Domestic Terrorism in the US: 1960s and Beyond - Essay Sample

Introduction

Notably, there are historical developments that have transpired from the 1960s concerning domestic terrorism. The Black American Family began its operations in the early 1960s. It was one of the first domestic terrorist groups that emanated to counter the white supremacy while still claiming to defend African Americans. Civil struggles ushered a new era of domestic terrorism in the United States of America. Violence along tribal lines became an issue that adversely affected most of the people. Police brutality against black communities was highly experienced in the 1960s, with well-coordinated attacks being experienced among the people. In August 1964, three bodies were found of anti-black racism and also anti-Semitism (Potok, 2010).

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Consequently, this led to widespread resistance everywhere as everybody tried to seek justice, as it was believed that racists had performed these terrorist acts. Consequently, over the years, the issue has not changed to a large extent, and people are still being judged along racial lines. In recent times American president Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for his claims, which seem to be racists.

During the reign of Barack Obama as president, a lot of right-wing extremists were not satisfied. Intelligence units claimed that there were major plots aimed at assassinating the president as he was black (Potok, 2010). Also, very many law enforcement officers were killed. There is a notion in which white people believe in "white supremacy," which has led them to perform various acts that have developed security instability. Consequently, this has resulted in heightened tension between different racial groups. There have been different movements that claim to radical champion rights, which have grown to create instability in the country. Their acts have subsequently led to increased acts of domestic terrorism as they try to validate their claims of patriotism.

Explain the controversial issues regarding the definition and conceptualization of terrorism and hate crimes.

It is hard to differentiate between terrorism and hate crime. However, the two are very different case scenarios that need to be analyzed well to better understand what they imply. In this case, terrorism can be defined as an extraordinary criminal activity performed by an individual whose motive is not propelled by cases of self-interest, such as profit but rather a certain cause or even ideologies (Potok, 2010). The terrorist has a belief that they have a cause to achieve in doing whatever that they deem necessary; therefore, they must work hard towards achieving it. Remarkably, terrorists have a wide variety of reasons which they use and try to justify their illegal acts. They believe that they have a sole purpose on this earth, which acts as their driving force. For instance, they are motivated by their philosophies, including animals and environmental rights, white supremacy, and other anti-governmental beliefs.

On the other hand, hate crimes imply any crime against an individual or their property. The offender harms their victim deliberately based on their origin, color, gender, disability, race, or religion. It lacks the driving force associated with terrorism, and in most cases, one may only be acting out of jealousy. Therefore being able to differentiate the two issues largely depends on one being able to understand the intention of the perpetrator. If it is based on their ideologies, then it becomes an act of terrorism. Most cases of hate crimes are associated with personal malice, and therefore it is hard for them to involve a lot of people.

Discuss the major ideological differences between the right-wing extremists and hate groups. Give an example of each.

There are major ideological differences between right-wing extremists and hate groups, and it is crucial to understand both cases in a more enhanced manner. On their part, right-wing extremists are not a new group hover they have grown, and their attacks have become highly prevalent, necessitating a case to study and understand them in a better way (Potok, 2010). They are ethically or racially inspired to perform acts of terrorism. They are involved in political violence often linked to hatred or racism towards a particular group of people, whether it be minorities, anti-Semitism, or xenophobia. Consequently, they believe in white supremacy and believe that they have a right to control all the other groups. Therefore they deem themselves to be more superior to the other groups making it easy for them to make decisions that are quite beneficial to them and achieve their goals.

A good example is a terrorist attack that targeted the minorities in Christchurch, New Zealand. In the worst-case scenarios, they can even overthrow the government. They defend their ideologies and do not believe in getting changed as it is all that they live for.

However, hate groups are limited to personal malice directed to their victims. They involve less of a specific ideology. However, they seem to involve people harboring a certain grudge towards specific people. Therefore, in this case, these people try their best to validate their claims on why they hate these people. Consequently, this despises them and strike attacks to them at will. It is a very violent form of behavior which if not dealt with in the best way, can lead to widespread violence. A good example is the vigilant anti-migrant groups in the US (Potok, 2010). Understandably this group is against any activities that do not align with whatever they believe in.

Reference

Potok, M. (2010, March 2). Rage on the Right | Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved from https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2010/rage-right