and the [[spoiler:Kingdom of Marley]]) are seen as the enemy by the main characters, even if they were just following orders and had no say in the matter. [[spoiler:It turns out that the Paradis Eldians are considered evil by the rest of the world, with Marley trying to completely wipe them out. The Eldians, and even most of the Marleyans consider the Warrior Trio as Heroes dedicated to purging the demons of the world, whereas Annie and Bertolt are respected as martyrs, and Reiner is particularly respected himself a lot. Even the Beast Titan, architect of the Castle Utgard attack and the War in Shiganshina, has a powerful say in the Marley Government]]. Eren is now [[spoiler:being called a threat to humanity and a destroyer of peace, and is only viewed as a "hero" ([[VillainProtagonist if he even is that]]) by the people living on Paradis that know about him and the Survey Corps (even that's doubtful when Eren deposed the Survey Corps using his brother and new allies)]]. It's very much a case of GreyAndGrayMorality.
* Scar in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' downplays this trope. Ed and most Amestrians call him a serial killer in no uncertain terms, but he is also one of the last survivors of a genocide perpetrated by the Amestrian government, and he is specifically targeting the soldiers who did the majority of the killing. However, he also tries to kill Edward Elric, who is a state alchemist, but far too young to have served during the genocide, and even other Ishvalans accuse him of only acting for revenge.

* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' has the Christian Marines condemned as terrorists by the [[TheEmpire federal government]] as they ramp up their struggle for justice and independence. While the Marines use some quite brutal methods, they for their part consider themselves freedom fighters who are only [[IDidWhatIHadToDo doing what they have to]] for the sake of their people.

* From ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'':

** The issue is directly referenced by name in Season One, during the election dispute between Laura Roslin and Tom Zarek, a notable radical who had served twenty years in prison for blowing up a building during an insurgency on Sagittaron before the war, and thus is regarded in legal terms as a terrorist. A Roslin supporter sitting at a bar makes a comment regarding Tom Zarek as a terrorist only to have a Tom Zarek supporter sitting nearby immediately correct the man that Tom Zarek is a freedom fighter. The argument soon evolves into a brawl, but this view is shared by Zarek's supporters as well as Zarek himself, and his ability to market himself as a heroic, populist figure sways nearly half of the fleet (though Dualla, who's also from Sagittaron, is disgusted by the support he gets, feeling there's no justification for what he did, not even their world's freedom).

* In ''VideoGame/{{XCOM 2}}'', XCOM and LaResistance are fighting to free Earth from the aliens and their puppet state ADVENT Administration. They get denounced as terrorists for this, with Concealment getting broken if a soldier moves too close to an ADVENT-aligned citizen. Regardless of how you play the game, the regular citizens, who have no major reasons to distrust the benevolence of ADVENT, only see your soldiers come in, shoot up the place and kill some police officers: they have no reason to disbelieve the ADVENT claims that XCOM is only in it to sow chaos, as they have no idea of either group's (ADVENT and XCOM) major objectives. Those that don't believe ADVENT are already part of the Resistance, living outside the major city centers. A major part of the end game is showing ''everyone'' the truth behind ADVENT's programs, and by association proving XCOM's legitimacy.[[note]]Not helping matters is that you can play as a true terrorist - lobbing grenades at groups of civilians, razing entire commercial buildings, executing or abducting Advent politicians in broad daylight - and fully get away with it without suffering any VideoGameCrueltyPunishment.[[/note]]

* In ''Literature/TheMirage'', the American [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic Resistance Movements]] are mostly seen as this. While [[TheFederation the UAS]] views them as nothing better than terrorists, their [[PowerfulButIncompetent management style]] eventualy drives most Americans to conclude that even [[AbsoluteXenophobe the extreme Texas-Backed]] [[IronicName Sons of Liberty]] are better than [[EnemyMine the Satelite Government in D.C.]]. As such theese groups are mostly viewed as Terrorists in the wider world (outside of [[DayOfTheJackboot Europe]], especialy [[TheFundamentalist Britain]] and [[OccupiersOutOfOurCountry Germany]]) but are adored in all of North America (aside from, ironicly, Texas, which [[spoiler: only supports them due to fear of an Arabic Invasion and preffers to keep the UAS occupied on the coastline]]).

** Invoked by a Romulan defector who was considered a war criminal for leading the Norvok massacre. He tells Picard that on Romulus, it's called the Norvok campaign, and notes that ''"one man's butcher is another man's hero."''

* ''VideoGame/DyztopiaPostHumanRPG'': Zetacorp labels Akira a terrorist for [[spoiler:killing Barbados after the latter destroyed Pon Pon Village on President Zazz's orders. Later, Zetacorp frames Akira and the Vulcanite Resistance for destroying Vulcanite's power plant to turn public opinion against them]]. Ironically, Akira and their allies are [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified surprisingly clean]] even by the standards of rebel protagonists in most fiction.