Violent white supremacy is spreading — as is Islamic radicalism, experts warn
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
LONDON — In the wake of the El Paso massacre, experts who for years have tracked Islamic extremism are describing similarities to another dangerous radical ideology: white supremacy.
“People treat white supremacy and Islamic extremism as if they are entirely different, but they are both forms of political violence,” said Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center , a security and intelligence think tank based in New York. “At the fundamental level this is about trying to convince others of your worldview through coercion to violence and terrorism.”
Investigators believe that, before the attack, the man accused of killing 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, early Sunday posted an anti-immigrant screed on an anonymous extremist message board , citing the Christchurch, New Zealand , mosque shooter who left 51 dead in March as an inspiration.
A police officer stands guard in front of the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, two days after a deadly shooting. Vincent Yu / AP
The extreme ideologies fueling attack are part of what experts warn is a growing threat.
Of extremist killings last year, 98 percent were right-wing related, the highest percentage since 2012, said a report by the Anti-Defamation League . And right-wing extremists also killed more people in 2018 than in any year since 1995, according to the ADL.
Meanwhile, the number of hate groups in the U.S. reached a record high of 1,020 in 2018, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center .
Though their ideologies differ, white nationalism and Islamic extremism share parallels both in their origins and their motivations, experts say.
What’s more, the indoctrination of white supremacists is remarkably similar to the way that Islamic extremists are recruited and influenced, experts say.
Extremists on all sides target disenfranchised young men who have individual grievances. They then meet up in online communities and in person, encouraging each other, said Clint Watts, a former FBI agent, NBC national security analyst and a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based think tank.
“It’s like a contagion,” Watts said of the white nationalist ideology.
“These guys are inspiring each other globally. They connect online, and the ideology is almost crowdsourced," he said. "Everyone is contributing to it as they perpetrate their violence, which should have everyone freaked out.”
In the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, authorities and the public focused on Islamic extremism.
In contrast, white supremacists attract less scrutiny.
“If a Muslim kid showed up to buy a weapon, what do you think would happen?" Watts said. "They would call the FBI."
Tackling white supremacist ideology will require similar resources and tactics as the battle against Islamic extremism, from new policies for law enforcement to better intelligence gathering, experts say.
As it is, 80 percent of field agents and analysts devoted to terrorism are working on international terrorism, including home-grown jihadi extremists, while 20 percent are working on domestic terrorism, including white supremacists, Michael McGarrity, the FBI’s counterterrorism chief, told Congress in May.
Ali Soufan, a former FBI special agent, an expert in terrorism and founder of the Soufan Center, spelled out in stark terms the gravity of the issue faced by intelligence and security services in an opinion piece in The New York Times on Monday .
He called on law enforcement, the intelligence community and courts to stop treating white supremacist extremists differently from their jihadi counterparts.
“Twenty years ago, we grossly underestimated the rising threat of Islamist terrorism,” he wrote. “That inattention cost us dearly on Sept. 11, 2001. We cannot afford to wait for the white-supremacist equivalent.”
Is worldwide connectivity a key factor in modern terrorism?
Yes
Sadly yes.
What could have been one of the greatest achievements of the human race has been allowed to become one of it's biggest drags.
OMG! You posted it. You posted something that mentions Islamic extremism, Islamic terrorism, and jihadi extremists. Prepare yourself to be labeled an Islamophobe by some of the NT members, and the ones who will "thumb-up" their accusation.
Well then I suppose it will be interesting to find out who these folks are.
Of course if these folks are actually trying to be thoughtful, per the content of the seed, they would weigh in on why this violence seems to be so prevalent nowadays.
I could tell you who some of them are, but it is a CoC offence for doing so.
No need, I think it would be more interesting to observe this empirically and to see what the supporting arguments (if any) are.
Don't be afraid of the CoC, I get suspended all the time.
I'm not afraid of the CoC, in fact I was in favour of making it harsher.
This is such a ridiculous reaction considering I've never seen any actual defense of Islam coming from the progressives here on NT.
I have seen some, myself included, compare Islam to Christianity considering they share the same root, they both have had violent zealots murdering in their name, they both have used forced conversion at times throughout history and they both have the exact same amount of evidence proving their faiths. I don't really consider that a defense of Islam but a condemnation of Christianity.
I most often see the claims of "defending Islam" come out when some here point out the fact about how Americans are more likely to die by right wing inspired terrorism than Islamic terrorism. I don't really see that as a defense of Islam either, just a condemnation of right wing inspired terrorism.
Pointing out the vile ideology of Islam while ignoring the vile ideology of Christianity seems to be what some want progressives to do, but that would essentially be condoning all the right wing inspired violence and terrorism.
I hope every Islamic extremist is either taken out by law enforcement or captured and prosecuted, and I feel the same for every right wing piece of shit extremist. Those who push any type of "supremacy" either about their race, ethnicity or faith, deserve the same fate, to be tossed in a lightless hole and forgotten by society.
As far as I know, no one has ever killed another human in their attempt to convert people to worshiping the Flying Spaghetti Monster, so I guess that makes it the least harmful of human religions. Ultimately, they are all the same, not a single faith able to provide anything of substance to prove their claims.
In my opinion, Islam is a worthless faith and used to cause tremendous pain and suffering around the world, just like Christianity and virtually every other global brand of faith. Even many Buddhists in Indonesia have blood on their hands. Are there certain facets of every religion that do good? Of course, there are many good works done by religious adherents, no religion is just a single facet. But personally I think it would be like eating a bowl of stew where 85% of the ingredients are delicious, clean and good for you, while the other 15% is some several months old septic tank waste. Here in the US it's popular to dismiss the septic waste in the Christian faith while at the same time pointing it out in the Islamic faith. In my opinion, there is really little difference between the two.
Save for your swipe at me ("ridiculous reaction" - unless you meant the article and not what you quoted), that is a very balanced and reasonable comment. Please take note that I am critical of ALL extremist fundamentalism, whether it be Christian, Islamist, Ultra-Orthodox Jewish or "Better than thou" Atheists.
Recently Christopher Wray (head of the FBI) warned of this.
There certainly seems to be a great deal of skepticism from some of NT's members. The common refrain was, ''I've never seen one'', on an article posted a few days ago.
What is funny is that they are exactly the same as are their adherents. Really, REALLY stupid beliefs not even remotely based on fact or reality adopted by really, REALLY stupid people who are unable to actually compete in the real world.
What is even more hilarious is the two groups hate each other even though they are no different.
And no one has a clue how the rise of white supremacy is connected to the rise of Islamic terror.
If there is any increase in white supremacy, it's in Europe as a backlash against all the Muslim immigration. It is not a serious problem in the US.
Except for those 22 people in El Paso, or the black people in the church in South Carolina (I think), or the Jews in Pittsburgh (again, I think, so many mass shootings and white supremacist terror attackes it is hard to keep them all straight) but fuck'em right?
Not yet. But that isn't an excuse for typical American complacency.
All the fanatical movements have achieved a foothold in the United States. But the regional diversity of the United States has served as a bulwark to prevent spread of fanatical ideology into a national movement. Dissent and division prevents the rise of fanatical ideology. Today our political parties have become proponents of unifying the country under a single ideology rather than being representatives of regional diversity. Our own political parties are making dissent against their chosen ideologies an immoral choice. Our political parties are making the United States less diverse and that provides an opportunity for fanatical ideologies to spread.
And except for the riots, mass marches, media propaganda, and constant attacks on history, traditions, and culture.
The mass shootings have killed hundreds of people. But the ideological campaign to kill history, traditions, and culture as a means to force the future to conform to a uniform ideology is far more dangerous. That's how Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Mao Tse Tung rose to power.
So many? I think you're either confused or making stuff up. Blacks killing blacks in drive by shooting is domestic terrorism as well.
I wonder if the real white supremacy isn't ignoring the fact that the vast majority of " mass shootings " because they happen among minorities, do not involve assault weapons, and occur in minority neighborhoods. I mean, they're not white, so "fuck'em, right?"
terrorism:
Please cite the political aim of a drive by shooting.
According to the data, NONE of the mass shootings in the last three years fit your criteria Jack.
You're defining Wikipedia as "the data"? Curious.
In any case, the article you cite states:
So these are only the "notable" ones, as defined by the author....who....given the rules of Wikipedia could be anybody.
Did you check the link I gave?
but, but, but, they're black....
Actually, as the link states, the list includes those that meet the FBI and the Congressional Research Service definition of 'mass shooting' and denotes those on the list that are marginal.
As an example, a shooting where no one died does not meet the definition, such as the first four on your list. Since 4 deaths is the 'official' standard, your list is flawed.
There is no FBI definition of "mass shooting". The FBI defines "mass killing" and "mass murder", but not "mass shooting".
The Congressional Research Service defines them as having four deaths. According to Gun Violence Archive, we've had 20 this year.
As is yours. The list you cited includes MANY instances where fewer than 5 people were killed. Five of their eleven incidents listed in 2019 do not meet that 4 death criteria.
GVA is not my list, of course. I'm merely borrowing it to demonstrate how accurate Neal Degrasse Tyson was when he said "our emotions respond more to spectacle than data". We will easily believe GVA when they tell us we've had 257 "mass shootings" in 2019, and then we'll easily believe those who tell us all of these are angry white Trump followers. But the data indicates those two ideas are mutually exclusive and will depend on how we define "mass shooting".
We have data being released in a manipulated fashion to earn as many clicks as possible. The truth requires intellectual effort to discern, and the average American is far too lazy to be interested.
As I said, it's denoted on the list. Yours includes shootings where there were no deaths at all.
Yet you claimed that it was to prove that 'they happen among minorities, do not involve assault weapons, and occur in minority neighborhoods.'
Oh and WTF does Tyson have to do with it?
Without the GVA list, your claim about the demographics of 'mass shootings' hasn't a leg to stand on.
The point is that gun violence, including incidents involving 4 deaths or more, happens much more often in minority neighborhoods with minority victims and minority perpetrators.
But we actually care about it when white people get shot. It upsets us. Situations like Dayton or Parkland account for a tiny, tiny fraction of gun deaths nationwide, but they get all the attention. Shoot up a bunch of white kids in some high school and we go all crazy because "school is supposed to be safe"....completely missing the idea that "black neighborhoods are supposed to be safe" too, but we've pretty much given up on that.
The stereotype of a white guy shooting the place up also plays well for the angry left, who hate guns and don't particularly care for white men. Any time they can blame something on both at the same time, they're in high cotton.
Actually, your own link proves that to be false. Very few of the 'incidents involving 4 deaths or more were in minority neighborhoods with minority perpetrators.
Speak for yourself Jack.
It's not a 'stereotype', it's an empirical fact. The majority of mass shootings are perpetrated by young, angry white men.
BTFW, who SHOULD be blamed? The victims?
Maybe you can help me out with these mass shooting.
CBS, a left wing feeding tube. states that there has been 255 mass shootings this year. But of course they give no stats.
Oh wait they have a different definition of mass shootings than you....
I'm willing to bet that most of these shootings don't statistically point to "Angry White Men"
No sir. After further investigating it appears they are with the majority on their statistics.
So where are all these white Supremacists? In my 70 plus years, I’ve encountered one. And he was someone I witnessed Christ to the day he was released from prison (which means he cannot legally purchase firearms)
some people tell me that many are located in Idaho. But I spent over a month in Idaho last year and didn’t see any. Didn’t see trucks with confederate flags on pickup trucks either.
i agree they exist, but there numbers are less than 1/10 of 1% of the population at most.
and every murder, whether due to extremism or other reasons is to be condemned. But the left tries to ignore that Baltimore and Chicago have more murders every weekend than those of so-called white supremacists
Here's one that was caught before he could do anyone any harm...
Conor Climo, 23, who worked as a security guard, allegedly was found to be in possession of bomb-making materials and was "communicating with individuals who identified with a white supremacist extremist organization using the National Socialist Movement to promote their ideology," according to the FBI.
You mean you've never seen these White Supremacists before, LFOD....They are pretty famous.
Here is one in Mesa AZ...Killed a couple of people. A member of the CSS in AZ.
Oh, and another in Idaho. He actually ran for sheriff in Idaho.
My statement was to personally seeing, not some news report. And this is the first I’ve seen these news examples you posted.
the fact remains that these extremists are an extremely tiny fringe element.
Plus 90% or more of my friends and the majority of my social media friends have never spoken approvingly of these extremists.
How would you know if you've seen one or not? There are many that don't have the facial tattoo's. The group in the first photo and the person in the third photo.
Difficult to believe that you've never seen the first photo..It's been all over the news for the past couple of years. Also on NT on numerous occasions. It's from Charlottesville a couple of years ago.
I didn’t say ANY approve or agree with them. My point was we don’t even talk about them because they are so insignificant
Because I talk politics with everyone I meet
as to Charlottesville, I never watched any of the news about it nor did I read much about it.
nor do I recall any NT discussions on it because I’m not always here and I didn’t find it worthy of involvement in discussion
ive made my view known that racial supremacy views of any kind are a sin against God and man.
I believe the reason many religious conservatives don't talk about the white supremacist underbelly they know inhabits the dark corners of their party is that they don't want to shine a light on them, and like cockroaches, see them scatter. They know they need their support to win any elections thus they stay away from that subject unless they know they're in friendly territory where they can speak openly about their shared race and faith based prejudices.
Wrong. White supremacy is evil and a sin. No conservative Christian who follows and obeys Jesus would ever condone much less support white supremacy
You've probably encountered a lot more who were just good at keeping it to themselves.
Kind of a no brain'r ... there are only so many ways to find and indoctrinate the weak minded and socially marginalized individual. Not all supremacy groups believe the same thing either, but they are all having to compete for the same individuals to recruit
Racism, bigotry, hate etc. are learned behavior, someone has played a part .. be it family, friends or an organization.
I do not know that supremacy is spreading in the US, as much as it is center stage in the media at this time .. giving said groups and individuals the attention/validation/recognition they so desperately crave. At the same time providing recruitment tools for the Islamic extremists and supremist...
Vicious cycle
There is also a biological genetic factor involved in bigotry.
Indeed, bigotry (in terms of behavioral biology) has been a survival factor.
Closer to home, in the human brain the amygdala will signal a warning based on skin color well before the image is fully processed by the reasoning portion of the brain (the frontal cortex).
Interesting read .. I take it with a grain of salt, I have read several studies, one being the Minnesota twin study ... I am not sure I buy into the 'prejudice' gene..
Thanks for the link..
'Don't go to Walmart': Florida man arrested after threat involving AR-15, police say
The agency said it appears Clayton follows white supremacist ideology.
He was charged with making written threats to kill or do bodily harm. The FBI received a tip about the post on Tuesday.
But trump said the Islamic terrorists were "completely destroyed".
That’s a lie. He correctly said that the ISIS caliphate has been destroyed.