The first amendment says that Congress shall make no law to establish or prevent the free exercise of religion, but that doesn’t mean some Americans won’t try. Following the recent attacks in Paris and the shooting in California, Islamophobic language has become not only accepted but encouraged in many circles.
Since 9/11, our country has been afraid and many Americans wrongly connotate terrorism with Islam. But for a word that gets thrown around almost every day by the government and in the media, Americans don’t seem to have much understanding about what terrorism is.
The Department of Defense defines terrorism as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.”
That’s a fine definition; the massacre in Paris and the violence in San Bernadino clearly categorize an act of terrorism. But so, too, do the actions of Dylan Roof, who murdered nine people in South Carolina as a part of his racist ideology, and Robert Dear, who killed three at a Colorado Planned Parenthood due to his extreme political views.
They’re as guilty of terrorism as any radical jihadist, so why do so many people assume that terrorists are of Middle Eastern descent? The fact is, America suffers a major terrorist attack almost every other day—acts of terror perpetrated by psychotic white men.
If the attacks in Paris had happened in New York and been perpetrated by a white Christian the world would’ve talked about it for less than a week. Mass shootings are a common occurrence in this country and just because the political or ideological motives are often unclear doesn’t make them any less terrifying.
Why is Christianity not talked about in the same tone as Islam, and why aren’t we more afraid of white people? White Americans have a tradition of terrorism without even mentioning the KKK; it was a white man who bombed Oklahoma City and it was two white men who shot up Columbine.
But these extremists are rarely called terrorists and their acts of violence never spur action. Instead we ignore it, give token words about mental health and go back to our daily routine without condemnation and without dropping any bombs.
This isn’t an attack on white America, and I’m not saying that we should fear one group any more than another. Terrorism knows no color and practices no creed — it infects the minds of broken people regardless of whether they’re Christian or Muslim, black or white, rich or poor.
America is a diverse nation composed of people from around the world, with a history both beautiful and tragic. Muslims are a diverse group of people living around the world, with a history both beautiful and tragic. Can’t everyone just realize they’re the same and get along?
By Greg Horner.
