Step Off! Magazine

Tragedy Strikes New Zealand

Last week, the nation of New Zealand and the rest of the world bared witness to yet another horrific and devastating terrorist attack. As part of a disturbing and growing deadly trend, this calculated and deliberate attack which took place in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand was an act of terrorism carried out at the hands of yet another white supremacist terrorist; radicalized through online means that deliberately targeted places of worship in their attack. The attack itself was carried out by Brenton Tarrant, a twenty-eight-year-old Australian citizen from Grafton, Australia who had been living in the city of Dunedin, about 225 miles from Christchurch, traveled to the two mosques on Friday, March 15, 2019. By the time the attacks were over, fifty-one people had been killed and another fifty more wounded in the attacks which Tarrant live-streamed across social media from a head-mounted camera. The attacks were so horrific that New Zealand officials stated that this act of terror was the deadliest mass killing in the country since 1943. Tarrant deliberately choose to carry out his attack on a Friday, knowing that Jumu’ah (also known as Friday Prayer or Congregational Prayer) a prayer that Muslims hold every Friday and one of the most exalted traditions in Islam; was in progress and would ensure that both the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre that he targeted would be close to their maximum occupancy. By all accounts Tarrant was merciless in his attack, making no discrimination whatsoever in the victims he targeted. From mothers to fathers, grandparents, sons, and daughters; with some victims as old as seventy-one, while others as young as the age of three no one was spared. Victims came from all walks of life; some being refugees fleeing worn-torn nations, some were immigrants seeking a better life while others were New Zealanders themselves.

By all accounts, Brenton Tarrant was and is a violent, militant, white supremacist which can be seen in his apparel worn in the attack. Tarrant’s tactical vest, assault rifle and magazines recovered following the attack were literally covered head to toe with neo-Nazi emblems and other white nationalist insignias. Likewise, the Daily Sabah published further photos of Tarrant’s gear which can be seen covered with “Letters and numbers from the Latin, Cyrillic and Georgian (Mkhedruli) alphabets, words and dates related to places, people and battles associated with violent conflict throughout history between Christians and Muslims…”. However, perhaps the most insightful and disturbing piece of evidence found to give insight into the mind of this sick, deranged, terrorist is paper trail of writings which he has left scattered across the internet, specifically the horrifically xenophobic anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim manifesto which Tarrant published online and emailed to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office just before beginning his attacks. Tarrant’s writings in his manifesto are littered with sarcasm, allusions to memes and other references commonly seen in neo-Nazi and white supremacist message boards and forums online. Themes such as ‘white genocide’, the fall of ‘western civilization’, creeping Sharia law from the immigration of Muslims into ‘white’ nations, white Europeans being ‘replaced’ by non-white immigrants; as well as other racist, paranoid tropes commonly parroted by neo-Nazis and white supremacists are scrawled all across Tarrant’s ramblings. According to the eighty-plus page manifesto Tarrant, drew inspiration from the rise of white nationalists in Europe. Anders Behring Breivik in particular, a right-wing Norwegian terrorist who killed 77 people in 2011 after setting off a car bomb near government offices in Oslo, and opening fire on a youth camp on the island of Utoya. While it’s not a surprise that Tarrant would take inspiration from what is arguably one of the most deadly acts of far-right terrorism in recent memory; it’s Tarrant’s interests to the growing movement of far-right and white supremacist terrorism that is especially troubling. An important detail found in Tarrant’s writings indicates that he took a particular interest not only in U.S. politics but, inspiration from infamous white supremacists and neo-Nazis who carried out their own domestic terror attacks here in the State’s. Tarrant also took inspiration from white supremacists and right-wing extremists to carried out attacks domestically in the U.S. as well. In the manifesto’s sprawling writings Tarrant also cited immense inspiration and adoration for other past right-wing extremists; such as Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who murdered nine African-American churchgoers at a Bible study group at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, back in 2015. However, one of many more disturbing details to found Tarrant’s writings is his personal affinity for none other than Donald Trump, who Tarrant personally hailed Donald Trump as a symbol of “renewed white identity and common purpose.” While this far from the first time racists and white supremacists have exalted and publicly expressed their adoration for Trump; it is just the latest iteration in a long-standing trend of Trump’s incendiary, outwardly bigoted rhetoric and policies influencing the actions of violent white supremacists and right-wing extremists that carry out attacks.

Donald Trump & the Mainstreaming of White Supremacy

On Saturday, March 17^th while arraigned in court Tarrant could be seen in court, grinning flashing the ’ok’ sign. This has been cited in the past as a common troll tactic which gained popularity on various white nationalist and neo-Nazi websites that started originally as an online hoax that the sign had been co-opted as a white power hand symbol standing for a more malicious meaning by representing a “w” and “p” for “white power”. The Southern Poverty Law Center published an article on the evolution of the hand gestures use, particular from prominent far-right figures and pundits saying, “the hand signal’s use has nonetheless spread. It’s used “ironically” by a number of Trump supporters at far-right rallies. It’s been particularly prominent among far-right street protesters such as the Proud Boys and the Northwest-based Patriot Prayer, whose members have prominently displayed the sign in group photos and during street protests”. While far-right figures such as Richard Spencer and Milo Yiannopoulos have also used the sign over the years, it’s use isn’t just regulated to use by crypto-fascist hate groups like Patriot Prayer or the Proud boys; nor to the likes of bigoted far-right personalities either. Figures such as former White House aide named Zina Bash could be seen flashing the sign during confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh while seated directly behind him. While many right-wing pundits attempted to explain away Bash’s “accidental” use of the ‘WP’ White Power sign multiple times, as not being a real symbol but an anti-Liberal joke; Bash is far from being the only prominent right-wing figure to flash the display in public. Former Trump adviser Roger Stone can be seen flashing the sign while photographed with members of the Proud Boys as well. Even White House Senior Policy Advisor Stephen Millers, perhaps the most high-ranking and obvious figure has been caught on camera flashing the display. Whether or not these people used the hand sign as an unfunny joke in bad taste or in an ironic manner is beside the point; what matters is that ACTUAL white supremacists and neo-Nazis have now adopted the gesture to signal not just to one another but to the rest of world who they are. What began as a mindless way to mock liberals has now transformed an actual identifier for racists, now being used as a not so secret acknowledgment to fellow white nationalists. All of which has been mainstreamed by in large by Trump and numerous other cronies and yes-men that are close to him. As Joseph Bernstein, a reporter for BuzzFeed news so eloquently said in a 2017 article, “Even if it’s being used ironically, it has taken on additional context when people are using it knowing how it will be interpreted”. In a Facebook post made by journalist and civil rights activist Shaun King, King posted an excerpt not only vehemently condemning the hand sign’s usage from Tarrant, but, the various conservative politicians and pundits who have mainstreamed its use saying, “I’m sorry but I need to share and explain this. His smile is blurred out, but the white power symbol the terrorist is throwing up for the camera is obvious and unmistakable. White conservatives across the United States do it often for the camera nowadays – including members of Trump’s own administration (Stephen Miller), but they all try to play dumb publicly like they don’t know what it means. This photo should expose this symbol from here on out. The 3 fingers are the W for White and the 2 curled fingers are the P for Power. It’s not something your fingers do on accident. And he flashed it here in solidarity with the movement he’s a part of”. And that gets at the heart of the issue, which are public figures under the filmiest veils of deniability and ignorance popularizing and promoting white supremacist insignias. While mainstream political figures such as Donald Trump and those around love to feign ignorance about their actions; those said actions are influencing real people. Real people who are not only taking ‘jokes’ like this to heart; but applying it in very real and very dangerous ways. All of which they still continue to deny any culpability or responsibility for.

We Can No Longer Pretend That Donald Trump is Not a Global Symbol for White Supremacy and Aids Its Proliferation In the U.S.

It comes as no surprise that when Donald Trump was finally asked directly about the deadly New Zealand attack that he denied that surging white nationalism across the world was a serious threat or at the very least a problem. When asked at the White House Trump replied curtly and dismissively, “I don’t really. I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems. It’s certainly a terrible thing”. It’s hard to imagine a world where if a Muslim terrorist had executed an attack killing fifty people, and cited none other than the president the United States as one of the biggest purveyors of their ideology, that the response from the president would be an empty and dismissive pivot saying that it isn’t a big deal, “it’s just a small group of people”. But, here we are in 2019 and that is exactly what Donald Trump did when that exact inquiry posed to him by reporters. Unfortunately, this is the exact answer we have come to expect during a moment like this from Donald Trump. Because, the only time Trump says, ‘I don’t know enough about it yet to comment’ is when white supremacists and neo-Nazis have harmed or murdered people. Otherwise, nobody knows more about ANYTHING than Donald Trump. It’s the exact type of stock answer and blasé attitude we’ve come to expect from a man that less than eighteen months ago called white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville Virginia “very fine people” and attempted to blame “both sides” for the violence that resulted as a car attack that left a thirty-two-year-old counter-protestor dead after a neo-Nazi rammed his car into a crowd of people. Unsurprisingly, Trump has a well-documented history of hobbling institutions that were put in place to both monitor counter domestic terrorism and right-wing extremist in the U.S. Back in 2017, the Trump administration cut hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding for Federal programs designed to fight the spread of white supremacist hate groups and countering fighting right-wing violence. Even though Trump received an avalanche of criticism for this following the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville that same year; this is a trend which not only persisted but grew in scope with Trump further gutting infrastructure that was designed to prevent attacks orchestrated by white supremacists and right-wing extremists. Much like any issue, white supremacist terrorism and right-wing violence isn’t a big deal in the eyes of Trump because it’s not a big deal to him personally. And, why should it? For the past four years, Trump has stoked, coddled, winked, nodded and practically bent over backward to champion and dismiss (weakly) the violent actions of white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Many of whom are his ardent supporters and hang on his every word, lie and inherently fallacious conspiracy theories that he regularly touts both in interviews and online through his Twitter account.

Now this article is not a plea to Trump or anyone in administration to take the threat of right-wing and white supremacist terrorism seriously. Even though God knows how desperately that is absolutely needed; it’s an understatement to say that ship has sailed long ago. The chances that Trump would forcefully condemn the very people he’s not only sympathetic to but, who are also arguably his most loyal and stringent supports under the bus is practically non-existent. It simply just not going to happen, at least not from Trump or within his administration itself. Expecting Trump, or lobbying anyone else in the administration to take any meaningful steps towards forcefully cracking down and combatting white supremacist other right-wing domestic terrorists that operate within the U.S. is unfortunately nothing short fool’s errand. Trump is without a doubt, the most prominent enabler and mouthpiece for white supremacy; not just in the U.S., but across the globe. Expecting a man who launched his presidential campaign castigating Mexicans as criminals and rapists, who regularly perpetuates lies and made-up crime statistics  of undocumented immigrants to justify a billion-plus dollar wall between the United States and Mexico, who enacted a Muslim travel ban into the United States, who called white supremacists and neo-Nazis at Charlottesville in 2017 “very fine people” and by all accounts has dedicated his life to enabling bigotry and racism is simply not going to take any substantial steps to prosecute those who without a doubt make up his most loyal and ardent support base. Trump has time and time again revealed himself as a white supremacist apologist, sympathizer and enabler in the past. His cowardice, reluctance and all-out refusal to condemn neo-Nazis, white supremacists and nationalists in the past and present is evidence of that and it’s a sentiment he proudly exuberates and is clear as day. However, there could possibly lie hope in one group that could be forced to confront the scourge which is white supremacy festering in our society; and that is the line-up of contenders vying to replace in 2020.

Hate Rising in the U.S.

Contrary to Trump’s intentional dismissal and downplaying of the dangers posed by white supremacist terrorism and right-wing extremists; earlier this year, the Anti-Defamation League released a report finding that attackers with ties to right-wing extremist movements killed at least 50 people in the U.S. over the course of 2018. The report also harbored another disturbing detail, not only did these deaths account for nearly every death by domestic extremists in the U.S.; but statistics all but prove that far-right domestic terrorists virtually an absolute monopoly on lethal terrorism that occurred in the country last year. The league concluded its report saying, “2018 was a particularly active year for right-wing extremist murders: Every single extremist killing — from Pittsburgh to Parkland — had a link to right-wing extremism”. This is only further corroborated by a 2017 report from F.B.I. that concluded white supremacists killed more people in the U.S, from 2000 to 2016 than “any other domestic extremist movement”. Unfortunately, this disturbing yet nonetheless very real and frightening reality comes as little surprise. According to the Anti-Defamation League, from 2009 all the way through 2018, attacks from right-wing extremists accounted for a majority seventy-three percent of deaths from domestic terrorism in the U.S. In the wake of the attacks in Christchurch New Zealand, it’s painfully obvious that white supremacists and far-right extremists have not only been organizing and carrying out deadly attacks on U.S. soil for a very long but they have been serving as a facilitator for propaganda and a model for other groups and individuals across the globe to mimic and imitate. This is plainly illustrated by the assortment of attacks carried out by right-wing extremists and domestic terrorists in the U.S. in recent years. In 2012, a forty-year-old white supremacist named Wade Michael Page fatally shot six people and wounded four others in a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. As aforementioned earlier, Dylann Roof a twenty-one-year-old white supremacist executed nine African-American churchgoers at a Bible study group at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. In 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette a French Canadian university student fatally shot six Muslim men during evening prayers at a mosque in Quebec. Though the attack did not take place in the U.S. noted that Bissonnette also espoused adoration for Donald Trump on his Facebook account prior to his attack and took inspiration from Trump’s heavily bigoted rhetoric towards Muslims. In 2017, Alex Fields Jr. a neo-Nazi participating in the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia deliberately plowed his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of counter-protestors. Seriously injuring dozens killing and a thirty-two-year-old woman named Heather Heyer in the attack. Last October, eleven people were killed in an attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue staged by Robert Bowers, a deranged neo-Nazi who targeted the congregation while worshipping at the Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Bowers was obsessed HIAS, a Jewish-American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees; saying the organization brought in immigrants that kill whites and regularly referencing the organization up to right before beginning his attack. Even as recently as just last month, a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant Christopher Paul Hasson was arrested after the F.B.I. uncovered a stockpile of weapons and ammunition in his Maryland home. Hasson, a self-identified white nationalist stockpiled the weapons in the hopes of launching a future domestic terrorist attack targeting Democrat politicians, journalists, and the goal to “establish a white homeland”.

We Must Treat White Supremacist Terrorism & Right-Wing in the U.S. With the Same Seriousness & Urgency That We Apply to Other Forms of Terrorism

The question many people are now asking is, what can we do to fight the threat of white supremacists and far-right domestic terrorism here in the U.S.? Well for one, the first most practical thing we can do to limit and the curb the reach of these terrorist networks and the individuals that comprise them is to cripple and disrupt every single one of their means of communication that they utilize online. The truth of the matter is, social media platforms and tech companies have miserably failed to come down on white supremacists who communicate and use their platforms with the same vigor and urgency that they have with Islamic and other terrorist groups and individuals in the past. Frankly, social media companies have done an abysmal job at addressing and seriously confronting the scourge of white supremacy that lurks and festers on their sites. Due to their intimate, personalized nature and ability to create to a sense of community, social media platforms are fertile breeding grounds not only for extremists to congregate and organize (oftentimes anonymously); but, likewise serve as perfect entry-level segues for newcomers to be quickly immersed and radicalized. Samuel Sinyangwe, an African-American civil-rights activist and data scientist/policy analyst; took to Twitter outlining the explosion and proliferation of white identitarian and other far-right nationalist propaganda on online platforms in recent years. “Google searches for “white genocide” have grown dramatically over the past several years, reflecting the rise of white supremacist ideology. Searches peaked when Trump was elected and have been most concentrated in South Africa, the US and New Zealand”, Sinyangwe tweeted. Sinyange also lamented, the blatant double standards tech companies regularly apply when addressing white supremacist terrorism versus others and their failure to stomp it out on their platforms tweeting, “Google, Twitter and Facebook *already* have the capacity to stop the spread of extremist content online. They’ve successfully removed ISIS content on their platforms for *years*. They just made a choice to not use every tool available to them to stop white supremacist terrorism”.

Sinyangwe even went as far as to tweet charts from a study on extremism conducted by George Washington University. Which not only showed white supremacists account virtually untouched while platforms were riding their sites of accounts connected to Islamic terrorism but that accounts like to white supremacist and nationalist groups even grew tweeting, “This chart speaks volumes. Social media platforms almost entirely erased ISIS from their platforms between 2014-2016. During that period, white supremacist accounts actually *grew* in influence and are now by far the most prominent form of extremist content online”. Sinyangwe is also far from being alone in his criticism of tech companies and social media platforms failing to seriously address white supremacists and right-wing extremists using their platforms for recruiting and organizing attacks. The truth is we have to able to acknowledge is obvious, clear as day right before our face. Social media platforms and tech companies are failing to come down on white supremacists who communicate and use their platforms with the same weight and urgency it does with Islamic and other terrorist groups. Plain and simple. If we want to begin confronting the threat of white supremacist and far-right terrorism; then we have to begin treating them as threats, with the same seriousness and urgency that we apply to other forms of terrorism. In the words of New York Hip-Hop artist Talib Kweli, “Hate in digital spaces is a precursor for hate in the flesh”. Until then, we will continue to see these vile, ugly displays of hate leak into the realm of the digital world and into our own dangerous, even lethal consequences.

Current Elected Leaders & Future Presidential Candidates Must Make Fighting White Supremacy and Right-Wing Terrorism a Top Priority

In less than twenty-four hours after the attack in Christchurch the New Zealand government had already announced that reforms on gun control legislation (likely ban on high powered semi-automatic assault rifles in the country) were soon to come. Unfortunately, the same pro-active vigor cannot be said about the U.S. government and its leaders when similar tragedies occur in our nation; and by the look of things the fight to even begin the process of seriously addressing the threat of white supremacist terrorism within our own society will be a long and hard-fought process. In the days that have followed the attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand; several hopeful presidential candidates have publicly expressed their commitment fighting white supremacist and right-wing terrorism if elected to office. While these sentiments are at the very least a good baseline starting point; truth be told, prior to the attacks not a single candidate campaigning for the 2020 nomination had announced a comprehensive plan on how their administration would confront and dismantle the cells and networks that domestic right-wing and white supremacist terrorist groups currently use to organize and communicate through. Prior to the attacks several hopeful democratic candidates had already touched on Trump’s racist rhetoric and policies in the past, and even candidates such as Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders have flat out said that Trump is an unabashed racist. In the wake of these attacks, candidates have now began taking a harder stance on the threat posed by white supremacist terrorism. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand recently tweeted a rebuke of Trump and white supremacy saying, “Time and time again, this president has embraced and emboldened white supremacists — and instead of condemning racist terrorists, he covers for them. This isn’t normal or acceptable. We have to be better than this”. Likewise, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has also pledged to combat white supremacy if elected president. Stating at a CNN town hall in Mississippi, “White supremacists pose a threat to the United States like any other terrorist group, like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, like al Qaeda and leadership starts at the top. And that means you’ve got to call it out”. While its promising to see candidates finally begin having these conversations in the open and publicly rebuke Trump’s embrace of white supremacy; it’s going to take more than elected leaders and presidential hopefuls picking the incredibly low hanging fruit of stating the obvious in regard to Trump’s overt and blatantly obvious racism and bigotry. The fact of the matter is, it’s simply just not enough to just simply call out the bigotry of Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies. If we are to make any progress, we must at the very least acknowledge white supremacy for the cancer that it is and apply every resource necessary to obliterate it the same way we do for other forms of terrorism. Every single potential presidential candidate running for office in 2020 should be made to answer the question what concrete steps they intend to take and enact, to prosecute and eradicate the threat of white nationalist, neo-Nazi and white supremacist terrorism which has been given safer quarter in this country for so long. If they do not have a concrete plan outlying what resources they will be devoting in monitoring, surveilling and ultimately countering violent white supremacist terrorist groups; then they’re not a worthy candidate to run for office nor are they fit to lead this country. Period. This absolutely must be a central piece to every serious candidate’s platform. In the meantime, there is some hope that progress will be made in the fight against the growing threat of white supremacist and right-wing terrorism prior to the upcoming election. According to a report released by the Daily Beast, “The House Judiciary Committee is planning on hosting a hearing in the coming weeks addressing the rise of white nationalism in the U.S. and the hate crime and hate speech surrounding the movement”. The report elaborated on further details saying, “Though plans are still being finalized, the committee expects to bring in officials from within DHS and the FBI for questioning on the rise of white nationalism in the U.S. and the efforts the agencies are currently adopting to combat it”. Rep, Ilhan Omar tweeted her support of the upcoming hearings stating, “It’s overdue! Far-right extremists were linked to every extremist murder in the U.S. last year, including the Tree of Life and Parkland shootings.   They are not operating in a vacuum. This is a crisis and it deserves national attention”.

We Must Have the Courage & Conviction to Challenge White Supremacy & Call It for What It Is

Now, of course media has already begun rolling out the common tropes used to humanize and nuance white terrorists after such attacks. In spite, of Brenton Tarrant’s own explicit admission and documented online paper trail to being an unrepentant white supremacist; everything from bullying in early childhood, mental illness and even violent video games have already been pushed to excuse or explain his actions. Excuses normally reserved for white perpetrators in the U.S. seem to have traveled overseas and have already began to crop up. We have to resist these efforts on the behalf of certain figures and media outlets to humanize terrorists like Brenton Tarrant, that de-textualize their violence from the white supremacist philosophies and right-wing networks which underpin and inform every single aspect of their violent actions. We have to be able to call out and confront what is staring right at us. Brenton Tarrant, by all definitions of the term, was a bigoted, Islamophobe and ardent, virulent, hate filled, white supremacist. And the evidence overwhelmingly points to the conclusion that his radicalization was aided and even acerbated through online means, interacting and communicating with an organized network of other white supremacists and nationalists through websites, chatrooms, and social media. Brenton Tarrant is not some innocent, misguided and misunderstood victim; he’s a vile, white supremacist and unrepentant terrorist. Who deliberately and violently took the lives of fifty-one people with the expressed purpose of perpetuating white supremacist ideology. He calculated and intentionally carried out this heinous, vile act of terrorism. Live-streaming the entire attack with the sole purpose of emboldening and radicalizing others like himself. This was an act of terrorism, all of the incidents listed and detailed here in this analysis are acts of terrorism as well. We have the responsibility to call it for what it is. We have a responsibility to understand how white supremacy and online radicalization works because it is impacting not only our entire society but, now causing harm in others as well. We have the responsibility to call out he news media across the globe in its complicity in the reprehensible double standard of humanizing white supremacists as misunderstood white boys and men gone awry; while demonizing Muslim and non-white perpetrators as monsters and terrorists. We have the responsibility to demand that the U.S. and its leaders to address and confront right-wing, white supremacist terrorism head on in the same honest, meaningful way that it does to other forms of violent terrorism. We also have the responsibility to confront the immense amount of sympathy white supremacists and right-wing extremists enjoy from political figures; especially here in the U.S., We are tasked with the responsibility of opposing mainstream political figures that are willing to amplify and defend the messages espoused by white supremacists and right-wing extremists. And lastly, we have a responsibility to resist and oppose Donald Trump; who as of this moment is the biggest mouthpiece and public face of white supremacy in the entire world. It’s no secret that Donald Trump is easily by far the most open and brazenly bigoted person we have ever had to occupy the presidency in modern memory. Since first launching his presidential bid; bigotry, xenophobia, and racism have been and continues to be the lifeblood of his support base. We have a responsibility to reign in Trump’s thinly veiled support for white supremacists as well as his racists rhetoric and policies which embolden and enable them.

For the past eighteen years, the U.S. has waged an astronomically costly ‘war on terror’. Spending billions upon billions of dollars on drones, aircraft, missiles, tanks, bullets in wars fought overseas; and highly invasive state of the art mass-surveillance technology implemented domestically, which was implemented with the supposed intention of monitoring and rooting out would be terrorist. Now that our society is finally coming to terms with the fact that white men are in fact the single most dangerous threat to our nation’s safety we’re supposed to believe there is absolutely nothing that can be done? That this is just the ‘price we pay’ for living in a ‘free society’? That is bullshit. There is absolutely no reason why these same standards and measures we have applied to track, monitor and combat Islamic terrorism both domestically and abroad for close to decades now; cannot be applied to white supremacists and right-wing domestic terrorists who as of now are continually handled with velvet gloves and given every out, excuse and benefit of the doubt from every level of our government. Right-wing and white supremacist terrorism is running rampant, virtually unchecked and completely out of control in this country because the U.S. refuses to hold its white citizens (specifically Christian, white men) to the same standards and scrutiny that it brutally and meticulously applies other demographics in this nation. We have a responsibility the ensure that this blatant, ugly double standard comes an end, so that we can end white supremacy in this country and across the world once and for all.