Can White People Be Terrorists? How media label Kansas shooting suspect
4/15/2014 A former leader of the Ku Klux Klan who founded his own militant racist group was arrested for shooting and killing three people at two Kansas City-area Jewish community centers on April 13. When he founded the White Patriot Party in 1980, Frazier Glenn Miller said its goal was "the creation of an all-white nation within the 1 million square miles of mother Dixie" ( <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=L13c4ypSh8pFGlrwgcp3pQnUrBs5ym iM> "White Patriot Party," Terrorism Knowledge Base). In 1986, Miller declared "total war" on Jews, blacks and the federal government (Intelligence Report, Winter/04 <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=nrXPTZaXmTdKa5UgaeO3bwnUrBs5ym iM> ). He served three years in prison on weapons charges and for running a paramilitary organization in violation of a court order (Hatewatch, 4/13/14 <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=G5ki%2FmDlEXZHGcHobl6MaQnUrBs5 ymiM> ) . He shouted "Heil Hitler" after being taken into custody after the Kansas City attacks (New York Times, 4/14/14 <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=flr0cp26BRAGcoE9X0rBfwnUrBs5ym iM> ). But media are reluctant to label the shootings Miller is charged with as acts of terrorism, or even to raise the issue. According to a search of the Nexis database, the word "terrorism" does not appear to have been used in connection with the Kansas shootings in the New York Times or the Washington Post. On much of the network news coverage, the killings were mostly discussed as hate crimes. NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams (4/14/14) called it "a terrible outburst of violence." It would be difficult to see how the crimes Miller is accused of committing would not meet the conventional legal standard (FBI,gov <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Os%2FOtg6QItNWsLFT7zASqQnUrBs5 ymiM> , "Definitions of Terrorism in the U.S. Code"). But calling something an act of terrorism is not just a legal or law enforcement matter; it is also a political determination. A year ago, the bombings at the Boston Marathon were immediately discussed as an act of terror, before any suspects were announced and any motives were understood (FAIR Blog, 4/16/13 <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=KqyANDUmZlZMNdKxvz0FwQnUrBs5ym iM> ). The fact that early assumptions linked the act to Muslims might explain that media decision. And there is a media pattern of downplaying <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OyfOAItiPJRgba%2BHqsSnhgnUrBs5 ymiM> acts of right-wing <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AbMxtDFkjJwBmj3yZmuJKgnUrBs5ym iM> domestic <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=A0zceduQK8XMB3CIgVDt%2BwnUrBs5 ymiM> terrorism. In 2011, Extra! (5/11 <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=h4hYCE5J2lHOA0C76hhAxgnUrBs5ym iM> ) compared the effusive coverage afforded an amateur bomb set by a Muslim perpetrator in New York City's Times Square to the sparse coverage of a much more sophisticated explosive device planted by a white supremacist at a Martin Luther King Day parade in Spokane, Wash. (Miller offered to set up a legal defense fund for Kevin Harpham, the far-right activist convicted in that bombing attempt--Talking Points Memo, 1/27/12 <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=UNAcZ3fMUVzraXluJc7qPAnUrBs5ym iM> .) There is also a long history of anti-abortion terrorism not being labeled as such (FAIR Blog, 2/1/10 <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Z%2BwbLNqnLEh4oS3YQ4KHawnUrBs5 ymiM> ). There were some exceptions in the media coverage. Interviewing Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center, CNN host Jake Tapper (4/14/14) asked: " I just wonder, if he had shouted 'Allahu Akbar' instead of 'Heil Hitler,' would be now facing terrorism charges instead of just hate crime charges?" And the issue came up on the PBS NewsHour (4/14/14 <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QG%2FFbZYoFSufjKbWfKi0iwnUrBs5 ymiM> ) when host Gwen Ifill interviewed Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, asking him, "At what point do we begin to treat these kinds of attacks as domestic terrorism, not just as hate crimes or individual acts?" Potok replied: They are domestic terrorism. Let's be plain. There is nothing to distinguish this from other forms of terrorism. It is a way in this case of terrorizing the Jewish community around Kansas City in particular, but around the country in general. And thats what terrorism is. Its a criminal act that is aimed at far more people than the immediate victims. You know, the law enforcement has been off and on about being candid about the terrorist nature of these attacks. But I think, today, by and large, American law enforcement is perfectly well aware that there is a very serious domestic radical right and some people within that milieu are, in fact, terrorists. Media can argue that they are simply following the lead of law enforcement officials, who are evidently calling the act a hate crime. But for journalists, the decision to avoid discussing this kind of violence in the context of terrorism is a political one. (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) Thé Mulindwas Communication Group "With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy" Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi "Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
_______________________________________________ Ugandanet mailing list [email protected] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ All Archives can be found at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. ---------------------------------------
