Homegrown U.S. Terrorists

15 Comments

1. 

   xxxxxxxxxxxx on July 30, 2005 at 1:09 pm

   For a while I’ve been toying with the idea of a wiki of “Terrorist Activity” that goes unlabeled because the perp s are white.  I think I’m going to steal your diary.

   • 

     Dean Pajevic on July 30, 2005 at 7:33 pm

     Steal away!  

     I thought it was interesting that George Wallace Jr. is carrying on daddy’s traditions.

2. 

   Damnit Janet on July 30, 2005 at 1:28 pm

   YES!!!! The major threat to the USA is domestic terrorism. WHICH are the Bush supporters… the ones who bomb womens clinics, the ones who bash gays, the ones who pollute our oceans, our air. The ones who vaccinate our babies with mercury.

   The local paper had an alert about some local “FIRE BUGS”… uh helloooooooooooooooo let’s call them ARSONISTS which are, for me, a form of terrorism. “Fire Bug” is a cutesy cutesy name…

   Bush can’t go after the real terrorists, because he IS one of them. That’s why they had to come up with this whole Iraq War on Terra.

3. 

   rba on July 30, 2005 at 1:43 pm

   Tried to find definite answers and couldn’t.  “Domestic Terrorism” definition:

   (5) the term ”domestic terrorism” means activities that –
             (A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation
           of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
             (B) appear to be intended –
               (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
               (ii) to influence the policy of a government by
             intimidation or coercion; or
               (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass
             destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
             (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of
           the United States.

   The distinction appears to be based on the “enemy”:  a discrete ethnic/religious/other group, or the government of the U.S.  Hard to (legally) equate Al-Qeda with the White Aryan Brotherhood (WAB).  The former wants to change U.S. policty; the latter wants to kill non-whites, non-christians, and gays.

   Long-term, homegrown hate groups will cause more damage.  

   • 

     Cali Scribe on July 30, 2005 at 6:27 pm

     tactics of violence to attempt to change behaviors, then absolutely they are terrorists. No question about it. Eric Rudolph was a domestic terrorist who planted bombs that killed people, and he showed no remorse for his actions — what’s the difference between him and Mohammed Atta, who allegedly was the ringleader of the 9/11 attacks?

     If a group merely holds an opinion about certain groups, such as the CCC mentioned above, or the Klan or WAB, and they don’t take violent action, then they can be classified as a “hate group”. But if they condone violence against those who disagree with them, they should be considered a “terrorist group”…or if one of their own commits violence and they do not condemn that person, they should be considered “terrorist sympathizers” (haven’t some Right-wing talking heads said as much about Muslims?).

     Just my $0.02…

     • 

       rba on July 30, 2005 at 8:04 pm

       At some point you have to clearly define crime in legislation.  Here’s the hits for “hate crime”:

       1 . Hate Crime Statistics Improvement Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)[H.R.1193.IH]
       2 . Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2005 (Introduced in Senate)[S.1145.IS]
       3 . Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)[H.R.2662.IH]
       4 . Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)[H.R.259.IH]

       http://thomas.loc.gov

4. 

   Steven D on July 30, 2005 at 1:47 pm

   Much in line with the work Dave Neiwert does at his Orcinus blog.  The ugly truth is that the Bush administration doesn’t want to hype these stories since racists and nativists are not an insignificant part of the GOP’s base, especially in the South and in areas where immigration is seen as an issue.  The media doesn’t give these stories much emphasis because they are afraid their audience won’t want to watch stories about white extremists using terror as a tactic.

   We live in a coarser society, and that coarseness has been pushed at every turn by the right wing and conservative movements in this country over the last 30 years.  It’s why people now feel it is acceptable to express opinions and make statements publicly that 2 decades ago would have been too controversial and hateful to broadcast.  This is the ultimate legacy of the Rush Limbaughs of our country: making hate and bigotry acceptable again.

5. 

   AP on July 30, 2005 at 4:00 pm

   And this hasn’t received wall-to-wall coverage…why?

   Speaking of “terrorists,” you must read Colbert King’s column, “You Can’t Fight Terrorism With Racism” in today’s Wash Post.  He really nails it, and he nails the vile, snivelling Charles Krauthammer (or Krap-hammer as I to say). I truly can’t abide him.

   Here’s a nugget or two:

   So while advocates of racial profiling would have authorities subject men and women of black and brown hues to close scrutiny for criminal suspicion, they would look right past:

   · White male Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh, who killed 168 people, including 19 children, and damaged 220 buildings.

   · White male Eric Rudolph, whose remote-controlled bomb killed a woman and an off-duty police officer at a clinic, whose Olympic Park pipe bomb killed a woman and injured more than 100, and whose bombs hit a gay club and woman’s clinic.

   · White male Dennis Rader, the “bind, torture, kill” (BTK) serial killer who terrorized Wichita for 31 years.

   · D.C.-born and Silver Spring-raised white male John Walker Lindh, who converted to Islam and was captured in Afghanistan fighting for the Taliban.

   · The IRA bombers who killed and wounded hundreds; the neo-fascist bombers who killed 80 people and injured nearly 300 in Bologna, Italy; and the truck bombings in Colombia by Pedro Escobar’s gang.

   Oh, but we’re silent about the likes of Eric Rudolph, who embarrassed this country during the Olympics. No wall-to-wall coverage there.

   Because we might have to imprison some wingnuts.

6. 

   Nanette on July 30, 2005 at 6:09 pm

   It’s sometimes almost impossible to fathom people’s thoughts when it comes to home grown terrorists.

   I was in a conversation with a few people just a week or so ago (online) and mentioned something about McVeigh and terrorism… and the reply I got from a couple of people (lefties!) was that they agreed with George Carlin… McVeigh wasn’t about terrorism, he was about revenge.

   No matter how many ways I tried to explain my belief that just about all terrorists have some sort of reasoning (specious tho it may be) behind their actions, the acts themselves are terrorist acts, it was just considered a ‘different’ thing. Not terrorism. Weird.

7. 

   vida on July 30, 2005 at 6:28 pm

   Important diary-I just stumbled across this tidbit on my way to the most recent news on the retrial on the murder of Gwen Araujo:

   (New York-WABC, June 19, 2005) — The number of anti-gay hate crimes in the city of New York has taken a significant jump. Authorities say it has risen 32 percent.

   I call it terrorism. And that’s when I’m being polite.

8. 

   Oui on July 30, 2005 at 7:55 pm

   .
   Recent Diary ◊ by suskind

   ~~~

   • 

     Oui on July 31, 2005 at 12:27 pm

     .
     
     Anthony Walker

     CBS News – LIVERPOOL July 30, 2005 (AP) — A black teenager who was followed through a park by a group of men shouting racist taunts died Saturday after an attacker embedded an ax in his skull.

     Anthony Walker, 18, was waiting for a bus with his girlfriend and a cousin when a man started shouting racist taunts at them late Friday near Walker’s home in Liverpool, police said.

     The three left to find another bus stop to avoid any trouble, police said. But a group of three or four men followed them through a park, and Walker’s companions saw someone bludgeon him with an ax.

     They ran to get help and returned a few minutes later to find him with the ax embedded in his skull, news reports said. Walker died early Saturday.

     No arrests had been made in the attack.

     “What we are dealing with here is a vicious and unprovoked attack on a young black man which we believe to be racially motivated,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Currie, who was leading the investigation.

     Police said several other incidents of racial abuse had been reported in the area recently.

9. 

   observer393 on July 30, 2005 at 11:50 pm

   you must be islamic, of a dusky hue and attack the interests of countries such as the US, UK or Israel.
   Of course if you are islamic, of a dusky hue and murder innocent people in Iran you are a CIA funded and trained freedom fighter.

10. 

    Man Eegee on July 31, 2005 at 4:53 am

    Thx for the diary Susan, the hypocrisy must be called out.  The Minutemen and other fringe groups should be labeled with their motives of hatred.

11. 

    Oui on July 31, 2005 at 5:43 am

    .

    “Critics call the movement vigilantism and some hear in the words of the Minutemen a vitriol, similar to what hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan used against Southern blacks in the 1960s.”

    <snip>

    “At the Department of Homeland Security, whose authority includes patrolling borders and enforcing immigration laws, response to Minuteman-type activism is guarded. “Homeland security is a shared responsibility, and the department believes the American public plays a critical role in helping to defend the homeland,” agency spokesman Jarrod Agen said from Washington.”

    Was the Ku Klux Klan a hate movement against the Afro-Americans, Catholics and Jews, this new movement I named for this diary Triple I or I³ is fueling on the hatred against what’s called LIberals – Islamists – Immigrants. Whatever label, I see here parallels with the thugs of German Nazism – the brown shirts’ movement. Focus of hatred has been on the opposition -liberals- to the neocon agenda, the Muslim community with evictions due to Immigration Laws, and new illegal immigrants. A majority of these persons and groups, already left behind in American society, are used to give these right-wing thugs with guns a feeling of superiority.

    It’s inexcusable that the federal government with $$ billions allocated to Homeland Security, has lacked the efficiency, manpower and courage to confront the concern for excessive number of people crossing the US border. Truly a security issue that needs to be resolved.

    Continues across the fold »»

    
    The morass of US politics

    The second wave of fascism is beginning as a movement against minorities and people perceived as a danger to the community, the state and the federal government. After the Election 2004 religious, evangelists’ movement to exclude gay people from the communities and society, a next viscious and more violent movement is gaining momentum across the Southern states. These activists will be welcomed in right-wing political or Republican party. In line with the policy of division and hatred of the Bush-Cheney regime, domestic and international, the divided world community will continue to see a United States of America Divided [USAD].

    U.S. Anti-Immigration Movement Spreads

    MORRISTOWN, Tenn. – A volunteer movement that vows to guard America from a wave of illegal immigration has spread from the dusty U.S.-Mexican border to the verdant hollows of Appalachia. At least 40 anti-immigration groups have popped up nationally, inspired by the Minuteman Project that rallied hundreds this year to patrol the Mexican border in Arizona.

    “It’s like O’Leary’s cow has kicked over the lantern. The fire has just started now,” said Carl “Two Feathers” Whitaker, an American Indian activist and perennial gubernatorial candidate who runs the Tennessee Volunteer Minutemen, aimed at exposing those who employ illegals.

    For some, a grimmer message
    Critics call the movement vigilantism and some hear in the words of the Minutemen a vitriol, similar to what hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan used against Southern blacks in the 1960s. The Minuteman Project has generated chapters in 18 states — from California to states far from Mexico, like Utah, Minnesota and Maine. The Tennessee group and others like it have no direct affiliation, but share a common goal.

    “I struck the mother lode of patriotism or nationalism or whatever you want to call it,” said Jim Gilchrist, a Vietnam veteran and retired CPA who co-founded the Minuteman Project 10 months ago. “That common nerve that was bothering a lot of people, but due to politically correct paralysis … everyone was afraid to bring up — the lack of law enforcement.”

    Agency: Security ‘a shared responsibility’
    At the Department of Homeland Security, whose authority includes patrolling borders and enforcing immigration laws, response to Minuteman-type activism is guarded. “Homeland security is a shared responsibility, and the department believes the American public plays a critical role in helping to defend the homeland,” agency spokesman Jarrod Agen said from Washington. “But as far doing an investigation or anything beyond giving us a heads-up, that should be handled by trained law enforcement.”

    
    Jamie Scott Lytle / North County Times
    California Border Watch volunteers look for illegal immigrants near Campo, Calif.

    A group leading patrols of the California border raised concerns from the U.S. Border Patrol last week when they urged volunteers to bring baseball bats, mace, pepper spray and machetes to patrol the border. They backed off the recommendation, but insisted on another weapon when they started patrols Saturday: guns.

    “The guns are for one reason — to keep my people alive,” said Jim Chase, a former Arizona Minuteman volunteer who is leading the effort.

    Gilchrist said people from across the country have been sending him dirt on companies that hire illegal immigrants.

    “It is a rampant problem. It is happening in Chicago and Portland, Maine, Milwaukee, Montana and Idaho. These people want the government to do something,” he said.

    
    Hispanic Heritage & Confederate States

    Race baiting alleged
    The Southeast has the nation’s fastest-growing Hispanic population. In Tennessee, the Hispanic population nearly tripled in the last decade. The Tennessee Minutemen, which plans rallies in Memphis and Nashville and reputedly has heard from at least 120 potential members statewide, insist they are not vigilantes or racists.

    “We don’t want to project it as a hate group. We don’t hate anybody or anything. But there are legal immigrants and illegal,” Whitaker said.

    In Morristown, a Southern industrial town of 25,000 with a small but burgeoning population of Latinos, some see the Volunteer Minutemen’s spiel as race baiting. “The same sort of dogmatism that racists used against blacks in lower Alabama and across the South, I am seeing the same patterns here,” said Thom Robinson, who heads the area’s Chamber of Commerce. “They are using it as a racially divisive thing.”

    Hispanics fear misinformation
    Santos Aguilar, executive director with Alianza del Pueblo, a regional Hispanic support group in Knoxville, said he fears the volunteers are “spreading a lot of misinformation and are terrorizing the ethnic community in the area.”

    Members of the Hamblen County Commission recently suggested that Hispanic immigrants were to blame if property taxes have to be raised next year — though commissioners insisted they were talking only about illegal immigrants.

    County Commissioner Tom Lowe said: “We do not want (all) Hispanics stereotyped as illegal”. Estimates as many as 85 percent of Hamblen’s Hispanics are illegal — and Lowe fears they carry drug-resistant disease. “We could be two or three aliens away from an epidemic that would sweep through our county and state,” the retired pharmacist said.

    Hamblen County Mayor David Purkey said, like Lowe, he supports immigration laws, but finds such comments disturbing. “I think you have to be careful when you are expressing your opinion on that, that you don’t appear as if you are against diversity as a whole,” he said.

    ‘We are coming to stay’
    Guatemala native Noel Montepeque, who owns a company that provides a variety of blue-collar jobs to Hispanics, said the tone has changed since the first migrant farm workers passed through the area in the 1990s. “Now they are getting afraid of the many Hispanic folks coming in,” Montepeque said. “And we are coming to stay.”

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection

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