Injecting Sanity Into A Maelstrom Of Confusion
It didn’t take long for “progressive” media to begin exploiting the New Zealand Al Noor Mosque massacre for propaganda purposes. Predictably, the heinous mass murder was blamed… you guessed it… on President Trump. Now, inquiring minds may want to know WHY the mosque shooting has been blamed on our 45th President. The surprising answer is that the lunatic shooter, Brenton Tarrant, makes a SINGLE reference to Mr. Trump in his rambling SEVENTY FOUR PAGE manifesto. And, even that reference is to Mr. Trump’s “value” as, verbatim, “a symbol”, not, as Tarrant puts it “as a policy maker.” In that same screed, Tarrant also professed disdain for “conservatives” and admiration for Communist China. Now, despite the nebulous nature of all of this, trying to cast blame on Mr. Trump is not surprising, as the man has been blamed for everything but national tooth decay. However, what IS surprising is that the “progressive” media have also identified another culprit, and this one is more unexpected. It seems that the “progressives” believe that the responsibility for the cowardly attack in New Zealand should also be born by… Chelsea Clinton… Chelsea Clinton???… Yes, Chelsea Clinton!!!… Despite Ms. Clinton’s robust “liberal” lineage, and despite her advocacy of many “progressive” causes, Ms. Clinton made the unforgivable sin of criticizing Congresswoman Ilhan Omar recently over Omar’s indefensible racist and anti Semitic proclamations. Omar is a Muslim, you see, so the progressives maintain that Chelsea’s criticism of a Muslim, even a bigoted and reprehensible one, “stokes” the flames of hatred, thereby increasing the climate of “Islamophobia”, thereby promoting the type of atmosphere that emboldens white supremacists like Tarrant, thereby prompting the shooting… Got that?… No?… Well then go over it again, please, because “progressives” feel it’s plain as day!
So, with accusations like these flying around fast and furious, it would seem prudent to try to inject some sanity into the conversation.
So, does “white supremacy” exist?… Of course it does. Is it dangerous?… Of course it is. One does not have to think back very far to recall the Tree Of Life Synagogue massacre in October of last year by white supremacist antisemite shooter Robert Gregory Bowers, or the Charleston Methodist Church massacre in June of 2015, by racist shooter, Dylan Roof. Heck, while we’re at it, we should also harken back to the most famous, organized and grotesque white supremacists of all time: the Nazis of pre World War Two Germany. So, in answer to the question, “Are white supremacists dangerous?”, the answer is clearly: “You bet they are.”
Now, having said that, and having said it clearly, it must be pointed out that acknowledging and condemning the violent propensities of white supremacist ideology does not, automatically, invalidate all of the issues and concerns that animate such groups. Although the animus behind supremacist rage appears to draw from the deep well of racial hatred, concern that unregulated immigration from underdeveloped countries may threaten the ability of our country to maintain our standard of living and to protect our way of life, IS a valid and vital concern. It is NOT, of an by itself, a product of racism, bigotry or white supremacy. It derives from a clear eyed assessment of the challenges unlimited immigration would bring to our country in light of a realistic reckoning of the limits and vulnerabilities that exist in our economy and our society.
Furthermore, although supremacist concern that unchecked immigration from Islamic countries may draw animus from a xenophobic and tribal mentality, concern that wholesale accomodation of migrants from these countries might pose a security risk to our citizens and our way of life is, in fact, also valid and vital. There is a tremendous trove of data that shows CLEARLY that Islamic countries are a font of terrorism. The NON PARTISAN National Consortium START (Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism) data base catalogues a list of SIXTY THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY (60,320) terrorist attacks, world wide, over just a SIX YEAR period (2011 through the end of 2016)!!!! Over EIGHTY FIVE PERCENT of these occurred in “largely Islamic states”!!! (Source: csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com). To be concerned about taking large numbers of people from areas that are so rife with terrorism is NOT xenophobic. It is NOT bigoted. It is NOT racist. It is COMMON SENSE. In fact to ignore such facts is downright crazy.
Although it received scant attention in major US media, just 3 days BEFORE the massacre of 50 Muslims in New Zealand, Muslim militants in Nigeria killed 120 Christians and burned hundreds of Christian homes to the ground. In fact, as I write this essay, I am learning of a terrorist attack in the medieval town of Utrect, Netherlands. Three people there have been reported killed on a tram and five more have been injured, three of which are said to be in serious condition. Three suspects are in custody including Gökmen Tannis, a Muslim man of Turkish origin, described as “very religious” by an acquaintance, Alptekin Akdogan, but who did, none-the-less, have a criminal record and was reportedly also facing a charge of forcible rape. Further details have yet to be released.
Sad to say, but seldom a day goes by where we don’t learn of some criminal, antisocial or even violent behavior on the part of migrants in one place or another. So, in conclusion, although concern about unchecked immigration from underdeveloped and/or hostile societies is a part of nearly every supremacist’s mind set, such concern is not, of and by itself, bigoted, racist or reprehensible. It is, rather, ladies and gentlemen, common sense. Let’s not loose sight of this very important fact in the maelstrom of confusion over the supremacist tragedy in New Zealand.