The Most Common Type of American Terrorist Is a White Man With a Weapon and a Grudge

[kpete]

Yesterday, an outspoken white atheist murdered three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. We don’t yet know for sure whether this was a hate crime or whether the killer, Craig Stephen Hicks, had some other motivation; police have said the crime may have grown out of a dispute over parking. We do know that had Hicks been a Muslim and his victims atheists, few would be waiting for all the facts to come in before declaring him a terrorist. We know that there would be the usual calls for other Muslims to condemn the killings, coupled with the usual failure to take note of the many Muslims who did. And we know that demands for Bill Maher and Richard Dawkins to distance themselves from Hicks are largely facetious, because no one really blames them. Violence perpetrated by Muslims is almost always seen as part of a global conspiracy, whereas white men like Hicks are usually seen as isolated psychopaths.

There is, of course, some truth there. An organized jihadist movement exists; an organized cadre of terroristic atheists does not. Yet in the United States, Islamophobia has been a consistent motivator of violence. Hicks’s killing of Yusor Mohammad, her husband, Deah Shaddy Barakat, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, should not be treated like a man-bites-dog story, a reversal of the usual pattern of terrorism. After all, Muslims in the United States are more often the victims of ideological violence than the perpetrators of it.

According to the latest FBI statistics, there were more than 160 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2013. Mosques and Islamic centers have been firebombed and vandalized; seven mosques were attacked during Ramadan alone in 2012. Several Muslims, or people thought to be Muslim, have been murdered or viciously attacked. In 2010, a white college student and self-described patriot tried to slash the throat of Bangladeshi cab driver Ahmed Sharif. The white supremacist who slaughtered six people in a Sikh temple in 2012 may have thought he was targeting Muslims. So, apparently, did Erika Menendez, the homeless New Yorker who pushed a man named Sunando Sen in front of a subway train that same year.


In most cases, the perpetrators have been disaffected, disaffiliated losers rather than part of any movement, but they’ve picked up broader currents of hatred and conspiracy theorizing. (The same can be said of some lone-wolf Muslim terrorists like Man Haron Monis, the fraudster and criminal who took hostages in Sydney last year, or the Tsarnaev brothers, who bombed the Boston marathon in 2013.) We don’t yet know if Hicks was driven by lonely fanaticism, but if he was, he’s not as much of an anomaly as he might at first appear. Explicitly atheist violence is unusual, but Hicks still fits the profile of the most common type of American terrorist: a white man with a weapon and a grudge.


http://www.thenation.com/blog/197697/muslim-students-murdered-chapel-hill#


https://twitter.com/michaelhayes/status/565656485452345344



"I reached for my phone so many times to text him today," Deah's brother said on stage.

"Islamophobia isn't real"..."he was a lone wolf" "it was a parking dispute" "Muslims are just overreacting"

https://twitter.com/Rrrrnessa/status/565657145283444736

ALL LIVES MATTER!!!

[Dont call me Shirley]

1. Yusor, Deah, Razan...

[hlthe2b]

2. Indeed...

[yuiyoshida]

49. This

[Orrex]

3. It's amazing how many lone wolves we have running around.

[Fred Sanders]

9. They are not alone. They have Fox and Hate Radio whispering in their ears and minds. And the mass

media saying nothing about the whispering.

[SoapBox]

16. +100

[Midnight Writer]

81. This is why Obama and Bush do not finger "Islamic Extremists"

Because they know that singling out a religious or ethnic group could lead to deranged hate killings.

Fox is pointing out that this guy had altercations with many of his neighbors, as if that disproves the concept that this was a hate crime.

However, the fact is that he didn't shoot these other neighbors execution style, only the ones dressed in Muslim garb.

[Fred Sanders]

87. I read the Fox article. Well written propaganda desperate to excuse the murderer from Islamaphobia.

[KittyWampus]

35. the artwork at link is freaking awesome.

[Fred Sanders]

4. The final straw that breaks' the armed racist's back is provocation by the American Terror Media.

American media, have you no shame for the role you have played and continue to play? Is there nothing else you have to sell but fear?

Obama is again right, the mass media are just a larger your version of your local "if it bleeds, it leads" which is nothing more than Pretend Journalism - for a Pretend America.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

5. "Is there nothing else you have to sell but fear?"

If it makes you feel any better they sat on the story of a serial killer luring gay men with a dating app only to kill them. He killed 4 men and not a peep out of the M$M.

[Bluenorthwest]

8. That's just one story people don't know. Seattle, two gay men shot dead

and a gay bar set on fire by another.
"Seattle Police say “extremist beliefs” drove Ali Brown to shoot to death two men he met while out at R Place as part of a nationwide crime and murder spree. Meanwhile, Musab Masmari was sentenced to 10 years for the New Year’s arson at Neighbours nightclub. While prosecutors and police say Masmari was clearly driven by anti-gay motivations, the case was not prosecuted as a hate crime."
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2014/12/two-capitol-hill-anti-gay-hate-crime-cases-heading-towards-trial/
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/05/suspect-in-arson-at-seattle-gay-nightclub-to-enter-plea/

[KittyWampus]

36. Hope it's okay to put this here- on Long Island it turns out a lot of women were murdered

and dumped. Police and authorities didn't coordinate/put things together. The women were mostly prostitutes.

Not to diminish issue of violence against gays but I did want to point out it extends to women who might not be viewed as "worthy" even if they are white and attractive.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

45. It's called "stochastic terrorism".

FOX News or whoever the media outlet is fans the flames of hate.

Millions of people hear this stuff and a very small percentage of the listeners will act out and commit a hate crime. They know this, and then the media can say "we're not responsible" even knowing that some very small numbers of angry white guys will be acting out the hatred.

[Fred Sanders]

46. Look at how desperately the media is trying to spin this as nothing to do with their own biased reporting.

[Mnemosyne]

6. Will this hatred never stop?

[Archae]

12. Quite honestly? No.

We've always had "The Other."

"The Other" doesn't look like "us."
(Blacks, Hispanics, Asians)

"The Other" doesn't worship the exact "God" we have.
(Jews, Muslims, etc.)

"The Other" wants to take our jobs, our homes, our children.

"The Other" only deserves to be killed.

[Moostache]

20. Violence (or protection from it) is the original organizing principle of society...

Nature is replete with examples.

Herds formed to provide safety from packs.
Packs have a pecking order to establish order and increase effectiveness.

Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.

Society, such that it is, is a very thin veneer of politeness that is only a few missed meals (or a few hours of poisonous venom poured onto an impressionable mind) away from horrific acts of violence. We are not "highly" evolved apes, that is a construct of ignorant and feeble minds to make themselves feel superior to nature. We are quite simply BARELY evolved apes. Take away just a few of technologies and advances and we would be no better (and probably infinitely worse) than a pack of rabid chimps.

[tblue37]

56. +1,000,000. nt

[Orsino]

85. Not while we allow money to organize it. n/t

[KitSileya]

7. Yup, and a favorite target of these terrorists are women.

Women who refused them, who broke up with them, divorced them.

[F4lconF16]

23. Thank you for pointing that out.

It's something we often tend to forget, and yet the pattern is clear.

[marym625]

10. wtf is wrong with people?

[hifiguy]

51. Unfortunately, I think Tom Waits nailed it

"We are all just monkeys with money and guns.”

We humans haven't fallen nearly as far as they think from the tree of our ape ancestors, particularly the worst among us.

[marym625]

57. Unfortunately

That's true.

Dog I hate guns.

[marym625]

61. by the way

Just for fun

Tom Waits - Anywhere I lay my head:

[libtodeath]

11. I weep for this country.

[LibDemAlways]

13. Why the media fascination with motive in this case?

Three innocent young people are dead because a psychopath with a gun murdered them in cold blood. And the media are somehow trying to make justifiable or at least understandable because the guy may have had some sort of parking dispute with them? Why would that matter? He was hate filled and rage filled enough to shoot them execution style. Lock him up. Throw away the key.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. FBI Bias Crimes Statistics, 2013

In 2013, race was reported for 5,814 known hate crime offenders. Of these offenders:

52.4 percent were White.
24.3 percent were Black or African American.
7.0 percent were groups made up of individuals of various races (Group of Multiple Races).
0.8 percent (49 offenders) were American Indian or Alaska Native.
0.7 percent (40 offenders) were Asian.
0.1 percent (3 offenders) were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
14.8 percent were unknown. (Based on Table 9.)

An analysis of data for victims of single-bias hate crime incidents showed that:

49.3 percent of the victims were targeted because of the offenders’ bias against race.
20.2 percent were targeted because of bias against sexual orientation.
16.9 percent were victimized because of bias against religion.
11.4 percent were victimized because of bias against ethnicity.
1.4 percent were targeted because of bias against disability.
0.5 percent (33 individuals) were victims of gender-identity bias.
0.4 percent (30 individuals) were victims of gender bias. (Based on Table 1.)

Among single-bias hate crime incidents in 2013, there were 3,563 victims of racially motivated hate crime.

66.5 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offenders’ anti-Black or African American bias.
21.2 percent were victims of anti-White bias.
4.6 percent were victims of anti-Asian bias.
4.5 percent were victims of anti-American Indian or Alaska Native bias.
3.1 percent were victims of bias against a group of individuals in which more than one race was represented (anti-multiple races, group).
0.1 percent (3 individuals) were victims of anti-Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander bias. (Based on Table 1.)

Of the 1,461 victims targeted due to sexual-orientation bias:

60.9 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offenders’ anti-gay (male) bias.
22.5 percent were victims of anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (mixed group) bias.
13.1 percent were victims of anti-lesbian bias.
1.8 percent were victims of anti-bisexual bias.
1.6 percent were victims of anti-heterosexual bias. (Based on Table 1.)

Religious bias

Of the 1,223 victims of anti-religious hate crimes:

60.3 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offenders’ anti-Jewish bias.
13.7 percent were victims of anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias.
6.1 percent were victims of anti-Catholic bias.
4.3 percent were victims of bias against groups of individuals of varying religions (anti-multiple religions, group).
3.8 percent were victims of anti-Protestant bias.
0.6 percent were victims of anti-Atheist/Agnostic bias.
11.2 percent were victims of bias against other religions (anti-other religion). (Based on Table 1.)
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2013


I post this because historically DU has not really focused much on bias crimes in the past and I get the impression that few here have any concept of the realities.....

[niyad]

24. please post this as its own op for greater visibility.

[Historic NY]

30. +1

[Fumesucker]

86. Good post, facts are helpful

[navarth]

15. Excuse me but what does atheism have to do with this?

Sorry I don't have the opportunity to watch the video, I'm at work.

I agree with the title of the OP 1000%.

But the first line singles the killer out as an atheist and I have to wonder: what's that got to do with it? It reminds me of when someone says "I was talking to this black guy" and I say "you mean you were talking to this guy. what does his color have to do with it?"

PLEASE I'm not trying to compare the experiences of black people with atheists. I'm just asking a quick question. Maybe the answer is in the video? I'll watch it at first opportunity.

[ffr]

18. You beat me to it.

If only I typed faster.

[Moostache]

22. Hear, hear!

+1 for truth
+another 1 for promptness!

[onyourleft]

27. Thanks for asking.

In my opinion, it has nothing to do with it at all.

[The2ndWheel]

32. Context?

What does outspoken, white, Muslim, or student have to do with any of it either? I guess the first sentence could've been, "Yesterday, one person killed three other people", and end the whole story right there.

[navarth]

55. outspoken, no. student, no. white = majority and power structure

atheists are a minority just like muslims or black people. bad comparison IMO.

[Township75]

44. It's like white cop shoots unarmed black man

Instead of cop shoots unarmed man.

I am not following the story online since I bet it is all speculation and few facts at his point. From what I overheard his Facebook page is filled wih posts stating his hatred for Christians and Muslims

[Duppers]

48. +10

[ffr]

17. Yesterday, an outspoken white atheist murdered

That whole first paragraph is just uncomfortably written, seemingly to vilify atheists or atheist hypocrisy. Like BlueNW's stats above show, I don't get what the murderer's being an atheist has to do with the crime. First off, atheists don't give two chits what other people's religions are. Atheists position is quite simple, that theists haven't proven their position and without such deductive evidence, there is no basis for such synthetic a-priori beliefs. No doctrine beyond that. So, if you say you're an atheist, as this murderer might have and you have it out for someone of another religion, that would not be because of the evidence that supports your atheist beliefs, it's because you're a racist hate mongering bigot.

Sorry Michelle Goldberg, the atheist part you are clearly using to smear atheists, like Bill Maher and Richard Dawkins, as no-better-than-the-rest-of-us hypocrites doesn't hold water and never could, by definition. Your whole first paragraph says little about why there are evils to atheism, but says volumes about some agenda you have against atheists in general. Maybe it's time to get out the old philosophy and reasoning books and go over them again.

[Jack Rabbit]

19. ()

[ffr]

21. Not kicked and not recommended. n/t

[uppityperson]

52. Why? Serious question. PM is ok if you don't want to post openly. nt

[ffr]

64. Two posts above? The one by FFR. n/t

[uppityperson]

67. ah, I missed that you wrote that other post. Thanks. nt

[niyad]

25. k and r for what is a sad truth in this "greatest country in the world".

[niyad]

26. three joyous, beautiful lights wiped off the earth because of some kind of insane hatred

and fear.

[guillaumeb]

39. your list needs updating

1625-1875 US colonizers commit genocide against the original inhabitants of this country. No Muslims involved
1860-1865 US has bloody civil war. No Muslims involved
1914-1918 US involved in bloody world war. No Muslims involved
1941-1945 US involved in another world war. Again, no Muslim involvement.
1945 February, city of Dresden firebombed by US and UK. Massive civilian casualties. No Muslims seen at crime scene.
1945-Approximately 300,000 Japanese civilians incinerated from nuclear weapon strikes. Any Muslims involved?
1961-Present US continuously at war with the world. Millions killed to expand the empire. Are you blaming the Muslims for this also?

Adding up all the casualties of the US Empire and its constant war making, it is obvious that the US commits terror on a global scale vs the incidents that you cite.

Are you on the wrong site, by the way? Or do you get paid to send this out?

[glasshouses]

41. You can start a thread about evil America

but what you posted has nothing to do with the OP title

[guillaumeb]

42. nor does your list of violence perpetrated by people you explicitly identified as Muslims,

but apparently you felt it necessary to include it here.
The post is talking about a particular act of gun violence carried out by a self-described (Chicago Tribune)
Second Amendment advocate.

I could talk about the horrific levels of gun violence on this country. I could talk about the well known link between levels of gun violence and social inequality. I could talk about the US ranking at the top of the OCDE countries as far as social inequality. But if I did I might be accused of perpetuating the meme of "evil America".

My point was addressed to your implied linking of Muslims "as Muslims and not as individuals" and violence. A better link can be made that equates the US and violence, and you make no attempt to refute what I said about that because the facts are unfortunately against your side.

But I must apologize for inferring that you might be a paid blogger. I have no idea about anything like that and should not have included it here.

[glasshouses]

43. I posted it because I disagree with the writers view

"The Most Common Type of American Terrorist Is a White Man With a Weapon"

It's not the most common in America or frankly the world.

If we are to go by race as the writer like to use (which I don't like using) it's not a white man as he stated

[guillaumeb]

47. understood. But how one defines terror

goes a long way to explain how we talk of terror. When I spoke of American terror I was speaking of state terror. The US is not alone in this type of behavior, but if we cannot acknowledge that nations do use the same violence as do individual actors we can never discuss violence as a tactic and how to eliminate violence.

I would argue that nations are and have always been responsible for far more violence than individuals. Nations simply justify their violence as "state security" or similar language.

I also feel that the US, being always at war, encourages violence and the use of violence as an acceptable response to any situation.

[uppityperson]

53. FBI Bias Crimes Statistics, 2013 shows you wrong

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6215800

[lumberjack_jeff]

58. "bias" "hate" and "terror" are not the same things.

A terrorist is motivated to create political change.

The reason that no one jumps to the conclusion that Hicks was a terrorist is because hate crime (of which Hicks is clearly guilty) is a different kettle of fish. The 9-11 terrorists didn't do their thing because they hate white people, but because they wanted to fundamentally remake the world. A task at which they have succeeded, btw.

[uppityperson]

60. Thank you for showing glasshouses list has little to do with terrorism, mostly just murders

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026215490#post28
The link I gave is as close to his for that term.

[uppityperson]

54. Unsourced, unlinked, highly suspect. If you have a valid source or link, I'd like to see it. nt

[DebJ]

70. I second that............... n/t

[uppityperson]

71. I found links on freerepublic and a bigoted anti-muslim site. Interesting, eh? nt

[DebJ]

73. A glasshouse that throws stones is interesting. n/t

[Violet_Crumble]

74. That list originated at a hate site

I'd seen it before. It was put together by the anti Muslim hate site religionofpeace.com. They're listed as a hate site by the southern poverty law centre

[uppityperson]

75. Yup, that is where I found it and that site is awful, need to decontaminate my computer. freepers

were mild by comparison.

[Violet_Crumble]

62. Where did that list come from? Link? N/t

[Number23]

72. The fact that you could post all the Muslim atrocities committed in the US going back to 19 FREAKING

72 on a single page or even two pages shows the utter and complete stupidity of your argument.

Even all of those added up since 1972 are probably dwarfed by the number killed by drunk driving or hate crimes in the last 10 years.

[BlueMTexpat]

29. What a tragic waste of

three beautiful young people!

[pipi_k]

31. Sad, but true n/t

[hugo_from_TN]

33. Is there any indication that this guy hated Muslims?

Sorry, I haven't read all the news articles, so maybe a dumb question.

[HeartlandDem]

34. My heart breaks for the families...

of these beautiful young souls, so senseless. I've read that Hicks is an anti-theist and I think it's important to understand the distinction between an atheist and an anti-theist. Here is a good definition:

----- An anti-theist would be someone who not only believes that God does not exist, but also is against the idea of God's existence. He would oppose religion. Just as there are varieties of atheists, there are varieties of anti-theists. Some anti-theists oppose the idea of God but don't do much about it. Then there are those who assert that any belief in God is harmful to society, and the proper thing to do is reduce harm by openly attacking and denouncing theistic beliefs with the aim of eradicating all religion. All anti-theists are atheists, but not all atheists are anti-theists. -----

From this, I gather gun-toting Hicks could justify his violent act. so crazy.

[KittyWampus]

37. It may not just be about "grudge" but suicidal tendencies where personal and social

environments contribute to urge to take out other people before killing oneself.

[Iggo]

38. ...wears a police uniform.

[benz380]

40. Whew! I'm glad you wrote "weapon" and not "gun". This thread would be a mile long. n/t

[NightWatcher]

50. Has "terrorist" replaced "hate criminal"?

By linking "Atheist" with "Terrorist" I'm afraid this is going to play into the religious right's meme that all Atheists are just as evil and dangerous (and therefore enemies of America) as all Muslims and will use this to further push their idea that America is a Christian. Of course I'm not saying that Muslims are evil, but we all know that many modern day right wing so called Christians think this.

Sure this guy was evil and motivated by hate. Why not just call him a criminal, or hate criminal if you'd like. I don't think this fits the bill as a "Terrorist". He hated those people for being Muslim, it appears, but I don't think he used his act of violence to achieve a political goal.

[Fred Sanders]

66. The murderer was always angry and threatened most of residents wearing his gun, but he choose three Muslims to kill.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to prevent annoying neighbors from parking in "your" spot and having noisy parties, and being loud mouth Muslims, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

[NightWatcher]

68. Yes, that makes him a criminal. A criminal motivated by hate.

Don't dilute the power of words by using them incorrectly. The label of "terrorist" should be reserved for people and organizations that use terror and or violent acts to forward political ideas or belief. All over the world there are bad people who do horrible things, but not all of them require this label.

I don't understand your line about "the well regulated..." but that doesn't have anything to do with terrorism.

[lumberjack_jeff]

59. There's a difference between a hate criminal and a terrorist.

Perhaps not an ethical one, but an important difference nonetheless.

[Enthusiast]

63. Kicked and recommended!

[ileus]

65. And that's why I carry...

You don't have to be an easy victim anymore.


Safety First.

[WillyT]

69. Huge K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[DonCoquixote]

76. The elephant in the room

Is that the GOP and other right wingers want the gun laws to be loose, so that the left will fear what a GOP poltician called "second amendment remedies", acts of violence that cannot be linked to the whole.

Of course, we know damned well the only reason they rely on all these "lone wolves" is because they are working towards the days when they can openly blast liberals into hash.

[Hekate]

77. Yeah.

[Thinkingabout]

78. Angry white men who hate but the same ones votes, go figure.

[libodem]

79. .

[Miigwech]

80. They all are

total failures and blame everyone else for their failed lives .... most are ignorant losers and society has to pay for their anger. Sorry to say this, but most women take out their anger on themselves when it comes to suicide whereas most men take out their anger on those around them, before committing suicide or in this case, brutally killing three beautiful, young, successful individuals without having the ability to kill himself. This slug, killed what he hated most because he could never be what those young people represented. ... and could never figure out why they were able to succeed where he never could.

[IkeRepublican]

82. Nonsense

A loose cannon bastard running around with a gun is a terrorist.

Is every other thing a big-bad-whitey issue around here? Jumping jesus.

All lives matter, indeed.

[trumad]

83. point....flies over head moment.

Stats baby...stats.

[GreatGazoo]

84. The killer's favorite movie was "Falling Down" (according to his ex wife)

Hicks' ex-wife, Cynthia Hurley, told The Associated Press that, before they divorced about 17 years ago, his favorite movie was "Falling Down," the 1993 Michael Douglas film about a divorced, unemployed engineer on a shooting rampage.

"That always freaked me out," Hurley said. "He watched it incessantly. He thought it was hilarious. He had no compassion at all."

http://www.wral.com/chapel-hill-murder-suspect-was-banned-from-calling-towing-company/14443091/#klTjzq9DcDYMPsyj.99

How much you want to bet on what his new favorite movie is/was?