THREAD: Robert Bowers is charged w hate crimes in #TreeofLifeSynogogue murders. It is the worst anti-Semitic #hate crime in US. It cant be tolerated. And It is far from the only hate-filled domestic terror attack-Emmanuel AME Church, Pulse Night Club. We need some facts.
These are acts of domestic terror. #Terrorism is a violent act that doesn’t target victims directly but intends to send a broader msg to the target population (Morin, 2016). In the case of hate it’s Jews, Black ppl, LGBTQ, Muslims.
Domestic terrorism is a terror is committed by someone or some group motivated by US Movements. And hate crimes like Tree of Life Synogogue shouting is domestic terrorism. Is it on the rise?
9/11 was our worst terror attack. It wasn’t “domestic” terror. From 9/12/01 to end of ‘16 we had 85 attacks by violent extremists resulting in 225 deaths, 119 by Muslim extremists; 106 by right-wing extremists. bit.ly/2yyIXgA But wait...
Research from ‘08-16 shows that right wing domestic terror incidents far outpaced Muslim extremists and at the same time, Muslim attacks received 357% more news coverage statista.com/chart/14949/bi…
Also, we have many incidents of domestic terror the news coverage doesn’t capture as such. bit.ly/2yCoN5x
In fact, a few days earlier two Black grocery store patrons were shot and killed by a white man carrying a concealed weapon. bit.ly/2O9Kjn7
Solo actor terrorism attacks occur are more common in US because counter-terrorism efforts against organizations have been effective (Young & Dugan, 2014). As a result, lone wolf attacks are the deadliest. (Phillips, 2017).
Domestic terrorists who are driven by ideologies like anti-semitism, racism, homophobia, are more likely to kill and injure a larger number of people than non-ideological shooters. & usually target strangers. (Capellan, 2015).
A ton of research finds that the U.S. may have so many lone wolf terror attacks because it’s so easy to get guns. (Duwe, 2005; Lankford, 2016a; Phillips, 2017; Spaaij, 2010; Young & Dugan, 2014).
While it’s true that the Tree of Life Synogogue, Emmanuel AME Church or the Pulse Night Club didn’t have armed guards, it is also important to ask why they should have to worships are socialize with armed guards. There is no peace or joy in that.
And it is important to recognize that most domestic terror does not involve mass shootings, but are more likely to be like the grocery store shooting.
There is much research on regulations that reduce gun violence & public health interventions to prevent violence. We need both. bit.ly/2yDq4Jl
What kind of community are we building together? I pray it is one where we can worship, study and shop without have to be armed or have armed guards and where fear is not our defining characteristic.
