Our Terrorists
September 11, 2001 was not a day any of us will ever forget. What has happened since has colored all of our lives in different ways, whether we were anywhere near NYC or DC or rural Pennsylvania or not. While I agree that terrorism needs to be combated, I strongly disagree with the present efforts of doing so. Even more than that, what really bugs me is the hypocrisy of the righteous, sanctimonious people in this country who lambast anyone hailing from the Middle East, Central Asia, possessing dark skin, a questionable surname, a particular piece of clothing, or even holding a belief in Islam, and then conveniently ignore the fact that we have our own home-grown extremists in this country.
It also pisses me off that any form of dissent by "unacceptable" groups is potentially an act of terrorism, yet those who have actually committed violence are shuffled aside, out of sight. Yet they're still there, and the things that they did still echo through our collective consciousness, even if we choose to be blind. For example, we're rapidly coming up on the tenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. The principal actors who perpetrated that unforgivable calamity are either imprisoned or dead. Though McVeigh is dead and Nichols et al are in prison, their ideological kin still roam among us. Go up to rural Montana sometime, or Boundary County in Idaho. Look in the reaches of the suburbs and rural areas of dozens of states. Right-wing groups, extremist bands, fanatical religious separatists, neo-Nazis, the KKK... they haven't vanished or melted away; they're still with us.
The proof of this appeared in the news this week, with the arraignment of Eric Rudolph. Rudolph has pled guilty to the 1996 Summer Olympics bombing in Atlanta, as well as three other bombings, including a gay nightclub and an abortion clinic. His day in court allowed him to deliver a rambling screed filled with bigotry, hate, and extremism. He's now bound to prison, and this will probably be the last of him for a great long while.
Well, that's that, you say. But that's not true. Rudolph isn't alone. There are others who hold the same beliefs as him, who could very well cross the line into terroristic acts.
You might say, "Well, abortion is murder. Safeguarding the unborn is justified." I strongly, vehemently disagree. Whatever a person's stance on abortion, violence is NEVER acceptable. Whatever you might think of Rudolph's beliefs (and you may be a reader who agrees, even in part), he is and was a terrorist. It bothers me that people just sort of shrug that off.
Let's step back for a moment here. What's the definition of terrorism?
"The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons." [American Heritage Dictionary]
Webster's has a similar definition. Let's see-- Rudolph anonymously set bombs at properties or sites [Olympic Games, a nightclub, a building that housed in part an abortion clinic] that went off. Bombs by their nature are forceful and violent; weapons of war that have no other reason or purpose for their existence. Rudolph stood up in court and said he did this because he believed "force was justified" and wanted to send the message that abortion, homosexuality, and what he termed the promotion of "global socialism" was unacceptable. Let's see, those are ideological or political reasons, if I'm not mistaken.
Open and shut case of terrorism, if you ask me. Yet did the headlines scream "domestic terrorist" or "domestic terrorism"? No, instead we were told that the "Olympics Bomber" was given a life sentence. Our media obviously isn't willing to explore and expose cases of domestic terrorism, much less educate the public that extremism at home is as much or more a danger as the so-called "towelheads" overseas. What about our government? Well, it seems that our gummint has decided to cast a blind eye. Congressional Quarterly noted that in Homeland Security reports, certain groups were excluded. While I have no use for the tactics of groups such as ALF and ELF, it's beyond appalling that there is a partisan divide between what groups our gummint will keep an eye on and which ones they will conveniently pretend don't exist. They've got one eye on the ballot box and the other aimed elsewhere, as they plug their ears and try to wish it all away. But the Tim McVeighs and Eric Rudolphs will pop up again and again, and we will have cause to regret any inaction. When you have doctors targeted and killed, and judges and their families threatened and murdered, you can bet there's domestic terrorism. Extremism of any kind is dangerous. I just hope we do not suffer additional consequences by further ignoring the existence of such hate-filled, tortured people.
It also pisses me off that any form of dissent by "unacceptable" groups is potentially an act of terrorism, yet those who have actually committed violence are shuffled aside, out of sight. Yet they're still there, and the things that they did still echo through our collective consciousness, even if we choose to be blind. For example, we're rapidly coming up on the tenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. The principal actors who perpetrated that unforgivable calamity are either imprisoned or dead. Though McVeigh is dead and Nichols et al are in prison, their ideological kin still roam among us. Go up to rural Montana sometime, or Boundary County in Idaho. Look in the reaches of the suburbs and rural areas of dozens of states. Right-wing groups, extremist bands, fanatical religious separatists, neo-Nazis, the KKK... they haven't vanished or melted away; they're still with us.
The proof of this appeared in the news this week, with the arraignment of Eric Rudolph. Rudolph has pled guilty to the 1996 Summer Olympics bombing in Atlanta, as well as three other bombings, including a gay nightclub and an abortion clinic. His day in court allowed him to deliver a rambling screed filled with bigotry, hate, and extremism. He's now bound to prison, and this will probably be the last of him for a great long while.
Well, that's that, you say. But that's not true. Rudolph isn't alone. There are others who hold the same beliefs as him, who could very well cross the line into terroristic acts.
You might say, "Well, abortion is murder. Safeguarding the unborn is justified." I strongly, vehemently disagree. Whatever a person's stance on abortion, violence is NEVER acceptable. Whatever you might think of Rudolph's beliefs (and you may be a reader who agrees, even in part), he is and was a terrorist. It bothers me that people just sort of shrug that off.
Let's step back for a moment here. What's the definition of terrorism?
"The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons." [American Heritage Dictionary]
Webster's has a similar definition. Let's see-- Rudolph anonymously set bombs at properties or sites [Olympic Games, a nightclub, a building that housed in part an abortion clinic] that went off. Bombs by their nature are forceful and violent; weapons of war that have no other reason or purpose for their existence. Rudolph stood up in court and said he did this because he believed "force was justified" and wanted to send the message that abortion, homosexuality, and what he termed the promotion of "global socialism" was unacceptable. Let's see, those are ideological or political reasons, if I'm not mistaken.
Open and shut case of terrorism, if you ask me. Yet did the headlines scream "domestic terrorist" or "domestic terrorism"? No, instead we were told that the "Olympics Bomber" was given a life sentence. Our media obviously isn't willing to explore and expose cases of domestic terrorism, much less educate the public that extremism at home is as much or more a danger as the so-called "towelheads" overseas. What about our government? Well, it seems that our gummint has decided to cast a blind eye. Congressional Quarterly noted that in Homeland Security reports, certain groups were excluded. While I have no use for the tactics of groups such as ALF and ELF, it's beyond appalling that there is a partisan divide between what groups our gummint will keep an eye on and which ones they will conveniently pretend don't exist. They've got one eye on the ballot box and the other aimed elsewhere, as they plug their ears and try to wish it all away. But the Tim McVeighs and Eric Rudolphs will pop up again and again, and we will have cause to regret any inaction. When you have doctors targeted and killed, and judges and their families threatened and murdered, you can bet there's domestic terrorism. Extremism of any kind is dangerous. I just hope we do not suffer additional consequences by further ignoring the existence of such hate-filled, tortured people.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 9:06 PM
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