THE DUOPOLY WATCH |
Steven Jonas, MD, MPH
Is Robert Dear, pictured above,
the murderer at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, CO, a “radical”,
a “hate crime offender or a terrorist? And if he is a “radical”, who
radicalized him? The media has failed to focus on this nutcase’s history of
violence to women, including repeated rape, and the ideological forces that
remain part of the “respectable” value system of many Americans.
First
question: what is terrorism? One definition is that it is an armed
technique, usually used against non-combatants, in a conventional or
non-conventional war situation. (Well yes, I did make that one
up.) One dictionary definition is: “1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or
coerce, especially for political purposes; 2. the state of fear and submission
produced by terrorism or terrorization; 3. a
terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.” Another is: “the use
of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve
a political goal; the systematic use of terror especially as a
means of coercion.” But then the good old Wikipedia
tells us that: “There is neither an academic nor an accurate legal consensus
regarding the definition of terrorism.[1][2] Various legal systems and government agencies use
different definitions. Moreover, governments have been reluctant to formulate
an agreed upon, legally binding definition. These difficulties arise from the
fact that the term is politically and emotionally charged.[3] “
One thing that all of these definitions
have in common is that they describe a tactic, or at best a strategy, of war.
Nevertheless, since the time of President Bush (who described the 9/11 disaster
as a “terrorist attack” before anyone had the foggiest notion of who/what was
responsible), we have somehow had the “War on Terror” (which for the
military-industrial complexes involved in fighting it has the advantage of being a
Permanent War). It just so happens that the “War on Terror,”
was declared by Bush, and, as Eugene Robinson noted, continued under
Obama without a definition of the term having ever been provided.
However, as Robinson also said, paraphrasing an unknown U.S. general, declaring
a “war on terror” is like declaring a war on “flanking maneuvers.” [Black
pundit Eugene Robinson was for a long time a faithful supporter of Obama. That
has changed some, but certainly not radically.—Ed.]
WHY ISN’T THE KKK REGARDED AS A
FULL-FLEDGED, HOMEGROWN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION TODAY? WHY IS THE
SANITIZED ‘HATE CRIME’ LABEL USED INSTEAD?
“There is a race war against whites. But
our people – my white brothers and sisters – will stay committed to a
non-violent resolution. That resolution must consist of solidarity in white
communities around the world. The hatred for our children and their future is
growing and is being fueled every single day. Stay firm in your convictions.
Keep loving your heritage and keep witnessing to others that there is a better
way than a war torn, violent, wicked, socialist, new world order. That way is
the Christian way – law and order – love of family – love of nation. These are
the principles of western Christian civilization. There is a war to destroy
these things. Pray that our people see the error of their ways and regain a
sense of loyalty. Repent America! Be faithful my fellow believers. “ Pastor Thomas
Robb, National Director of The Knights Party
Except that in the United States, acts
that can be described as “terroristic” using any of the definitions quoted
above, such as “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce,
especially for political purposes,” or “the use of violent acts to frighten the
people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal” or any others
that one could think of for that matter, have one very peculiar
characteristic. That is, in this day-and-age, flanking maneuvers or no,
according to most U.S. politicians (and all Repub. politicians), and most of
the U.S. media (most especially what is referred to as the “mainstream media”),
for the most part to be labeled as “terrorism,” a violent act carried out
against civilians has to have been done, or made to appear to have been
done by Muslims.
And so, since “San Bernardino,” (an
absolute horror to be sure) we have been hearing about it and its apparent
perpetrators virtually 24/7. Most especially we are hearing about their
“radicalization,” and how the Pakistani woman got into the country. (We
don’t hear so much about how they happened to be able to freely get themselves,
or through a friend, military-style assault rifles, but of course we know the
reason for that.) That word, “radicalization,” as though it were some
kind of secret process conducted by witches (think “Macbeth”), is repeated
over-and-over again. The implication is that it must be Muslims who are the
potential subjects for it, and that it, the process, must be found out. [A
similar attack on “radicals” and “radicalisation” is taking place in Britain;
if anything it is more advanced and acerbic than in America.—Eds.]
“An anonymous U.S.
general has stated that declaring a ‘war on terror’ is like declaring a war on
‘flanking maneuvers.'”
One does have to wonder why we don’t hear too much about Robert Dear, who murdered three people at the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs and how he got “radicalized.” Lots of people think that abortion is murder (after all, the Repubs. and their echo chambers at Fox”News” and right-wing talk radio spew that stuff 24/7. Remember O’Reilly and “Diller the bay killer,” on the murdered abortion doctor.) But fortunately not-too-many are “radicalized” enough to go commit murder. We do hear some about Sandy Hook, but that was not “terrorism,” mind you, because it was committed by a clearly mentally ill young man who had a mentally ill mother for an accomplice (and they both happened to be white).
But have you ever heard of the 2009 mass
killing at an adult immigrant resource center in Binghamton, NY? Well,
you may have, but I had to be reminded of it by a recent column on the
Huffington Post. Of course, they were all foreign nationals,
but I wonder if the killer had become “radicalized” against such folk. I
don’t think that we’ll ever find out. And then what about the “massacre [that] took place at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where 40-year-old
Wade Michael Page fatally shot six people and wounded four others.[3][4] . . .
. Page was an American white supremacist and
United States Army veteran. . . .” I
can’t recall much of an investigation about how this known white supremacist
got radicalized. And oh by the way, Page thought that he was murdering
Muslims. Sikh’s aren’t.
Cliven Bundy
Next we come to the out-lier rancher Cliven Bundy and his gang of
“militia-men” who threatened to murder Federal law enforcement
officials if they attempted to stop him from breaking the law on grazing his
cattle on public lands. How did such folks “get radicalized?”
Hmmm? And when Dylann Roof, known for his open association with white
“The Confederacy Will Rise Again” hate groups (of which there are many not only
in the South but other parts of the country as well), slaughters eight
church-goers in Charleston, South Carolina (the capital of the first of what
became the Confederate States of America) we don’t hear the media going on and
on about “how was he radicalized?”
But heck, we would be getting much too
close to home (literally). After all, the Southern Policy Law Center has identified about 1600
armed and dangerous right-wing “militias/hate-ist/domestic
terrorist groups.” But when early in the Obama Administration
the Department of Homeland Security announced that it was going to launch an
investigation into domestic organizations posing potential terrorist threats
the screams and outrage from the supposedly “anti-terror” Republicans in the
Congress brought that one to halt quickly. And we could go on.
However this is not just the work of
Republicans and their Propaganda channels who run very well when they can get
the country terrified about “foreign,” especially “Muslim” terror. The
so-called “mainstream media,” from The New York Times to the “liberal” cable
news channels, are focusing almost exclusively on “San Bernardino” and the apparent killers’
“radicalization” (that’s quickly become the in-word). And so on most of
the media “terrorism” has a very narrow focus, because it is of course linked
to Muslims and furriners, donchaknow. They are just stoking the fire,
which the likes of Trump breath in and then spew out into general Muslim
suspicion, which can very quickly turn to hate (yellow crescents, anyone?)
And so, where are the Democrats?
When on the day I wrote this column (December 17, 2015) President Obama gave
another one of his patented “calming” speeches about terrorism he mentions just
one place: San Bernardino, where he is stopping off on his way to his annual
holiday-time Hawaii vacation to “comfort the families of the victims.”
“What?” (as the great sports commentator on New York City’s WFAN Steve Sommers
likes to say about subjects of much less importance). The President could
have also stopped in Colorado Springs to comfort the families there.
After all it’s on the way. But that would mean not feeding into the
narrative that his enemies intend to use to win the 2016 election. And it
would also mean standing up for Planned Parenthood. And we can’t have
either of those, can we?
Please indulge me for one more “oh, by
the way.” There will be at least one more “Muslim terrorist attack”
between now and the next election, most likely about two weeks before it.
After all, the Repubs. really do want to win, even if it means having a former
pro-choice Democrat and totally loose cannon in the White House.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Senior Editor, Politics, Steven Jonas,
MD, MPH is a Professor Emeritus of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook
University (NY) and author/co-author/editor/co-editor of over 30 books.
In addition to being Senior Editor, Politics, for The Greanville Post, he is: a
Contributor for American Politics to The Planetary Movement; a “Trusted
Author” for Op-Ed News.com; a contributor to the
“Writing for Godot”
section of Reader Supported News; and a contributor to From The G-Man. He is the
Editorial Director and a Contributing Author for TPJmagazine.us.
Further, he is an occasional Contributor to TheHarderStuff newsletter, BuzzFlash Commentary,
and Dandelion Salad.
Dr. Jonas’ latest book
is The 15% Solution: How the Republican Religious Right Took Control of the
U.S., 1981-2022: A Futuristic Novel, Brewster, NY, Trepper & Katz Impact Books,
Punto Press Publishing, 2013, and available on Amazon.
No comments:
Post a Comment