Double Standards

Anti American sentiment has drastically increased since the election of the first African-American president. Many white men in America have become angered and feel as though Barrack Obama poses a threat to white supremacy. Gun sales throughout the nation have increased substantially, and there has been an influx of militia and white supremacist groups. These groups fill the internet with anti government propaganda and are a threat to democracy. Militias and White supremacist groups who threaten and act against the well being of this country are terrorists and should be labeled as such. The recent Pentagon Shooting and The IRS building suicide plane crash in Texas are examples of terrorist attacks committed by white men. The stereotypes of a typical terrorist in the eyes of most Americans are Middle Eastern Muslim men. However, recently middle aged white men have been the ones committing terrorist attacks against the United States, but their actions are not being considered terrorist attacks. Their attacks are not being considered terrorist attacks because white men are never labeled.

When U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hassan unloaded his weapon at Fort Hood and killed 13 innocent soldiers immediately this attack was tied to terrorism. The mass media began questioning if Muslim American Soldiers would face repercussions for Major Hassan’s attack. The problem with this kind of media coverage and thinking is that whenever a white man commits a crime white men are persecuted as individuals, but whenever Muslim or black men commit crimes blacks and Muslims as a whole are profiled. For example, after September 11th passengers of airplanes who looked Middle Eastern were watched closely. When in reality, not all men who appear Middle Eastern pose a threat to the safety of The United States. This security strategy of profiling actually fails because we focus on one group of people that may pose a threat instead of all people who pose a threat. An intelligent terrorist group who knows the stereotype of terrorists in America can easily find someone who doesn’t fit the stereotype and use them to implement their attacks. The true terrorists are those who are not being labeled and continue to enforce terror on American citizens daily.

The attack on the IRS building in Texas was an act of terrorism. However, since the pilot of the plane that crashed into the building was white; the government considered his attack “a criminal act by a lone individual”. White people have the privilege of being considered an individual while every other race is labeled as a whole. There is no such thing as a lone terrorist from Iraq, or a lone gang banger from Compton. White people are guilty of bunching people of color together. They do not have the ability to separate individuals from a group of misfits whom portray a negative image. They see a group of bad black kids misbehaving and consider the whole black race criminal. This is why racial profiling exists. White men can post anti government rhetoric online, commit terrorist attacks, and not be considered terrorists. I guess the word terrorist only applies to men in countries we want to invade. The United States better wake up and realize who the real threat is before it is too late. The biggest threat to democracy resides within our own borders.