I admit it's a question that had never before occurred to me. But with the release of the Department of Homeland Security's report on domestic terrorism among right-wing extremists, it would seem I have some serious soul-searching to do. The report -- its full title is Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment (try saying that quickly three times) -- performs a unique and invaluable service to the American people by identifying those among us who pose a serious threat to our way of life and to the fulfillment of the president's political agenda. My personal thanks to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano (pictured below perfecting her homeland security skills).
After reading the report (the unclassified version is only ten pages long -- click on the above link), I realized that among those most likely to commit acts of domestic terrorism is...me! That's right, I am apparently a potential domestic, extreme, rightwing terrorist...and I never even knew it.First of all, I'm a veteran. And since I wore the uniform of our country for 30 years -- giving the military more time to radicalize me -- I suppose that makes me an even stronger candidate. In the words of the report, radical rightwing extremist organizations can easily "radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat." The report seems to equate all veterans with Timothy McVeigh, the only veteran specifically mentioned in the report...and probably the only veteran DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has ever known. (She was involved in the investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing.) And so, to all you veterans out there: Watch out! They're coming to take you away. Please go peaceably.
Secondly, I'm prolife or, as the report phrases it: likely terrorists among rightwing extremists "include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration." The Obama administration would never, of course, call us prolife, a tag that carries a far too positive connotation. I suspect I get a double whammy from this one because not only am I prolife, but I also belong to an organization that has backed the prolife cause for about 2,000 years, the Catholic Church. To all you prolifers out there, remember, resistance is futile.
As for immigration, I'm all for it. Thanks to immigration my grandparents were able to become Americans after leaving the hellhole that was 19th Century Ireland.The only pride I have in my Irish heritage relates to the thanks I give that my ancestors were smart and industrious enough to leave the blasted place. But when it comes to illegal immigration, I'm of a different mind. If our political leaders, our representatives, believe that our immigration laws need to be changed, then they should change them. But that takes courage, and might endanger their reelection chances. It's much easier simply to ignore existing law and pay lip service to the protection of our borders. I would rather see our government focus more of its energy on the source of our immigration problem: encouraging the reformation of the corrupt regimes to our south that lead their people to flee in such large numbers. But, again, that would take courage...and so the illegal immigration problem persists. I see no change in the offing.
Secretary Napolitano lumps folks like me, those concerned about the proximate and long-term effects of illegal immigration, right in there with today's wacko nativists. And so, once again I apparently fall into the potential terrorist category. I can already feel the tasers.
But that's not all. Secretary Napolitano also sees a threat from those who believe that the Bill of Rights, specifically the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution, protects the citizen's right to bear arms; i.e., to own and carry a gun. She indicates that "a correlation may exist between the potential passage of gun control legislation and increased hoarding of ammunition, weapons stockpiling, and paramilitary training activities among rightwing extremists." Apparently the secretary is aware of congressional plans (and administration support) to pass new gun control legislation, and worries that "rightwing extremists—as well as law-abiding Americans—" might take to loading up (so to speak) on weapons in advance of such governmental action.
Uh-oh. Strike four. I have always accepted the Founders guarantee of my right to own a firearm -- although I will neither confirm nor deny that I currently possess anything that goes BANG -- and once again find myself smack dab in the middle of another demographic that identifies me as a potential domestic, rightwing, extremist terrorist.
There's more, but I'm too shocked to go on. I never intended to be a terrorist, but I am obviously guilty. No trial is necessary. Just send me off to Guantanamo...oh, wait...they're closing that place. Can't send me there. OK, send me to San Francisco. That would be a lot worse. I'll just pack my one small bag, sit by the front door, and await the knock in the night.
Pray for me.
Ah, yes, by their fruits you will know them, even the fawning toadies. Pray for them too.
ReplyDeleteWell, let's not forget that the last major domestic terrorist, John Allen Mohammed, was also a veteran.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone in Northern Virginia was cowering every time they saw a white van--and my wife was worried we'd get pulled over because we drove a white van--I *knew* it was a total red herring-esppecially when, after the second shooting, they said, "Oh! It appears there are two different white vans." I mean, in any given neighborhood at any given time, you're bound to see one "white van," and if you just heard a gun shot go off, wouldn't you hit the gas?
And they said, "It's probably an 'angry white male,' veteran, Right Wing Extremist, anti-illegal immigration . . . ."
Yet I've never herad a single MSM or federal investigator person apologize for "racial profiling" when it turned out to be an African American Nation of Islam guy who helped illegal immigrants.
Thanks for the comment, John.
ReplyDeleteOne non sequitur: I recall running a little experiment at the time of the DC sniper incident. I lived on Cape Cod and had a 15-mile drive to work that took me through a half-dozen small towns and villages. One morning I decided to count white vans along the way. By the time I arrived at work, I had counted 86 white vans. They were everywhere, and one or more were probably near the scene of each shooting. That's when I suspected the bad guys were likely driving something else.
As for the MSM and the feds, they're simply today's barbarians.