From Newsweek:
"According to Arie Perliger, director of terrorism studies at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, the three ideologies within the violent American far-right are racist, anti-federalist and fundamentalist. Each has subgroups—
The racists include white supremacy groups such as the KKK, neo-Nazis and skinheads, which can differ in subtle ways.
The anti-federalists include militias, self-defined "patriot" groups and what are so-called "sovereign citizens,'' who hold that they are legally bound only by their personal interpretation of common law and are otherwise not subject to federal, state or local laws.
The fundamentalists are primarily Christian identity groups that believe the biblical war of good vs. evil is between descendants of Anglo-Saxon nations and all other ethnic groups.
Tangential to the fundamentalists are the anti-abortion attackers, who also invoke religion as a foundational motive for their violence.
"These disparate groups of people—violent and nonviolent—pine for different versions of a highly idealized past."
I'm still in an early stage of studies into internal terrorism in the USA, but the most dangerous player of the above group are the anti-Federalists. These can be comprised of all of the others and include the full spectrum of political attitudes and ideologies.
They can become united by a common idea that they are defending the freedoms laid out by the founding fathers and that federalism is another name for tyranny. To them, they are the heroes, not supermen like racists, nor driven by the word of a pretend big brother in the sky, just ordinary folk, who are standing up for freedom.
I always believed no power from off our shores would defeat us. If our democracy falls it will come from within and not necessarily from right wing violent groups. Lazy citizens who can't bother to vote, even though in most states there is early voting. They want what they can get, but do not want anyone else to have anything. Too many politicians in DC and many state capitols work for the rich and powerful.
Always have, always will.
It is funny how all those groups are Trumpers. Unfortunately, grouped together, they hold a lot of voting power! Thanks for posting this. I am going to use it at our next meeting.
Trump calls himself a nationalist. He is clearly racist, sexist and bigoted. He only wants white-skinned people to immigrate to America. He called the Charlottesville racists "very fine people."
What drives these people is fear.
"The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that before 2050, the majority of the USA will be made up of minority populations. According to Pew's research, 46 percent of white people fear that would weaken U.S. culture."
@LiterateHiker Remind me to do some reading on the minorities and reply to this. Currently fitting in nicely with my studies into American cities and race.
Trump's base. They left out the anti-semitics.
Read the article. They included terrorism against Jewish people.
"Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Jewish Synagogue in Pittsburgh, also was motivated by extreme right-wing views. He espoused anti-immigrant and anti-Jewish views on Gab, a social media network that has been embraced by white nationalists.
"Just before the shooting, Bowers posted a comment on his Gab account referencing the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS): “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics. I’m going in."
How did it ever come to this?
Look up: "the rise of right-wing extremism and terrorism in the United States."
This situation is far worse than most people realize.