Insurgents everywhere

Insurgent: 1. rebel: somebody who rebels against authority or leadership, especially somebody belonging to a group involved in an uprising against the government or ruler of a country.

So here are some more insurgents, this time in Nepal.

So is this really an accurate term? After all, every rapist or murderer who runs from the police is a rebel against authority or leadership, every child who throws a tantrum when his parent tells him it's time for bed is rebelling against the imposition of authority over him.

There is something inherently romantic in the term "rebel" (think James Dean). Timothy McVeigh was an insurgent under this definition. Maybe the problem is how the actions of insurgents are often glorified or rationalized --one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter-- and often very little explanation provided as to what the "insurgent" is truly fighting for and whether that cause, if there is one, has value in absolute terms. It seems that the goal often is mercenary (think Colombian guerillas). And sometimes maybe it's nothing more than an effort to create anarchy for its own sake, to create the conditions for the regaining of power (Baathists) or just pure nihilism (Rwanda).

Maybe we should just call them killers.