With the latest public mass killings fresh in our hearts and minds, the term domestic terrorism may become more prominently spoken and discussed. I did some research on the topic before beginning this post, in hopes of increasing my knowledge of the topic, and to review the incidents which have been labelled as domestic terrorism in the past. The Wikipedia entry was helpful.
And just so you know I didn't just look at articles that might agree with my politics, I include a link to an article about domestic terrorism in the 1970's that was far left driven in its ideology.
One thing I did not see mentioned, although perhaps I did not search enough, was a link between the Civil War and domestic terrorism. It seems to me that a civil war which claimed the lives of over 600,000 soldiers, in addition to upwards of 50,000 civilians, and which until the Vietnam War, had claimed the lives of more American soldiers than all other wars combined, would be held as the ultimate in domestic terrorism. If you doubt my assertion, glance back up at the definition as set forth in the Patriot Act and see if all three major points are not checked.
I also reviewed President Trump's tweets on the subject, and was happy to see that he specifically called out white supremacy and bigotry. I applaud him for these remarks, and also for his suggestion that perhaps it is time to truly attempt to make America great again (see my last post)
by addressing the culture of aggression that suggests that violence is a form of conflict resolution when it should be the last and least used form, that it is time to improve background checks to winnow out those who should not own guns, and that we can reduce the prevalence of guns, especially those which allow someone to fire dozens of rounds in a minute, while respecting the spirit of the 2nd Amendment.
It is not all or nothing. We can limit the access and availability of guns in America, while still allowing our citizenry to use guns for recreational use, self-defense, or just as a collector.
I would also call for our legislators to go further and consider passing in full or with necessary amendments, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2019
Additionally, I implore all elected officials, left, right and independent, to refrain from using inflammatory rhetoric at their rallies, town halls, interviews, debates, and any other place where they speak in public. Words matter, and words which stereotype a group, whether that group be Jewish or Palestinian, Catholic or Muslim, white or black, gay or straight, citizens or immigrants, tacitly empower those with weak minds or overdeveloped prejudices into all kinds of horrific acts. In a country with the freedoms that we possess, there is an even stronger responsibility for us to temper our desire for votes, popularity and power. We sow what we reap, and when we sow hatred and prejudice, violence and killings will be the natural result.
This is not something that will changed overnight. It will take years, perhaps decades, to tame our tendency towards violence. Even the suggestion that we use the death penalty to punish those responsible for this past weekend's massacres, a sentiment I would imagine is shared by the majority of Americans, reflects our desire for violent revenge rather than justice, and solace, and change.
Think about the state of mind of a young man who has internalized all the vitriolic rhetoric about the changing face of America and how that face has a darker skin that his own, and who then coldly calculates that he can hit a soft target close to the southern border and kill a few dozen of the "others". Killing him will not change the perception that drove him to such a hateful action. He is only 21 and we are far too eager to see him die! Even reducing the dehumanizing words which may have helped spur him to his action, will not erase the deep seated prejudices that flow through our country. But, if we don't start now, when, and if we don't each participate, who?
As I said before, I am happy to see President Trump call out white nationalism and bigotry. We all know he has used that sentiment to his advantage, from his "birther" program to de-legitimize President Obama, to his justification for jailing children who cross illegally into America. Let's hope that this past weekend's deadly toll has created a turning point in his perspective, and that he follows up his words from today with continued condemnation of those who espouse white supremacy ideologies, that he empowers the FBI to infiltrate and bring to light those groups who advocate the "make America white again" policy, and that he is willing to craft an immigration policy that protects our borders without destroying families, scarring children, and perhaps even creating tomorrow's domestic terrorists.
We know that if a foreign born, non-Christian, dark-skinned man was responsible for either of these two deadly killings, or the Las Vegas Casino, or Pittsburgh synagogue, or Charleston Church killings, that we would act definitively towards identifying the origin or radicalization of the individual, develop a program to address and remedy it, and have full support of all Americans to do so, just as we did after 9/11/01. It is always easier to find the faults in someone else's life, belief system or country.
Will we be just as determined, just as relentless in understanding and combating the radicalization forces at work in the homeland? Are we willing to look in the mirror and face our own portion of guilt by honestly addressing the historically horrendous treatment of the Native American population, the decades of slavery, and then Jim Crow laws which legalized the 2nd class treatment of a population, and the justifications we employ for describing people fleeing horrible conditions in hopes of a better life in America, as rapists, murderers, vermin?
The people who approach our southern border today, are very similar to those who did the same in the early 20th century, the ancestors of many of those reading this, including my family. Just as we have done in the past, we are afraid of them because they are are different, physically. It is this fear, this xenophobia, that is one of the sources of the white nationalism that produces domestic terrorism. It is this fear, and a focused attempt to educate those afflicted with it, that needs to be part of our approach to combat the radicalization of our citizenry that results in such mass killings.
I hope our leaders, current and to come, are able to inspire us to reject the notions that lead Americans, especially young adults, to author such atrocious acts. And that they lean towards facts when describing our southern neighbors, while eschewing rhetoric that inflames. See below.
https://www.adl.org/resources/fact-sheets/myths-and-facts-about-immigrants-and-immigration-en-espanol
https://www.adl.org/resources/fact-sheets/myths-and-facts-about-immigrants-and-immigration-en-espanol
No comments:
Post a Comment