https://socialistaction.org/2019/08/13/white-supremacist-terror/
White supremacist terror
/ 14 hours ago
Sept. 2019 Dayton anti-Trump (Scott Olso:Getty)
Protesters picket Trump???s visit to Dayton, Ohio, shortly after the
shooting there. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
By BARRY SHEPPARD
Three mass shootings in a little over a week have changed the political
discussion in the U.S., bringing to the fore white supremacy and the
terrorist mass murder it has produced. Many in the media and Democratic
presidential candidates have cited Trump???s racist themes and actions as
furthering white supremacy and white domestic terrorism.
The first shooting was at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 28. Gilroy
is a town south of the San Francisco Bay Area known as the garlic
capital of the country for its farms producing the crop, which every
year holds the festival, bringing large crowds to the town. The shooter
was Santino Legan, a 19-year-old white man, who killed three people and
wounded 15 before he was shot dead by police. Among the dead were a
six-year-old Latino child and his mother. The boy???s grandmother was
among the wounded.
Police found an Instagram post by Legan praising an old book that has
become resurrected and widely read in white supremacist circles. He
urged his followers to read it. The book is titled ???Might is Right,???
published in 1896; it was notorious for being sexist, racist, and
anti-Semitic, as well as a rant against democracy, equality, and socialism.
Legan also said in his post, ???Why overcrowd towns to pave more open
space to make room for hordes of mestizos [mixed race] ???.???? The Gilroy
police initially said there was no evidence of a racial motive, but now
the FBI has opened an investigation of the shooting as domestic terrorism.
Eight days later, a 21-year-old white man, Patrick Crusius, opened fire
inside a crowded Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 and injuring 25.
Crusius had written a racist manifesto in preparation for his attack,
which used Trump???s language in ranting against an ???invasion??? of Latinos
at the border. Unlike other mass shooters, he wasn???t shot dead by police
or by his own hand, but turned himself in to police, and told them he
deliberately came to El Paso to kill Mexicans. Apparently, he wants to
use his trial as a forum to espouse his murderous racism.
Crusius posted his manifesto on the far-right message board 8chan, which
also posted the writings of Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old white
Australian who went to Christchurch, New Zealand, where he attacked
mosques, killing 51 Muslims and injuring 49.
In his manifesto, Crusius wrote: ???I support the Christchurch shooter and
his manifesto. This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of
Texas. They are the instigators, not me. I am simply defending my
country from cultural and ethic replacement brought on by an invasion.???
Crusius drove 600 miles from his home near Dallas to target largely
Latino El Paso, a border city. This population includes those who are
U.S. citizens, those Mexicans with work permits (green cards), and the
undocumented. Also, there are many Mexicans who come over to El Paso
from Ciudad Juarez, just across the border, to shop and socialize with
families for a day or two. Seven Mexican citizens were among those killed.
Fernando Garcia, the director of the Border Network for Human Rights,
based in El Paso, said on Democracy Now that many of the wounded
undocumented did not report their injuries, and went to clinics and
hospitals on their own, because they saw so many Border Patrol agents
and vehicles. So the actual number of injured was higher than the
official report.
Thirteen hours after the El Paso shooting, a 24-year-old white male,
Conner Betts, opened fire just after 1 a.m. outside a bar in Dayton,
Ohio, in the city???s crowded historic Oregon District, known for its
night life. Nine people were killed and 27 injured. Of the nine killed,
six were African American. Betts also killed his sister, who was in the
crowd. She was one of three whites killed.
Days after the Dayton shooting, in the midst of wide condemnation in the
media of white supremacist terrorism, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) raided seven poultry plants in Mississippi and
arrested 680 immigrants, most of whom have been in the U.S. for years
and decades.
The raids were timed to coincide with the start of the new school year.
Some children walked home from school to find their parents missing. A
video was repeatedly broadcast on many TV stations of an 11-year-old
girl crying, and saying between choking sobs, ???Government, please show
some heart. Let my parents be free and with everybody else ???. I need my
dad and mommy. My dad didn???t do nothing. He???s not a criminal.???
In the wake of the bad publicity, ICE released some 300 people for
???humanitarian??? reasons (the others are in the maw of the deportation
machinery), and some officials tried to explain away the timing. Trump
then jumped in, saying that the raids were a great thing, and that all
immigrants in the country ???illegally??? would be thrown out. Its unlikely
that all 11 million such immigrants could be deported, but the raids and
Trump???s rant were meant to further stoke fear among Latinos nationally
who already knew they were the targets of the El Paso gunman.
The raids targeted plants operated by Koch Foods, one of the largest
poultry producers in the U.S. Last year the company paid out $3.75
million to settle a federal Equal Employment Opportunities class-action
lawsuit charging the company with sexual harassment, discrimination
based on race and national origin, and retaliation against Latino
workers who protested, at one of its plants.
Labor activists say this raid was the latest to target factories where
immigrant workers have organized unions, fought back against
discrimination or challenged unsafe and unsanitary conditions. ICE raids
are coordinated with the owners.
On Aug. 10, a gunman attempted to kill people at a mosque in Norway,
citing the shootings in Christchurch and El Paso as his inspiration. One
of the people in the mosque tackled the shooter before he could open
fire. The defender was injured. Police, who didn???t give the attacker???s
name, said he was white, about 20 years old. They also found the body of
his step-sister in his home, killed before he went to the mosque.
Misogynist writings were found together with racist threats. White
supremacy is international.
Another major discussion has been re-ignited, that of gun regulations in
this gun-crazed country. In this article I will not discuss that, but
briefly look at what motivates the white supremacists.
Investigations of the white supremacist internet sites that most of the
shooters frequent tie together their racism with anti-immigrant
militancy, Islamophobia, and so forth with the belief that white people
are under siege by Blacks, Latinos, LGBTQ people, feminists, and others.
They believe that white people???especially white males???are being
???replaced??? by these groups.
The El Paso shooter referred to this in his manifesto concerning the
???invasion??? of Latinos at the border. Two years ago, at the alt-right
rally in Charlottesville, Va., there was a night-time torchlight march
by neo-Nazis who chanted ???You will not replace us!???
This chant was soon modified to ???Jews will not replace us!??? What the
white supremacists believe is that all the groups that are ???replacing
whites??? are organized and financed by the Jews behind the scenes. This
anti-Semitism runs through all these sites. The man who opened fire on a
synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa., last year, shouting ???Kill all Jews!??? also
attacked that particular synagogue for a Jewish group that met there
which supported immigrants. The shooter wrote that the group ???likes to
bring invaders in who kill white people.???
New attention is being paid to another white supremacist theme, that of
misogyny. It???s become more widely noted that almost all mass shooters in
the past decades have been young white males. An article in the Aug. 11
New York Times began, ???The man who shot nine people to death last
weekend in Dayton, Ohio, seethed at female classmates and threatened
them with violence. [He had a ???rape list??? as well as a ???kill list??? when
in high school. ??? BS]
???The man who massacred 49 people in an Orlando nightclub [frequented by
gays] in 2016 beat his wife while she was pregnant, she told authorities.
???The man who killed 26 people in a church in Sutherland Springs, Tex.,
in 2017 had been convicted of domestic violence. His ex-wife said he
once told her that he would bury her body where no one would find it.???
While noting that the motives of mass shooters are often unknown, the
article said, ???one common thread that connects many of them ??? is a
history of hating women, assaulting wives, girlfriends and female family
members or sharing misogynistic views online, researchers say.???
As we have seen, some kill women family members during or before their
murderous rampages. Another example was the notorious shooting at an
elementary school in Newtown, Pa., in 2012. The 20-year-old white
shooter first killed his mother (little noted at the time) before
killing 20 children between six and seven years old and six adult staff
at the school.
While white supremacist organizations including neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux
Klan, and other violent groups with names like the Proud Boys are not
large at present, much of their message about whites being under siege
strikes a chord with tens of millions of whites with racist leanings.
These are Trump???s base. As Noam Chomsky has pointed out, ???this is a very
racist country.???
Share this:
???Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
???Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
August 13, 2019 in Fascism / Far Right, Immigration, Uncategorized.
Related posts
Books: ???Abolitionist Socialist Feminism???
Books:?? ???Abolitionist Socialist Feminism???
Madison cop kills Black youth
Post navigation
??? Self-determination for Kashmir!
Get Involved!
Donate to help support our work
Get email updates
Join Socialist Action
Newspaper Archives
Newspaper Archives Select Month August 2019?? (7) July 2019?? (10) June
2019?? (14) May 2019?? (12) April 2019?? (12) March 2019?? (13) February
2019?? (10) January 2019?? (16) December 2018?? (12) November 2018?? (15)
October 2018?? (10) September 2018?? (8) August 2018?? (12) July 2018?? (13)
June 2018?? (11) May 2018?? (19) April 2018?? (15) March 2018?? (17)
February 2018?? (14) January 2018?? (13) December 2017?? (13) November
2017?? (13) October 2017?? (16) September 2017?? (15) August 2017?? (16)
July 2017?? (17) June 2017 (16) May 2017?? (17) April 2017?? (14) March
2017?? (13) February 2017?? (19) January 2017?? (13) December 2016?? (12)
November 2016 (19) October 2016?? (12) September 2016?? (10) August 2016??
(10) July 2016?? (14) June 2016?? (14) May 2016?? (9) April 2016?? (12)
March 2016?? (14) February 2016?? (8) January 2016?? (11) December 2015??
(11) November 2015?? (9) October 2015?? (8) September 2015 (10) August
2015?? (7) July 2015?? (13) June 2015?? (9) May 2015 (10) April 2015?? (12)
March 2015?? (9) February 2015?? (11) January 2015?? (10) December 2014??
(12) November 2014?? (11) October 2014 (9) September 2014?? (6) August
2014?? (10) July 2014?? (11) June 2014?? (10) May 2014?? (11) April 2014??
(10) March 2014?? (9) February 2014?? (11) January 2014?? (11) December
2013?? (10) November 2013?? (11) October 2013?? (17) September 2013?? (13)
August 2013?? (10) July 2013?? (11) June 2013?? (15) May 2013?? (14) April
2013?? (14) March 2013?? (12) February 2013?? (10) January 2013?? (17)
December 2012?? (7) November 2012?? (8) October 2012?? (19) September 2012??
(2) August 2012?? (27) July 2012?? (18) June 2012?? (3) May 2012?? (19)
April 2012?? (14) March 2012?? (17) February 2012?? (19) January 2012?? (17)
December 2011?? (3) November 2011?? (33) October 2011?? (14) September
2011?? (13) August 2011?? (34) July 2011?? (24) June 2011?? (19) May 2011??
(19) April 2011?? (15) March 2011?? (15) February 2011?? (15) January 2011??
(15) December 2010?? (17) November 2010?? (1) October 2010?? (6) September
2010?? (3) August 2010?? (8) July 2010?? (7) June 2010?? (2) May 2010?? (10)
April 2010 (3) March 2010?? (8) February 2010?? (3) January 2010?? (9)
December 2009?? (6) November 2009?? (5) October 2009?? (16) September 2009
(3) August 2009?? (2) July 2009?? (5) June 2009?? (2) May 2009?? (7) April
2009?? (6) March 2009?? (16) February 2009?? (9) January 2009 (10) December
2008?? (11) November 2008?? (8) October 2008?? (16) September 2008?? (14)
August 2008?? (18) July 2008?? (12) June 2008 (3) May 2008?? (2) April
2008?? (3) March 2008?? (14) February 2008 (11) January 2008?? (11)
December 2007?? (8) November 2007?? (1) July 2007?? (1) June 2007?? (1)
April 2007?? (1) March 2007?? (1) February 2007?? (3) December 2006?? (11)
November 2006?? (11) October 2006 (13) September 2006?? (15) August 2006??
(11) July 2006?? (18) June 2006?? (7) May 2006?? (14) April 2006?? (6) March
2006?? (14) February 2006?? (5) January 2006?? (2) December 2005?? (9)
November 2005?? (8) October 2005?? (13) September 2005?? (12) August 2005??
(9) July 2005?? (16) June 2005?? (16) May 2005?? (16) April 2005?? (12)
March 2005?? (14) February 2005?? (19) January 2005?? (15) December 2004
(14) November 2002?? (17) October 2002?? (19) September 2002?? (22) August
2002?? (21) July 2002?? (15) May 2002?? (21) April 2002?? (21) February
2002?? (15) January 2002?? (15) December 2001?? (17) October 2001?? (24)
September 2001?? (18) July 2001?? (19) June 2001?? (18) October 2000?? (17)
September 2000?? (21) August 2000?? (19) July 2000?? (16) June 2000?? (26)
May 2000?? (21) April 2000?? (22) March 2000?? (28) February 2000?? (18)
January 2000?? (20) December 1999 (20) November 1999?? (26) October 1999??
(25) September 1999?? (18) August 1999?? (40) July 1999?? (38) June 1999??
(24) May 1999?? (27) April 1999?? (25) March 1999?? (26) February 1999??
(29) January 1999?? (24) July 1998?? (12)
Search
???View socialistactionusa???s profile on Facebook
???View SocialistActUS???s profile on Twitter
???View SocialistActionCT???s profile on YouTube
Subscribe to Our Newspaper
Upcoming Events
No upcoming events
Category Cloud
Actions & Protest Africa Anti-War Arts & Culture Black Liberation Canada
Caribbean Civil Liberties Cuba East Asia Economy Education & Schools
Elections Environment Europe Immigration Indigenous Rights International
Labor Latin America Marxist Theory & History Middle East Palestine
Police & FBI Prisons South Asia Trump / U.S. Government Uncategorized
Vote Socialist Action Women's Liberation
View Calendar
Blog at WordPress.com.
Follow
--
---
George Carlin
??? Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe,
and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they
have to touch it to be sure. ???
??? George Carlin