this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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History Memes

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[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The idea of the event as a “massacre” was propaganda rather than truth.

As the redcoats' defending attorney noted:

As the Evidence was, the Verdict of the Jury was exactly right. This however is no Reason why the Town should not call the Action of that Night a Massacre, nor is it any Argument in favour of the Governor or Minister, who caused them to be sent here. But it is the strongest Proofs of the Danger of Standing Armies.

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The defense attorney, being John Adams, wasn't exactly unbiased. (And, to the extent that blaming someone other than the soldiers may have helped sway the jury, he was also just being a good lawyer.)

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

The point being made here is that the issue is not "a few bad apples," but of the use of and enabling of repressive apparatus of force against civilians as policy. The lines of apologia can be applied equally in the modern day as then - and equally ridiculous, unless you're the kind of person who supports policing forces bashing 13 year old kids in the head with a gun buttstock for the crime of being annoying.