Violent Extremism in the United States

Although left-wing violence has historically been given more negative attention in the U.S., the fact is that political extremists on the right wing have a far more violent history. The ultimate expression of this was seen in 1995 with the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. However, there is a long-term linkage between right-wing ideology and willingness to enact that ideology violently, against socially marginalized groups on one hand and against the bulwark of government on the other. White explains that there is a strand of populism in right-wing extremism, but it is less informed by fellow feeling than by ethnocentric hatred and a sense of permanent social powerlessness. Representative right-wing responses to those feelings that were organized included the pre-Civil War, anti-immigrant Know-Nothings, the Ku Klux Klan and its progeny, and the Christian Identity movement. The last-named movement is like Wahabist Islam in that it is set on destroying everything that is not-Christian--Jews, Catholics, Muslims, immigrants, etc.

White (1999, pp. 223ff) identifies common characteristics of the modern incarnations of white extremists: invocation of God, belief in conspiracy (of government, economic interests, and other "sinister forces" such as Communism, Jews, the UN, and so on). Such ideas have potential for social contagion, such as the mass hysteria against the beastly Hun conspiracy that surfaced in Br

ormation in general and desire to "sell" the story. Security forces must preserve order and protect lives. Thus the encounter of a terrorist event with the media is fraught with difficulties. Media coverage may also entail criticism of the security forces' handling of an incident. The result is a climate of distrust all around. White makes the point that journalists fear being manipulated by both terrorists and government agencies. Yet the media "have become the tool of terrorism" (White, 1999, p. 258). Terrorism is part theatre, and media outlets are the platform for public exposure. Yet either to his tension, since terrorists want their agenda covered, and the media focus on violence or action. The general tendency is to legitimize the government instead of terrorists, thus proving that even an inept government can expect softball coverage of government actions when the threat comes from a terrorist. In a discussion of the "stage effect" of media coverage on terrorism, White explains that research has been done to see whether bomb threats and similar incidents lead to a copycat effect as is the case with news reports of suicides. The study White cites found that reported bomb threats led to additional such reports. The view of