Profiling The Profilers

For years we have listened to the anti-social wing of the political spectrum go on about how racial profiling was a valid, nay, necessary tool in keeping Americans safe. Specifically, these reactionaries were hyper-concerned about keeping white Americans safe from darker people. The core of their legal philosophy was that people who aren't white are more dangerous. I gather this because these people never suggested specifically profiling whites as if there are no crimes for which Whites can be specifically profiled.

These same self-appointed arbiters of justice got their noses bent out of shape when the Department of Homeland Security simply stated a year ago that there would be a rise in right-wing extremism following the election of Barack Obama. The Right screamed and whined that it was a government conspiracy to target conservatives. Well it was not a conspiracy to target conservatives. It was law enforcement doing its job and recognizing specific crime patterns. The report mentioned white supremacists as one prong in the union of dangers, but in general DHS did the politically correct thing by trying to keep the report as race-neutral as possible.

I guarantee that when the term "right-wing extremist" is thrown around down in the FBI labs, they aren't referring to groups of Puerto Ricans. They aren't referring to groups of Asians. They aren't referring to groups of Indians. They aren't referring to groups of Arabs. They ARE referring to groups of Whites. It is one of those things that everyone knows though not as many people feel comfortable talking about.

It gives me pleasure to reveal the clear hypocrisy and anger in people who deny being angry racists. They have carried on for years as if crime and terror was something other people were responsible for while they looked unto the Tim McVeighs, Terry Nichols, and groups that support right-wing terrorism as some sort of raceless asterisks. To them, it's only race related when its committed by another ethnic background. When Tim McVeigh or Eric Rudolph were pinpointed for their crimes who among the lay racial profilers demanded closer scrutiny be put on whites? That's right. None of them.

Over the past week right-wing identified people have called black members of Congress "nigger", taunted a gay member of Congress, issued threats against members of Congress, sabotaged the homes of people they believe to be members of Congress, and thrown bricks through windows of political offices. Sarah Palin has told her supporters, angry in unison over passage of healthcare legislation "Don't retreat, RELOAD." She has also put on her website a graphic of a U.S. map with rifle scope cross hairs emblazoned where Democratic members of Congress should be taken out of office.

The name calling, vandalism, and threats can all be traced back to the Tea Party. These are not lone wolf crackpots. They are affiliated teapots; yet conservative lawmakers dismiss the activity as if they are isolated incidents being carried out by unaffiliated individuals. None of them are calling on the Tea Party as a whole to calm down because they don't want to lose Tea Party support. I also suspect that they are afraid of being too critical of the Tea Party for fear of becoming victims of their angry reprisals.

Homeland Security called it correctly. As for the theory of their warning leading to a round up conservatives, it looks like that may be true as well, but it won't be a conspiracy; it will be due process for assorted right-wing mayhem. Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin may want to put their fundraising skills together to build a defense fund for all of the conservatrons they are inciting. I hope somewhere in the process they learn the important lesson that threats to American tranquility come in different colors and persuasions, even white and conservative.

3 comments:

  1. Well said, Chip. You've probably already seen this op-ed from the NY Times the other day, but just in case: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/opinion/23herbert.html.

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  2. Hmm, I actually do know how to embed a link. let's try that again.

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  3. And most serial killers are white males.

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