"...the terrorists have won" or "...then the terrorists win" are
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
al phrases which were widely used in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in the wake of the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. The phrase says "that if we pursue some particular course of action, why then, the terrorists have won" (as explained by
Jeff Greenfield of
CNN).
Etymology
The expression had been used before 2001. In 1986, an article in the Journal of the
American Bar Association (ABA) reported:
History
In 1995, an editorial about the response to the
Oklahoma City bombing in the ''
Ocala Star-Banner'', of
Ocala, Florida
Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida.
Home to ...
concluded: "Our response to terrorism should be carefully measured. If our
First Amendment rights suffer as a result of the awful domestic terrorist attack in Oklahoma City the terrorists have indeed, won." At the same time, an editorial in the ''Victoria Advocate'' of
Victoria, Texas said: "If Americans begin to yield their own freedoms at home, the terrorists have won."
In the months after the September 11 attacks, the expression was often used. One of the most famous instances was on November 4, 2001 by
Ellen DeGeneres, who was hosting the
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
, which had been postponed twice that year for worries that a showy celebration would seem inappropriate in the wake of the attacks. To lighten the mood, she quipped: "We're told to go on living our lives as usual, because to do otherwise is to let the terrorists win, and really, what would upset the
Taliban more than a gay woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?"
The Guardian profile: Ellen DeGeneres
'' The Guardian'', February 23, 2007
See also
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terrorists Have Won
Aftermath of the September 11 attacks
American political catchphrases
English phrases
Political terminology of the United States
Slogans
1986 neologisms