New Zealand Massacre Is More Proof White Supremacy Is The Greatest Threat To Global Peace
Historically speaking, there is no comparison when it comes to the sheer destructiveness of White Supremacy.
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by Ben Cohen
Today, 49 people were killed and 48 injured in a horrifying terrorist attack on Muslims at two mosques during Friday prayers in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s history.
The barbaric acts of terrorism were carried out by white supremacists, reportedly inspired by right wing extremism that at least one of the four suspects saw in the United States. The word ‘terrorism’ is operative here, because crimes of mass murder committed by non-white people are rarely labeled as such.
To many, only Muslims and brown people are terrorists, not white people, who are deemed “mentally ill” or “lone wolves” when they slaughter large numbers of innocent civilians. This has to change so that we can effectively deal with what is historically the most dangerous myth in perhaps all of human history.
As a refresher, here are some recent examples of White Terrorism (h/t AlJazeera):
2018: Robert Gregory Bowers' kills 12 Jewish members of a Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2018;
2017: Alexandre Bissonnette's slaughters six Muslims in the Quebec City mosque.
2017: Stephen Paddock opens fire on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. 59 people die, while 851 are injured.
2015: Dylann Roof's kills of nine black Christian parishioners in Charleston, South Carolina.
2011: Anders Behring Breivik's slaughters 77 people in Norway in 2011.
Statistics confirm overwhelmingly that right wing terrorism (read White Terrorism) is a much graver threat than Islamic terrorism is in America. FBI Director Christopher Wray wrote in August of 2017, that “The primary terrorist threat to the homeland today, without question, is homegrown violent extremists. That’s what keeps us up at night—and no doubt many of you, too.”
Wray defined domestic terrorism “as attacks carried out by people inspired by, or associated with, U.S.-based movements that promote violent extremist ideologies. That’s everything from militias and anarchist groups to race supremacist groups and environmental extremists.”
Given environmental acts of terrorism are virtually non-existent, it is clear who Wray is really referring to.
Historically speaking, there is no comparison when it comes to the sheer destructiveness of White Supremacy. From European colonialism to slavery, Apartheid, and the terrifying spread of Nazism, the belief that white skin and white culture is not only inherently superior to all others, but grants white people the right to subjugate, terrorize and murder non-whites has proven to be humanity’s greatest scourge.
White Supremacy exists in many guises, much of it non-violent, but all of it toxic and all of it dangerous. In America, Donald Trump has used White Supremacy to create a powerful political movement that is deeply hostile to Muslims, Blacks, and Latinos. The effects of this have been severe — from separated families at the US border to a serious increase in racially motivated assaults, Trump is presiding over a new era of race hate in America.
In Europe, far right leaders continue to amass political power by vilifying immigrants and demonizing Muslims. Emmanuel Macron for example, considers the rise of right wing movements in Europe to be an existential threat so grave that he has made direct comparisons to the emergence of Hitler and Mussolini.
In New Zealand, this vile philosophy culminated in the tragic deaths of almost 50 innocent people peacefully practicing their religion.
While Western countries are at least somewhat less inclined to invade countries with dark skinned citizens in order to spread their values and steal their resources, the tendency to assume cultural superiority remains, and sometimes this assumption turns deadly. The attacks in New Zealand were live streamed on Facebook for good reason: the terrorists wanted the world to know about their White Supremacist beliefs and how powerful the movement still is. Christchurch is known to have a very active white-supremacist subculture, and we saw first hand what that can lead to if left unchecked.
There are many ways in which White Supremacy and White Terrorism can be fought. From increased policing to education and addressing economic inequality, our leaders have a duty to tackle this problem with everything at their disposal. The danger is real, and the danger is growing. But before this can be done, we must start labeling White Terrorism it for what it is.
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