White terrorism struck again: Last night, three men, apparently with bullet proof vests, shot into a protest for Black liberation in Minneapolis, striking five people. The demonstrators were protesting the execution of Jamar Clark. Jamar was under arrest and placed in handcuffs, when witnesses say one police officer shielded Jamar, as the other shot him twice. This is white terrorism.
This past weekend a black male was assaulted by three white males at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. The black man states that his attackers were yelling racial slurs at him as they attacked him . This happened after threats of violence against Black students were posted on Yik Yak. This is white terrorism.
On November 21st, a black protester at a Donald Trump rally was attacked, was beat, and was being called ni**er and monkey, as another yelled “All Lives Matter.” Donald Trump later said that “Maybe he should have been roughed up.” This is white terrorism .
Last week, six Muslim passengers of South West airlines were not allowed to board because someone didn’t feel safe with them on it. This is white terrorism.
Last Friday, the Orwellian-named “Freedom of Speech” rally was held outside a mosque in Phoenix. These white protesters were armed and they had intent to intimidate. This is white terrorism.
We are living in a dangerous time, particularly as we have seen the rise of a white nationalist presidential candidate in Donald Trump, an individual purposefully stoking fears, anxiety, and violence in his voter base. The media is too worried about ratings to call this American Nazi what he is. In the name of programming and viewers they are giving him a platform to spew his hate. They made this monster a viable candidate for a major political party. Most of the media is scared to check Donald Trump for fear they will land on his blacklist. Profits and materialism, cloaked in “no-bias” reporting, are winning in triumph over humanity and truth. Lenin called Fascism “Capitalism in decay.”
It seems he was right.
It is far past time that we take Trump’s candidacy for president of the United States seriously. It is far past time we take his supporters seriously. They make up a large swath of this nation and if we do not take him and these people seriously we will face modern-day Nazism prospering within our borders. One can argue in a way it already is.
Under FDR, we already had internment camps for Japanese Americans. Our ghettos were built on purpose. Our police are already overtly violent against black Americans, who are still neck deep in the legacy of slavery with the prison industrial complex. Too many already treat every Muslim with suspicion. And many already treat Latin@ populations with disdain. This nation is not as far away from Nazi Germany as we like to believe; we are one charismatic, xenophobic, fear-mongering leader away
These people won’t end at the expulsion of Latin@ immigrants. This is white supremacy at its finest; they will hunt down Muslims, turn back the tide on LGBTQ+ rights, and take many steps backward in the violent oppression of black Americans.
The unwise will say it can never happen here. But why can it not? If it can never happen, then Trump would not be rising in the polls as he is. If it can never happen, then the Nazi government wouldn’t have had as much support as it did here in the 1930s. If it can never happen, then the GOP would be speaking out against the repugnant racism and xenophobia many of their supporters, news, and presidential candidates spew. But ultimately they either are too cowardly to. Or, perhaps they believe it, too.
He is not the only candidate feeding this fear and he is not the only leader feeding this fear. This fear is being spread by Fox News and other conservative media outlets. For years they have been stoking fears and lies about Muslims, Latin@s, and black Americans They most recently have been calling Black Lives Matter a terrorist organization. It’s being spread by people such as Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who have spread the lies of a “war on cops.”
We will continue to see more white terrorism. The massacre in Charleston was not even the start, but a part of a long history of white terrorism in this nation by white Americans. It has changed shaped and evolved, but we are now seeing it in its most primal state in years; that’s why it’s so eye-opening to some people.
We must stay vigilant. We must not be deterred. We must let our convictions drive us, and we must let our struggle make us stronger. This violent push back against black liberation which is against all forms of oppression — specifically white supremacy — was inevitable. But it means we’re winning. Our salvation will not be denied us. We will not only survive and we will not only win … we will thrive. We will bend the arch of history to justice.
In the meantime, we must hold on and protect one another, as it is our duty to fight for our freedom.
