The Issue of White Supremacy & Domestic Terrorism: A Deeper Threat

Frontline's "Documenting Hate" explains the recent rise and actions of white supremacist "lone-wolf terrorism".  Through this documentary, we see how Western media portrays white supremacy in a different light than it would Al-Qaeda.  Although someone calls the Tree of Life shooting "an act of terror", there is an emphasis on the concept of "lone-wolf terrorism".  Although Robert Bowers, the shooter, was a self-proclaimed Nazi who regularly interacted with online Nazi communities, white supremacy's real iterations through Neo-Nazi groups and the KKK are not necessarily called "terrorists" by many mainstream media outlets.  Even the US government, as highlighted by the Economist, "does not devote nearly as much intellectual energy to understanding the ideology of domestic white supremacists...as it does to jihadist terrorism..." (2019).  This highlights a racial aspect to discussions of terrorism in both the mainstream media and politics: we are more willing to label terrorists and terrorist groups if they are brown, but are more hesitant to label white groups who commit "acts of terror".  People like Robert Bowers are labelled "lone-wolf gunners", with the explicit implication that their violently radical ideals were isolated events.  The way that both major news outlets and politicians describe people like him implies that it is rare, while their focus on Arab terrorists emphasizes them as a constant daily threat.  Thus, the public is led to believe that white supremacists are a minor voice within Western societies--all while being fed the idea that suicide-bombing, kidnapping, and extremely volatile jihad was an integral part of Islam.  

There are a lot of reasons why white nationalism is portrayed in this light.  A large part of it is the deeply embedded racism within Western society.  Another part of this is the prevalence of white people as leaders within Western societies, and their close links to white nationalism or its ideologies.  These two factors combined create the perfect backdrop for white supremacy to fester and spread.  White supremacy itself, however, isn't new, and neither is the expression of it.  Its current iteration through the Proud Boys or neo-Nazism is merely a symptom of the real problem: systematic racism, one that was established a long time ago, and continues to be perpetuated through a system that consistently reinforces it.

The reality is that white nationalists are terrorists that pose a threat to the world.  As Berger & Strathearn (2013) point out, violent extremist ideologies are easily spread online.  This is examined by Jessica Johnson (2018)--paranoia is networked through tightly knit groups of white conspiracy theorists and supremacists on the internet.  Although Western media outlets may label individuals in white supremacy groups as "self-radicalized", the term itself is a misnomer.  In fact, "alt-right", white-centric, and paranoia-laden rationales are introduced to millions through the ease-of-access provided by the internet.  Such ideas are then nurtured through the establishment of interpersonal connections to both the ideologies and the people perpetuating them.  The accessibility of both the ideologies and the people behind them become more and more appealing as they are mixed with intensified notions of fear.  And the fact that they're on the world-wide-web means that people from around the globe can be exposed to these groups.  This is demonstrated through recent events: the shooting at the Christchurch mosque in New Zealand, white supremacists radicalized the shooter largely through the internet.  In fact, the shooter published his manifesto online, citing views against Muslims and immigrants as the rambling reason behind his actions.  Greece had the Golden Dawn, which was a neo-Nazi group that planned on committing a variety of violent acts. American Gavin McInnes (a white nationalist leader) and the UK's Tommy Robinson (a notable anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim talking head) planned a 5-event "speaking tour" in Australia.  White nationalism, then, is not strictly an American problem--it crosses borders as well.  

So, what does this say about white nationalist terrorism?  It says that we as a society don't take it seriously enough.  Where Muslim terrorists are closely watched, white nationalists are free to travel around the world to spread their ideology.  While radical Arabic terror-groups are forced to operate behind closed doors, the Proud Boys are allowed to march through the streets preaching about their hatred of immigrants.  Then, when members influenced by white supremacist ideologies move forward with atrocious acts of terrorism, they are labeled as "self-radicalized lone-wolves".  

The importance of acknowledging the reality of white supremacist terrorism would help not only whittle it down, but also influence and educate the public or the masses on why it is a global issue.  That way, we can better establish counterterror tactics that would identify and prevent more mass shootings akin to the Christchurch or Bowers shooting.  But without the help of the media and without a public acknowledgement that white supremacy is a problem in itself, this would be almost impossible.

A. Benson