On March 10, 2011, as much of America and the world watched, New York Representative Peter King began what he admits is the first of several hearings on the “radicalization of Muslims in America.” Rep. King emphatically conveys that he has undertaken holding these hearings because of the grave and imminent threat of Muslim terrorists being bred right here on American soil in the aftermath of 9/11.
Does anyone remember Timothy McVeigh and the 169 lives lost, many others injured, in the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing? What about the Uni-Bomber who wreaked havoc on innocent unsuspecting Americans for decades? And, then there is Jared Loughner who left six dead and wounded many others in his anti-government craze in Tucson just a couple of months ago. Potential terrorists among Muslim Americans — What about our other homegrown terrorists? We seem to have slipped into a state of complacency and become too comfortable ignoring the terrorists who 
continue to threaten our country from the inside such as the neo-Nazi group, “Aryan Nations,” and the fanatical religious group “America’s Promise Ministries.” These are just two of the more than 1,000 organizations located throughout the United States as identified in the “Hate Map,” on the Southern Poverty Law Center, (SPLC) website.
Their terrorist acts never seem too far away.
The Aryan Nations neo-Nazi group in North Idaho denies any involvement in the placement of “an improvised explosive device alongside the planned Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Day March in Spokane, Wash. on January 17, 2011.” On March 9, 2011, the FBI arrested 36-year-old Kevin William Harpham of Addy, Wash., and charged him with the crimes of “attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and possession of an unregistered explosive device,” and he is someone they believe has links to various white supremacist groups.
Will he or should he be charged as a domestic terrorist? If he did in fact place the bomb in the path of hundreds of people who would die when it exploded, how is that not domestic terrorism?
Harpham, an Army vet with no criminal history, was according to the SLPC, a member of the white supremacist group known as the National Alliance in 2004. The National Alliance is a neo-Nazi group, whose motto is “Toward a New Consciousness, New People, New Order.” However, ABC News, reports that a spokesman for the National Alliance, says, “Harpham is not on their current list of members.” Notice the word “current,” there is no denial of Harpham being a former member.
The SPLC describes hate groups as having “beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics,” and the National Alliance is one of the “most visible white supremacist organizations in the nation.”
In the SPLC 2011 Spring Intelligence Report, “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2010,”author Mark Potok says “Hate groups topped 1,000 for the first time since the Southern Poverty Law Center, [which tracks hate groups,] began counting such groups in the 1980s. Anti-immigrant vigilante groups, despite [losing] some of the political wind [from] their sails by the adoption of hard-line anti-immigration laws around the country, continued to rise slowly. But by far the most dramatic growth came in the antigovernment “Patriot” movement — conspiracy-minded organizations that see the federal government as their primary enemy — which gained more than 300 new groups, a jump of over 60 percent.”
Potok adds that despite the political co-opting of extremist issues, “In an 11-day period in January, a neo-Nazi was arrested headed for the Arizona border with a dozen homemade grenades. A terrorist bomb attack on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Spokane, Wash., was averted after police dismantled a sophisticated anti-personnel weapon. And a man who officials said had a long history of antigovernment activities was arrested outside a packed mosque in Dearborn, Mich., and charged with possessing explosives with unlawful intent. That’s in addition to the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona, an attack that left six dead, and may have had a political dimension.”
The Report also discusses proposals from legislators who want to create new laws that would support anti-government actions or vigilantism. According to Phoenix TV station, KPHO, the state of Arizona is trying to pass into law Senate Bill 1433, which “would give members of the state Legislature the power to override federal laws and executive orders.” Or the Virginia House Joint Resolution No. 557, which is to create alternative currency in Virginia in case of the destruction of the Federal Reserve System’s currency. And for Montana to pass a statute called the “Sheriffs First Act,” Senate Bill 114, whereas Federal agents would be required to obtain written permission from a sheriff before conducting a search, seizure or arrest in a county, according to the Billings Gazette.
In the final section of the Report, Potok discusses two additional disturbing factors our legislators are considering. The first is an attempt by “nativist forces to roll back birthright citizenship," or as it is officially titled, "HR 140 "The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011." Which means that any child born in the U.S. whose parents are illegal immigrants will not automatically become U.S. citizens, “Such laws were introduced this year in Congress, and a coalition of state legislators is promising to do the 
same in their states.” Second, in Oklahoma, “70 percent of voters last November approved a measure to forbid judges to consider Islamic law, in the state’s courtrooms — although a completely groundless fear, it was pushed nonetheless by Islamophobes. Since then, lawmakers promised to pass similar laws in Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah.”
So where do we go from here? How do we protect our citizens and our land when we only select certain known or suspected terrorist individuals or groups to target and watch?
How do we move forward as a nation if we continue to create laws that will allow some of us to take the law into our own hands when it comes to meting out a kind of justice that undermines and denies other races and ethnicities their constitutional rights as citizens?
Comments
homegrown terrorism and hypocritical America
I believe that homegrown terrorists are definitely a threat that should be addressed before we think about terrorists who are across the world. America is often more concerned with preventative methods which exceed the necessary amount of effort than with managing what is going on within our own country. People now associate terrorism with religious fanatics in the middle east who hate the American way of life and are plotting to bomb us from within, much like 9/11. The reality of the situation is that terrorism has been happening in the United States for hundreds of years. Terrorism is defined as the systematic use of terror as a means of coercion, and often involves the suppression of other people's rights and speech. Terrorism happens frequently in the U.S., just in forms which are not usually associated with the post-9/11 definition of terrorism. Neo nazi groups and fanatical religious groups are very much present in the U.S. and it is only once we can address these issues and work on our own infrastructure that we can think about implementing the "American way" upon other countries (a mission I do not necessarily agree with). There are internal problems within the U.S. and I find it a bit hypocritical that our nation is so preoccupied with outside attacks. We forget about daily attacks on American citizens because of their race or religion or even beliefs/ morals. Terrorism is used to keep the voices of women and minorities quiet and people see it as racism and sexism, even though I would classify it as terrorism. Of course our country's security is an important issue--we see this worry as we prepare for the next 'big attack' (God forbid)-- but the security of our citizens on a day-to-day basis is crucial as well. I also find fault in the Birghright citizenship act of 2011, seeing it as hypocritical. People associate America with rights, freedom, and access to these priveledges because of birth. How can we take back those promises and start revoking/ preventing citizenship hundreds of years after our founding fathers established the principles of the United States?
Where to Go
Its hard to say how our citizens and land will be protected when our citizens are the ones who will not recognize other hate groups. If our country wants to move forward as a nation then every person who has a fear about laws being made need to step forward instead of keeping to themselves. The only way something can ever be done is action must be put forth. I personally think its bogus that our country can't get over ourselves and quit being hypocrites about racism, religions, and even citizenship. I had no idea about all the laws that individual states were attempting to make. The Virginia House Joint Resolution No. 557 is a ridiculous plan. I don't understand what is going through the peoples heads that come up with these resolutions. This kind of resolution is something that could spark other states to do the same ending in a separation of this country.
So to answer where we go from here is that we go to the cause of the problem and fix it.
American Terrorist
Clearly the main point the article tries to emphasize is that terrorists aren't just Muslim and Middle Eastern, however white and crazy as depicted in the pictures above. I'm white so it's ok for me to say that. We need gun control or should I say idiot control (it’s illogical to argue against this point…at this point in American History). However, reverting back to the article on the background of the terrorist, it seems as if there is no definitive makeup. Terrorists that attack the United States are not just Muslim or of Middle Eastern decent or even foreign. The problem is that there are a lot of homegrown terrorists; radicalized 'Muslim's, crazy Christians, racists, and deranged citizens. They are not of a particular religion, race, or background. They do however share one common characteristic. They are senseless degenerates. I do think the recent congressional hearings on the radicalization of Muslim Americans is important because it is a problem, however, they should include radicalized citizens in general, as not all American terrorists are Muslim.
Homeland Terrorism
Hate crimes are nothing new in this country, and I personally believe that there has not been a sudden increase in the number of hate crimes, but more are coming out into the open. For some reason, people have a lesser discretion for their hate then they did in the past, and extremist groups are becoming less and less vague about their intents. It seems to me that it is ridiculous that lawmakers are abusing their positions in order to promote their own personal prejudices. I wonder how many of these lawmakers are being bribed by these hate groups in order to push policies into action that are created by racism. That is truly a despicable thing to do. We cannot pin down terrorism to Islamic radicals anymore. (Granted, the idea that these were the only terrorists ever is, quite plainly, stupid. One must consider groups in the past such as the Ku Klux Klan, for instance.) Radical groups are all around us, of all races, such as the white Neo-Nazis, or the South American group MS 13. America must be aware that terrorism isn't just centered in the Middle East like George W. Bush would've had us assume, but it is at our very doorstep, in our very states, and to some, our next door neighbors. We must be aware in order to prevent racist acts in order to protect the rights of our citizens, in order for us to be truly equal. In short, we all must look out for each other, for we all are American.
What is sad about this
What is sad about this article is how the media filters and contributes to the stereotypes and racism by continueally displaying associations of terroism with Muslims. When in fact the terroist are right underour nose. This domestic terroism does not seem as if it is being taken seriously. America needs to take a serious look at ourselves and start with bettering our nation before we go out pointing fingers at other nations. I am ignoring the fact that 9/11 was a foriegn terrorist attack, but recognizing the difference of exposer the foriegn and domestic attacks get. What some people don't realize is that the dramatic stereotype media has potrayed changed and even damaged the lives of Muslim Americans here at home. They should not be treated any differently from the next American. Definately when a large number of the problem is with other hate groups here in America.
"bad guys" and "othering"
What you said about America needing to start bettering our nation from within before trying to fix problems in others is how I feel about the issue as well. Domestic terrorism is definitely not being taken as seriously as it should be in order to fix the problem. People need to be aware of the fact that terrorism in the United States effects people based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs. I also think that your point about the media is valid and often goes unnoticed. Not even just with terrorists, but a lot of sterotypes are created and sustained through the media and its portrayl of the "bad guys" whom we should fear in this country. There is no doubt that Americans are often in favor of a Euro-centric way of thought and we often are bias and quick to engage in "othering." By "othering" I mean thinking in the US vs. THEM mentality and trying to generalize someone's actions based on their race, gender, religious affiliation, or sexual orientation and separate them from ourselves. The reality is that Americans committ offenses against other Americans just as much--if not more-- than foreign nations committ crimes against Americans. Often the media pretends that they are just "stating the facts" when really some of the information they give is irrelevant to the story. Everyone committs crimes, unfortunately, and we should stop thinking that only a certain ethnic group or sect of society is prone to crime. I wish that it took more than a domestic attack for people to notice this, because then it is often too late.
I feel reading this article
I feel reading this article really opens one eyes. We tend to look the other way when one of our own does something wrong or just ignore it, but it is imperative that we take responsibility and begin to fight this home grown terrorism, before we go off to other countries to help liberate them. Our constitution allows us the greatest of freedoms, however some people tend to exploit that freedom to bring down others and discriminate against them. I believe home grown terrorist is more dangerous than any other terrorist all because it is our own people, our citizens, our country fighting each other. How does one know when they are safe if we can continue to attack each other. I only hope that one day our country to can once be that great place where America was more than just power hungry and in every war.
Downward spiral
The more i read these and other articles, the more i learn about history and past politics the more it seems that my view of humanity is becoming pessimistic. In high school we had a seminar in which we debated whether humanity was inherently good or inherently evil. I chose that we are good as did most of the people in the class. Now when i see people making life decisions i always think that they somehow choose the wrong thing like choosing what they want and not what they need. I know it is possible for people to live together even though they have different beliefs or look different. But people are so focused on what they want and forget what they and other people actually need, such as acceptance.
Reading this article and knowing that there are over 1000 hate groups in existence on US soil is very disturbing. i understand the everyone has the right to free speech but somehow it seems that "right" is starting to cause problems. Don't get me wrong i believe in free speech but why is it that one of the few things we Americans were given as right is starting to turn on us? People seem to hate other people just for the sheer fact that they are afraid of them for some reason, or just the fact that they can hate them without consequence unless they act on it. The sad thing is that human emotion sometimes allows us to act. It seems like we are in a never ending downward spiral of hatred.
Home Grown Terroists
I have never thought about this idea before, and I find it to be very interesting and tough to answer. I think the comment about how we target certain suspects and terrorists, and ignore everyone else is very true. Go to any airport or walk through any type of security and see how different people act when a white person walks through versus a non-white person. Also, especially after September 9, 2011, ask people to rate their anxiety when they are either sitting by a person of Muslim decent on a plane or being in the same room as a non-white individual. For most, their anxiety ranking would be fairly high; however, if they could only realize that absolutely ANYONE could be a terrorist things would be ever different. If people realized that anyone could be a terrorist we would not have specific stereotypes cast upon individuals that do not deserve to be targets. It is hard, yet almost impossible, to break these drilled in stereotypes, but things like randomized screenings at airports help to break this mold. For example, instead of checking the luggage of all people of Muslim decent only, they check every 15th person in line. Breaking these stereotypes would not do away with anxiety; instead it would cause more anxiety due to the fact that you would no longer have anyone to pin point as a terrorist. More anxiety may sound bad, but it is truthful and better than having unfair stereotypes cast upon certain individuals that would never cause any harm, but due to their skin color they automatically become a terrorist.
I hear about Muslim terrorist
I hear about Muslim terrorist activities all the time in the Middle East. It is really sad that I have barely even heard of many of the "homegrown" terrorists in this article. When you say terrorist, people automatically think of Muslims, and they would probably look at me like I was crazy if I started talking about American terrorists. But I think killing 169 people in a bombing definitely counts as terror.
The Birthright Citizenship Act is stupid. If someone is born in this country, they should be a citizen. America is a nation of immigrants, but we have always tried to restrict immigration of certain groups. Now we are going to deny citizenship to people who are born here and have never lived anywhere else. Unless you are Native American, your ancestors weren't born here either, should citizenship be denied to everyone?
Response
One thing you said that I totally agree with is the fact that all terrorist acts that are reported are directed towards Muslim people. Even when a students brings a gun to a campus and murders a large number of students, I don't recall hearing that being referred to as a terrorist act. Some acts that should really be considered terrorist acts go unreported or they aren't made out to be a big deal, I think it is ignorant of someone to question if the man that planted the explosives during the Martin Luther King Unity day should be considered an terrorist. What classifies him as not being terrorist. He had hate in mind and he was out to hurt a large number of people. All signs point to a terrorist act in my opinion. Just as you hadn't heard anything about the "homegrown" terrorists, neither had I. It kind of scares me to now that their are so many of these organizations out there. Another good point that you made was about the Birthright Citizenship Act being not logical. If someone is born here, I think that they should be American Citizens. They can't help where they were born. If anything should have been cracked down on, it should have been the immigrants. Not granting the children of immigrants citizenship doesn't make sense. As you mentioned the majority of the people living in the United States of America are immigrants if you really think about the events that have occurred in history. Denying a specific group of people citizenship that don't know any other lifestyle wouldn't be fair. For one to fully understand how unfair that would be, they would have to place themselves in the shoes of someone that might be denied citizenship based on their parents being immigrants.
Terrorist within the US
While government is so concerned with issues going on outside of America, I do think that hate groups inside of America get ignored. That is the reason why they are able to get away with killing and injuring large numbers of people without at one time. I really wasn't aware of the tremendous number of hate groups in America before reading this article. Another problem is that these terrorist acts aren't being reported to the public like they should when they happen. I didn't hear any mention of the explosive on Martin Luther King Unity Day until my father texted me telling me about it. Without a doubt Kevin William Harpham should be charged as a terrorist. In my eyes terrorist have no certain. The harmful act is what classifies one as a terrorist. As the article mentioned, he may have "placed a bomb in the path of hundreds of people who would die when it exploded." regardless of if he is a part of a hate group or not, he committed a hateful act that in my eyes classifies him as a terrorist. I don't think that it is fair to make a rule against certain people that are classified under one race but I do believe that it is okay to target the hate groups that are out there. I understand that everyone Is entitled to their own opinions but when it comes to innocent people being harmed, that's where the line needs to be drawn.Signs need not be ignored when people’s lives are in danger. No matter what race, a terrorist act is a terrorist act. By focusing on one group of people, many hateful groups will be ignored. This will lead to many more people’s lives being put on the line when this could have been prevented.
Terrorism and False Patriotism
One possible suggestion to the above questions in the article would be to paint our country in at least somewhat less of a negative sense. I personally feel that I not supposed to be proud of being an American citizen, and that I should be ashamed of my country's past deeds. There aren't many people out there that, when talking about either racial and ethnic problems in our history, or even just the problems that we face today, actually state positive things about our country, or even just something that is not extremely horrible. I mean, all I ever hear about are my country's problems. There's no real patriotism, and by patriotism, I do not mean this in what some people would call as nationalistic. A lot of home-grown terrorist, I believe are also sick and tired of the feeling that our country, and our history is not portrayed in a way that we can not necessarily even be proud of, but just be content with. I don't know. I just feel like there's no real "proud to be an American", in at least the way it should be. Not the way people tend to act when they claim to be patriotic.
Terrorists
It is sad to see how little is known about home grown terrorists. Both home grown and foreign terrorists deserve to be prosecuted and stopped, yet more fear goes to international terrorism. More knowledge is shared about international but both should be heeded. One is not more important to the other though, they are both important and real threats. People should not just fear specific races and religions though because acts of terrorism are more known from those groups. Terrorists can come from any race or religion and a whole group of people can not be labeled and automatically judged because of the few terrorists known that happen to be that race or religion. Yet lots of people in today's society tend to avoid Muslim people or Middle Easterners because there are known terrorists groups. The KKK was a known white terrorist group yet people don't avoid all white people. Does that make the terrorism done by Middle Eastern groups worse than the KKK? In my mind, they are all awful and all categorized as terrorists regardless of race or country or religion.
Home-grown Terrorists
It is sad to see how little is known about home grown terrorists. Both home grown and foreign terrorists deserve to be prosecuted and stopped, yet more fear goes to international terrorism. More knowledge is shared about international but both should be heeded. One is not more important to the other though, they are both important and real threats. People should not just fear specific races and religions though because acts of terrorism are more known from those groups. Terrorists can come from any race or religion and a whole group of people can not be labeled and automatically judged because of the few terrorists known that happen to be that race or religion. Yet lots of people in today's society tend to avoid Muslim people or Middle Easterners because there are known terrorists groups. The KKK was a known white terrorist group yet people don't avoid all white people. Does that make the terrorism done by Middle Eastern groups worse than the KKK? In my mind, they are all awful and all categorized as terrorists regardless of race or country or religion.
Terrorists
I agree with everything you said. Homegrown terrorists should get as much notoriety as all terrorists in general. Jared Loughner, the Arizona shooter who shot and killed 6 Americans, is no different than Al Qaeda or the Taliban. In fact he should be charged with acts of terrorism and not just murder. They may as well send him to Guantanamo Bay to make it fair. You are right, terrorists come from all backgrounds and religions. We should spend half the amount of money we spend overseas and use it to prevent homegrown terrorists.
The Importance of Education
It is important to understand that, although current global fears are not entirely unjustified, though they do have the potential to eventually develop into a much broader issue. In the case of homeland terrorism, it is essential that the American public not become so uninformed as to believe that terrorism is purely a foreign endeavor. We must, as a nation, realize that the threat of terrorism cannot be pinned down to an individual location, religion, or even physical stereotype. While our modern-day islamophobia is by no means hard to understand, we must make our most sincere efforts to educate ourselves on the dangers that exist in becoming complacent to our own ability to yield internal danger. Only last year the United States faced a threat from a terrorist from Yemen. This event in itself contradicts our generic idea of terrorist location. We are led to believe that terrorists are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and perhaps at one time...Iraq. We must realize that the global demographic is changing, and our ignorance regarding the internal threat will simply enhance the possibility of danger for our current and future citizens.
Extremism
Personally, I think the part about this article that concerns me most is the lack of knowledge about "home grown terrorists." I know that in the mid 90s after the Oklahoma City bombing, people were very aware of this problem, but 9/11 gave rise to extreme Islamaphobia in this country. I really like what someone else said in this article, which was that the KKK has wreaked havoc for years, yet we don’t try to avoid every white person we see. 9/11 was one group of extremists, just like any home grown terrorist group is not representative of the entire group. In my opinion, we become too wrapped up in the word “terrorist,” in the last ten years it has become a buzz word that doesn’t really have a solid definition. We are quick to assign it to people of color, particularly those from the Middle East, but we hesitate to call Americans terrorists. Is home grown terrorism an issue we should be concerned with? Certainly. But I don’t think it’s something that we should start seeking out, just like I don’t think we should actively seek out “terrorists” in airports with “random” security checks. There’s a difference between caution and paranoia, and I think that’s where Americans sometimes miss the boat. Be aware of your surroundings, but just because the man on the airplane next to you is from Afghanistan doesn’t mean he’s there to bomb everyone. When we become paranoid, the real terrorists are winning – they are doing exactly what they set out to do, which is to invoke terror.
Stereotypes in our Government
Terrorism has become a big factor in America since the attack of 9/11, especially toward crazed Muslim bombers. The fact of the matter is that if we are to claim terrorism is such a harmful issue at hand, then we must look at all aspects of it and not just focus the blame on Muslims or Middle Easterns. Since 9/11 when one thinks of a terrorist many people would imagine a Muslim male because that is the majority of what is reported as a "terrorist". However, is terrorist is one who creates terror or horror amongst others. So why is that Muslims are at the forefront of this issue when it is clear that there is much more interior terrorism on our nation than international terrorism? When a simple murder occurs between two American men then the murderer deserves to be considered a terrorist, but that is not the case. Instead, the man is believed to simply be a murderer. If a Muslim or Middle Eastern man were to be involved in the same situation then the idea of terrorism immediately strikes. It is said in our Constitution that all American citizens are equal, yet so many are treated unfairly and without the same regards as others. If our country continues to grow like this and there is nothing done to bring this to the attention of Congress then we are only adding to the factor of prejudism, not terrorism. We focus too much on our time on international affairs when we have more interior affairs of our country that need to be attended to. If there is a serial robberer roaming around the area then he/she should be regarded as a terrorist even if they are a regular American, but as soon as the stereotypical looking terrorist is brought into the picture, such as a Middle Eastern or Muslim man with a large beard, then the idea of terrorism is reported. Everybody should be punished and thought of the same way regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background. This only shows that when it comes to terrorism our government follows a stereotype making it seem as if these Middle Eastern or Muslim men are the only definitions of the word terrorists.
Know the Difference
Domestic terrorism is an issue that has undoubtably become a greater danger than ever before. It is imperative that citizens of our country are properly educated on the facts concerning terrorism in general. If an average American were prompted with the task to describe the appearance of a terrorist, there is no doubt that an ample amount of racist slurs would be expressed in order to describe the stereotypical Muslim man. This overly-common ignorance is nothing short of deplorable.
The thought that persons such as Osama Bin Laden could be truly considered a Muslim, is a fallacy. Muslims are peaceful by nature and intend to do no harm to other cultures. It was once said by a Muslim peer student addressing our professor, "No ma'am, he is not Muslim." This student gave no further explanation to his statement, and with it the entire class was drawn into silence. It took a while for me to grasp what he was trying to tell us, which is that although Osama Bin Laden may claim to be a Muslim, actions speak louder than words.
Just as the Muslim community would be embarrassed to accept terrorists as one of their own, I would be embarrassed by any home grown terrorist claiming to act upon the instructions of Jesus Christ. The fact of the matter is, the only group that terrorists belong to is that of terrorists.
When addressed the question, "how do we protect our citizens and our land when we only select certain known or suspected terrorist individuals or groups to target and watch," the answer is simple... We can't. We must break out of the narrow visioned stereotypes in order to fully support the cause for security.
Terrorists?
We live in a time where people tend to discriminate amongst each other based on identity, culture, religion, and other visual and non visual aspects. For sum this type of behavior is more severe than others it leaves us to ask questions and wonder such as Are we victims on behalf of our ancestors faults and adaptation of their ways of life? Well getting back to what I've mentioned earlier, sum people really do have it harder than others. For example, a specific culture who where masks or scarfs around their head would be more likely assumed to be apart of an terror act or somewhat compared to an individual who where no mask or scarf. Is this type of behavior right? Well if you ask me I think that discrimination based on someones clothing or anything else is wrong, but yet on the other hand people should take into consideration the thoughts and assumptions others would make based on today's society. I'm not saying that it's OK for others to discriminate, but what I'm trying to say is that you should be more aware and accountable for how you present yourself, publicly speaking. I feel that this type of behavior will always be present and that as an human you must learn how to observe how others perceive you even if your the type that don't care what people think of you, it would help to be open minded toward certain situations so that you could help minimize such negativity.
All race, religion,
All race, religion, ethnicity, aside one who seeks to harm innocent people should be dealt with in the most fast and strict manner as possible.
The key point in this whole conversation is that individuals who have similarities in actions and in background to other individuals who have caused the murder of the innocent, should be taken into consideration. This is true in the Middle Eastern terrorists, the neo-Nazi terrorists, the Ku Klux Klan, MS 13, street gangs of Los Angeles, and all other people who assort themselves in groups to cause terrorism on others.
When dealing with terrorist per se, political, social, financial, ethnic, and many other areas of that persons identity must be taken into consideration. These areas compose a person's background. These areas of a person's life greatly drive the person.
So in an applicable literal sense, The United States government should suspect the majority of Al Qaeda members to have the same background. Based from statistics the members of Al Qaeda will not be of white, Latino, African-American, Eastern Asian, and many other racial and ethnic group descents. Therefore it is necessary to investigate those who are from the area of interest.
It's definitely fair to say that most people from the Middle East and other areas with Muslim populations are not terrorists. However, when in a United States airport a person with obvious Muslim descent, and a one-way ticket with no carry-on luggage, should be subject to a search over a 85-year-old black woman with an American flag shirt on. I say this not trying to justify profiling, but instead to emphasize the importance of being able to recognize people who might have a similar background. The environment someone has been raised in ( background) affects the outward appearance of that person, and his or her actions.
I would have to say that in many parts in the Middle East that if you were to be a an American citizen you could be killed for that reason alone, I do not believe that searching someone from the Middle East after especially the 9/11 incidents is not a fair counter movement.
Homegrown Terrorists
Homegrown terrorism is a much bigger threat than we realize. When people think of terrorists, they think of the stereotypical image: usually of Muslim descent, from a middle-eastern country, proclaiming death to America. However, we perhaps have a bigger threat of terrorism here in our own country with terrorists who are citizens of the United States. These terrorists are not of any particular race or religion. They come from many different backgrounds and classes in society, from poor to rich, black and white. They have one thing in common though: they are terrorists all the same and they must be stopped. Knowing that there are over 1000 hate groups in the United States is a very disturbing statistic. We must first take care of terrorism on our own soil before we can start trying to rid the entire world of it. The longer we ignore the threat of terrorism in our own country, the more susceptible we are to an attack from within.
I agree. We need to
I agree. We need to irradicate terrorism on our own soil because this is where it hits us the hardest. The only problem is that we are human. When a tragedy strikes, we rally together and look for someone to blame. This is what happened to the Muslims after 9/11. When this event took place, I was in either 5th or 6th grade. At that point I didn't know what a terrorist was. I would be lying if I told you that even today a picture of a muslim man didn't pop into my head when I hear the word terrorist. But at the same time, I do not look at every muslim American and suspect them of terrorism.
Homegrown Terrorism is a Big Deal
Homegrown Terrorism is a big deal, but I think it has been overshadowed by stereotypical Terrorist fears, such as Muslim terrorists. However, I think that homegrown terrorism is a bigger threat than foreign terrorism. Terrorists can come is all shapes and sizes; there isn’t a specific religion, race, age, or gender. It was scary to read just how many groups are out there. It’s overwhelming. I think that our government may need to stop focusing so much on foreign threats and take a hard stance on fighting terrorism in our own country. If we ignore this problem, we could really regret it later on.
Open Your eyes America
Home grown terrorism is just as bad in our country that some Muslim terrorist or Islamis terrorist coming into our country.It's just sad to see a Muslim or so get searched at a airport by the security and letting an American just walk on by. Could they ever think that the American is the one with the weapon or bomb, not the Muslim. I think America needs to open their eyes more to the terroristis crim going on in our own country than from an "outsider" because all our attention is on threats from outside the United States just makes it easier for the terrorist in our country to make a move and do some damage.
homegrown terrorist groups
I think America bring on a lot of outside terrorist on ourselves. We are always into other countries business. We are fighting battles that we don’t need to be involved in causes hate for terrorists. Our country is full of homegrown terrorist for different reasons. We can’t even help our own land of struggles and we spending billions in other places fighting wars. We should be making peace but America is creating enemies. So, homegrown terrorist are not Muslim people here. Its other races that are racist, or other groups that discriminate the laws of the land. We should be cracking down on our homegrown terrorist. The problem between races will always be an issue. The land is full of hate. So our country needs to be spending money protecting this land. I don’t agree with avoiding Muslim people that are here. I know that terrorist comes in any race. It’s not fair to the Muslim people that we label them as terrorist groups because of 9/11 when we got lots of whites in homegrown terrorist groups here.
Being born as an Iranian
Being born as an Iranian American in the United States, I have personally undergone controversy and conflict regarding the issue of terrorism. Because I am Persian, an ethnic group of the Middle East, I am considered a terrorist to some people because I am associated to the terrorists of which America symbolizes. Although I have never committed harm or danger to anyone, I still may be called a terrorist. Many people believe that what they say towards terrorists is just a joke and that it is not anything serious, but many people who are made fun of for being a "terrorist" do not believe it is humor. It is not an issue that is funny, instead it shows that there is a problem with our society in believing that terrorists are Middle Eastern or Muslim. Any person who is willing to create terror, harm, or danger is a terrorist. But because news channels are always reporting "acts of terrorism" and picturing them as foreign Middle Eastern men which is why society points them out as terrorists. However, why is it that the numerous amounts of people in our prison system are not considered terrorists? Committing a crime would be an act of terrorism but that is never reported in that manner. The issue of terrorism has been a long fought discussion that has gotten no where. With no progress being put in it and misleading the public as to who is a terrorist, the discussion needs to be put to an end before we see a larger decline in the morality of our society.