Report documents right-wing terrorism

Right-wing terrorism is real

Backlash to a new West Point study on domestic extremism exposes the depths of conservatives' denial

By David SirotaThere are four revealing stories to be gleaned from the Aggrieved Conservative Backlash™ to an exhaustive and sober new West Point Combating Terrorism Center report on “Understanding America’s Violent Far-Right.” (For a more grass roots-y look at how hysterical and viral that backlash is, see some choice tweets here.)

First, there is the obvious lesson about double standards. When the government accuses a Muslim group of being a national security threat, conservatives are quick to applaud and demand immediate (often violent) action, without regard for the whole “innocent until proven guilty” stuff. By contrast, when the government accuses an ideologically right-wing group of being a similarly dangerous threat, many of the same conservatives suddenly play the victim card, insisting that the Big Bad Government is wrongly demonizing them.

Second, the backlash tells the story of how priorities abruptly change when the context shifts. Again, when the government accuses a Muslim group of posing a threat, the substance of the accusations (how much of a threat? what is the operational capacity of the threat? etc.) are typically received by conservatives as serious national security issues. But when far right groups are labeled a threat, many conservatives’ first reflex is to defend the accused and wholly ignore the substance of the accusations no matter how well documented those accusations are (and say what you will about the West Point report’s conclusions, its supporting evidence is most certainly well-documented).Comment:  The common denominator between this posting and others in Newspaper Rock is this:

According to most Americans, the terrorists are always "them": "foreigners" such as Indians, Commies, and Muslims. The terrorists are never "us": good white Euro-Christians. "We" don't do barbaric things like killing innocent civilians. "They" do.

This report explodes that notion by documenting America's right-wing terrorism. And rather than admit that good white Euro-Christians are terrorists too, conservatives try to deny and squelch the report. They can't handle the truth.

For more on terrorism, see Morris Mirror: Natives = "Terrorists" and Alcaraz's "Twin Tipis" Cartoon.

Below:  Tim McVeigh's right-wing bombing in Oklahoma City.