Project Description

'What we know, or believe, is whether at home or in the theatre, at school or on a street corner meeting with a Congresswoman, our lives are threatened.'

By Betsy L. Angert | Originally Published at EmpathyEducates. June 24, 2015 | On the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at the Sikh Temple, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, family members remember those killed in a candlelight vigil. August 5, 2013. (Reuters/Darren Hauck)

Everyday, somewhere in America people wait in long lines only to be patted down, or body scanned. We open our suitcases, empty our pockets, and place our computers, belts, and purses on a conveyor band. Instinctively American citizens and visitors respond on demand. We travel to stadiums. Enter office buildings. Shop in the mall and stroll through school halls. No matter where we go, we are confronted by the reality that we, as a nation, are scared. We remember September 11, 2001 and how it changed us. Some say it made us more aware. Fly, walk, or drive to a local station, a far off location, or a foreign land — it really does not matter what you plan. Chances are good you will see it or experience it firsthand. America is scared! As a country we have taken a collective stand to do anything we can to protect our land, our children, our communities, and ourselves, from violence — or so we think we have.

What we have done instead is shroud ourselves in the illusion that people of a certain faith, color, or creed, people of a particular ethnicity are the killers. We are so convinced that this is true we willingly, in the name of patriotism adopted The USA PATRIOT Act. We understand what is at hand. There is, we believe a need to Preserve Life and Liberty. The American Civil Liberties Union, and the latest research, invites this question, what is it we seek. Security or Surveillance? Will either stop the killing?

What we know, or believe, is whether at home or in the theatre, at school or on a street corner meeting with a Congresswoman, our lives are threatened. Just look at the statistics.

Since September 11th more people in the United States have been killed in terrorist attacks perpetrated by home-grown white supremacists than have been slain by Muslim extremists, native born or from another land. An International Security study paints the picture.

Court documents, wire service, and news reports tell the story most of us miss. Busily protecting our homes and our children we do not see that white supremacist terrorism killed 48 people since 9/11, more than the 26 who died in attacks by Muslim extremists.

That means that in total, the number of Americans killed by non-Muslim extremists since that infamous day in September 2001, is nearly twice the number killed by Muslim extremists.

Extremists espousing racial hatred, hostility towards government and the want of “liberty” have taken the lives of police officers, peers, religious minorities and random civilians. And what about those persons we see as affected by mental illness? Might he or she be a neighbor, a parent, someone who lost their job, left their marriage, or…There is a lot to consider. For now, we can only count the numbers. But, hopefully soon, we will look at our priorities. America, this is what is…Deadly American Extremism: Is More White Than Muslim

Homegrown Extremists

The tables below show the lethal terrorist incidents in the United States since 9/11.

The study data was reprinted by EmpathyEducates with permission or license. We thank the New America Foundation for their kindness, research and vision.