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Domestic Terrorism in United States
Domestic Terrorism in United States
Introduction:
As with many other aspects, the definition of domestic terrorism in united states have also changed many a times over the period of times and in fact instances of such terrorism have been occurring before even a term and definition for same was coined. As per the memo made available by FBI’s Terrorist Research and Analytical Centre in 1994, domestic terrorism has been defined as “the unlawful use of force or violence, committed by group(s) of two or more individual’s, against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives”. This definition has been made broader and clearer by US PATRIOT Act which defines domestic terrorism as one satisfying following criteria’s:
Acts which cause danger to human life and violates criminal laws of states
The acts have been intentionally carried out either to intimidate civil population, to influence government policies or to effect government functioning by acts such as destruction, assassination and kidnapping.
The acts take place primarily with countries jurisdiction.
Now that we have looked enough as the definition of and have understood what constitutes a domestic terrorism, we are in position to move ahead and look into specific acts of terrorism that have taken place in united states and the consequences and facts related to same (Smith, 1994). We for sake of relevance would keep our discussion to acts taken place post 1950.
Major Events:
We next some of the major terrorists event that took place since 1950. The first that comes to any Americans mind is that of George Metesky popularly known as Mad Bomber during the period of 1940-56 in which he placed over 30 bombs over the city of New York for showing his protests against high electricity charges. It was in 1958 that white racist carried out bombing of the Hebrew Benevolent Congretion Temple in Atlanta.
The more popular one’s being assassination of president JFK on Nov 22, 1963. It was followed with assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. This was again followed up by bombing in 1969 on United States Department of Commerce. Similar high profile terrorist acts in the same year were many such as bombing of the federal building by radical leftist Jane Alpert, bombing of the Armed forces Induction Centre again by the same person and bombing of the Manhattan Criminal court and again by same personnel’s.
Similar incidents surrounds every decade like in 70 the popular incidents were that of bombing of Jewish defence League, the case of Alphabet Bomber etc. Similarly in 80’s it was bombing of the statue of Liberty, the killing of Alex Odeh, an Arab-American, firebombing of the Riverdale Press etc. were the major incidents. Moving on to the more recent times it was the Centennial Olympic Park movement, Oklahama City Bombing, firebombing of the Temple Beth EI, Assassination of Dr. George Tiller etc were the major incidents of the recent times.
Now when one looks at these above stated major incidents of domestic violence that took place, one gets to see that each of them has been carried out with an individual point of view and was not necessarily an mass problem or a true problem. Example the murder of Dr. Geogre Tiller was done by killer who was an avid anti supporter of Abortion laws. Hence one gets to see that this murder was not justified since abortion laws were enacted for the good of masses and nothing that was forced or obliged in such cases and hence the killer point of view was his own and was not a genuine one.
Similarly the other associated found out reasons behind such attacks were initially more concentrated on the Black and White struggle that was going for long in America. This was the predominant reason during the 60’s. The other major reasons that was ruling the time was the issue of regional conflicts and hatred that was prevalent during the 70’s and 80’s such the Mexico problem, the Cuba problem, the Porto Rico problem etc. these issues and their natives having citizenship is Us were the ones responsible for it and in such cases one can see that the reason was justified and was true ones but of course never the actions taken by that. Similarly other domestic and political issues were and are still dominant reasons and force that lead to such type of acts by daring individuals for their own or their section of people’s sake. Such domestic and political reason could be anything ranging from high inflation, poor working environment to ban on smoking to legalized abortion to improper healthcare benefits etc. one can clearly see that even though in some cases the reasons could be justified, the same could not said about the approach to highlight and address that.
Military Aspect:
As is evident from the research conducted and paper written by Steven Mark Presley, these acts of domestic violence has been increasing in 90’s especially among the armed personnel’s. His paper seeks to analyse the same i.e. rise of terrorism by and among the armed personnel of militia and the associated concerns. He goes on to state that in recent times the domestic terrorism have been either indirectly or directly carried out and supported by present and ex-military persons (Presley, 1996). This is a cause of significant concern and alarm since this speaks of the extent o which such groups have presence in military services.
There has been growing number in the radical right-wing and radically motivated group members and groups in United States and this is solely on account of growing dissatisfaction wit government policies and practices (Kelly, 1995). There are several reasons for the trend of increased number of persons from military being recruited by these extremists groups. The real reasons being stated as:
Such persons make available “legitimacy” and “bravado” for recruitment and training of additional treatment.
They are well trained and equipped to use weapons and can train other recruits as well.
They are used as the inside point for contacts for needs to ordinance and mutations thefts
The difficulty that one comes across in dealing with such issues is the fact that in most of these cases it is the individual’s freedoms of through and expressions are identified as the reasons behind their existence. Also the definition of involvement with extremist groups needs a clear definition as to what is active involvement and what is inactive involvement and basis that only suitable restrictive an punishing actions could be decided upon. At present there is no clear definition to this effect.
Effects:
Now if we look at all that happened as a domestic violence there are numerous aspects to it. Looking from human tolls of injured and death form economic and from changes that it has brought in. Since the definition of domestic violence is itself a part of controversy stating the toll of human life’s is difficult task but form the incidents that we have stated here we can clearly see that the human death toll was not on very higher side and if looked deeply since 1950 this form of terrorism have not had more than 50 human life but yes of course they have good number of injuries to their account which could be not be less than 10,000.
From the economic point of view though it is not possible to quote or quantify the exact effect without proper analysis and deeper reporting but definitely it has great effect on economic life especially in the period of 50’s to late 80’s time. The economic effects can be seen in the loss of employment opportunity that blacks had during the tussling times (Bohn, 2004). The same was seen when it came to migration of black or whites to dominated areas of either of the two. Due to abortion issue the prospective mothers were very reluctant to go for same and hence were low revenue for abortion specialist. The specialist had also low revenue due to their fear of such attacks and reluctant to serve people. These were some of the effects on economic activities that such domestic violence had. This is apart from the effect that such incidents had on economy as a whole with aspects such as job opportunities, investments from foreign economy, growth of human index etc.
Resulting Changes:
We finally will look at the changes that such incidents brought tin into the systems especially for the reasons which were genuine enough. For the abortion issues, even through people had issues and reservation with this law but on a broader perspective it was justified and hence was kept intact, instead more efforts were made to educate citizens and such people and to make them understand to restrict them from using such extremely steps. These efforts were instrumental enough in achieving the required educational and elimination of incidents relate dot such aspects.
Similarly the blacks and whites conflict took its time and cost but it was much needed to get it resolved and finally the same was achieved and successfully implemented and achieved and at present the frictions been drastically reduced and chances of such incidents have almost got eliminated. For the issues which we genuine but not a conflicting one such as improper electricity rates, bad healthcare facilities etc. were looked into, understood and remedy step were taken and implemented immediately since the need was for same. This has led to drastic reduction in such dissatisfaction levels and hence associated incidents.
Social and Economic Effects:
For the military personnel’s issues steps were taken and to max extent success have been achieved but since this case is new, stating the same with 100% confidence is impossible at present. The only possible way by which this trend could be checked is by formulations of guidelines and policies which when carefully enacted which will clearly sate and restrict participation of military personnel’s in groups which as per government is deemed potentially dangerous. Even much care needs to be taken while defining freedoms and rights of military personnel. Apart from that nothing is better than education and open discussions will be instrumental in prevention and elimination of such problems. Guidelines and policies must be carefully and succinctly enacted which clarify the degree to which military personnel can participate in groups that are deemed potentially dangerous, however great care must be taken to protect the freedoms and rights of military personnel. Additionally, education and frank, open discussions will be required to prevent and eliminate such problems in the future.
Bibliography
Bohn, M. K. (2004). The Achilli Lauro Hijacking: Lessons in the politics and Prejudice of Terrorism . Brassey’s Inc.
Kelly, K. (1995). Hundreds of Militants in USA. USA Today .
Presley, L. S. (1996). Rise of Domestic Terrorism and its Relation to United States Armed Forces. www.fas.org.
Smith, B. L. (1994). Terrorism in America: pipe bombs and pipe dreams. SUNY Press.
Domestic Terrorism in the United States
Domestic Terrorism in the United States
Author
Institution
Introduction
Domestic terrorism revolves around violence meted against the nation’s infrastructure and civilian population usually but not always by the nation’s citizens, often with the aim of coercing, intimidating or even determining the course of national policy. The United States has experienced varied episodes of domestic terrorism. On 5th August 2012, Wage Page attacked and opened fire on a congregation in Sikh temple at Oak Creek, Wis., an incident that resulted in the deaths of six people, with three others sustaining serious injuries. While Page killed himself and left no evidence that explicitly stated his motives, he had a long association with a white supremacist movement, which clarified on his choice of target (Johnson, 2012). Another incident occurred on 15th of the same month, when Floyd Corkins attacked Family Research Council’s office, where he shot a security guard who had tried to stop him from getting into the office. It is reported that Corkins had a bag in which there were Chick-Fil-A’s sandwiches and a box of ammunition. His target of the council was based on its support for the sandwich company at a time when the fast food chain’s founder had made controversial statements pertaining to gay marriage (Johnson, 2012). Corkins outlined his displeasure at the chain’s politics before he opened fire.
In recognition of the immense threat posed by domestic terrorism, homeland security has had to reengineer itself so as to increase the involvement of the tribal, local, and state law enforcement officers, not to mention businesses, communities and citizens in the front line of prevention, as well as detection of the of any threats that are posed by domestic terrorism (Johnson, 2012). It has thus acknowledged that sustenance of security is a shared responsibility where everyone has a role to play through staying informed and pricy to the threats facing the neighborhood and the nation at large.
References
Johnson, D. (2012). Right wing resurgence: How a domestic terrorist threat is being ignored. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Domestic Revolutions
Domestic Revolutions
Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc380166779” Chapter 4: The shaping of the Afro-American Family PAGEREF _Toc380166779 h 1
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380166780” Chapter 5: Industrialization and the Working-Class family PAGEREF _Toc380166780 h 2
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380166781” Chapter 6: The Rise of the Compassionate Family 1900-1930 PAGEREF _Toc380166781 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380166782” Chapter 7: America’s Families Face the Great Depression PAGEREF _Toc380166782 h 4
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380166783” Chapter 8: Families on the Home Front PAGEREF _Toc380166783 h 5
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380166784” Chapter 9: The Golden Age: Families of the 1950s. PAGEREF _Toc380166784 h 5
HYPERLINK l “_Toc380166785” Chapter 10: Coming Apart: Radical Departures Since 1960 PAGEREF _Toc380166785 h 6
Chapter 4: The shaping of the Afro-American FamilyThe roots of Afro-Americans can be traced way back to the coming of slaves in the United States. Their numbers had continued increasing from around 750,000 in 1790 to close to four million in 1860. However, the foundation of the Afro-American family was built in mid and late 18th century, around which time the slaves blended African and American cultural practices and beliefs into unique Afro-American system of kinship and family, a system that had its own rules pertaining to marriage, courtship and sexual behavior. Their system did not resemble their African roots or even those of the Southern white families (68). While their familial ties had been broken by slavery, the slave families established extended kinship networks aimed at assisting one another (69). Theirs was the traditional nuclear family with a slave father and slave mother, mostly owned by different masters (70). The families underwent varied phases with men initiating courtship with the permission of their masters, before having weddings presided by white or black preachers. The next phase was child bearing and rearing with most children getting into the labor force. Slaves did not live to old age, thanks to the horrible living conditions and abuse from their masters (73). Some slaves decided to get married again after being freed following the civil war (76). Most adopted sharecropping, where they tilled lands with the produce being shared between them, their former masters who provided land, and providers of faming supply (77). Even after being freed, they maintained two-parent families, although a significant percentage also had single-parent families (78). However, their kinship ties continue even today enhancing mutual support and assistance (79).
Chapter 5: Industrialization and the Working-Class familyA large percentage of U.S population worked in the industries, farms and coalmines prior to World War II (84). These jobs were unstable and could be lost after economic downturns, poor weather, technological displacement or variations in consumer demand (85). The earnings were barely enough for subsistence as evidenced by their poor living conditions (85). Despite the dislocations and disruptions from industrialization and urbanization, the adverse conditions usually strengthened the familial bonds and promoted the re-adoption of the earlier systems of interdependence and mutual assistance (86). In late 1830s, the Northeast saw the appearance of a new form of manual laborers mostly composed of immigrants who were running away from the economically distressed Europe and attracted to the U.S by the promise of land, and jobs. These immigrants replaced the natives in the nation’s factories (86). The migration did not destroy kinship relations or render the immigrants rootless, rather it strengthened the kinship and familial ties (87). These ties came in handy in times of distress as the people supported each other (88). In most cases, people had to sacrifice their personal wants for familial needs (88). While women contributed to the family income through piecework, their primary duties remained caring for the home and family. Child labor was also common as families had to supplement their income (90). Either way, most families had abysmal living conditions thanks to the prevalent unemployment and wage cuts that characterized the late 19th century. These families guarded against financial insecurity by buying houses (92). Immigrants were obviously different depending on their origin. While their marginal economic situation brought insecurity an conflict, it also enhanced family loyalty and cohesiveness (94). In the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, parents were allowed to work alongside their kids or even select them as apprentices (94). This allowed kids to stay with their parents for longer periods (95). However, the role of extended kinship in industries was constrained after the introduction of scientific management in early 20th century (96).
Chapter 6: The Rise of the Compassionate Family 1900-1930The 19th century saw a modification in the expectations and functions to which the middle-class American family had been assigned (107). The family was now not only as source of economic security or stable environment for the growth of kids, rather it was also expected to cater for the psychological and emotional needs of the members (108). The last quarter of the 19th century had seen an increase in divorce rates, which led to a drop in the birth rate (108). More stringent measures were taken to reduce the rate of divorce, with fewer grounds being permissible for divorce but this did not lower the divorce rate (109). This was mainly predicated by the increased economic empowerment of women where they became immersed in careers and education. The natives feared that the aliens would eventually dominate the country as the latter’s birth rate was high with lower divorce rates (110). Women also changed their mode of dressing and brand of sexuality, gaining more boldness in their sexual acts. Their participation in paid labor increased while morals took a nosedive especially concerning sex before and outside marriage (112). In response to this phenomenon, some people came up with the “companionate family” where parents and their kids would be pals while husbands and wives were to be “lovers and friends” (113). This was a shift from the conservative and patriarchal family that was incompatible with modern ideals. The companionate family emphasized on sexual gratification (115), which was impended by the women’s deficiency of instruction in sex (116). Fathers had a significantly reduced role even in the family front, thanks to women empowerment. Children became more undisciplined while their relationship with parents became more intimate (). Concerns on the deterioration of the children discipline resulted in the first efforts to offer day nurseries for kids of working mothers (129). Medical and financial assistance was also provided to poor families as it was acknowledged that mothers usually neglected kids out of financial needs (129). Laws were made to cater against inadequate childcare, while improved obstetrical and prenatal care was enhanced to protect the unborn.
Chapter 7: America’s Families Face the Great DepressionThe Great Depression brought uncertainty, as well as loss of sustenance and support in American families. The income of families had contracted by more than 46% in the period between 1929 and 1930 (134). The depression created poverty and exposed preexisting poverty (134). The increased poverty and unemployment forced the federal government to participate actively in the alleviation of the resultant suffering. However, the depression increased closeness in families as they turned to each other for comfort leading to reduced divorce rates (136). It is however, noted that the family may have been negatively affected as reduced income reduced men’s self esteem thereby undermining family respect. It is also seen as having delayed marriages, forced families to share living quarters, postpone childbearing, as well as tolerate unhappy marriages (137). Families also had to start pooling their resources, adopt labor-intensive techniques and have more than one wage earner. They also relied on kinship ties for support, rather than the immediate families (138). The role of fathers was decreased by their decreased earnings and the increased income and saving by women (139). Lower-class black family life were dissolved thanks to precarious economic status and high mortality rates among black men (142). Unfortunately, the public response to this was insufficient despite the fact that black Americans had a relatively higher unemployment rates than their white counterparts (142). In an effort to alleviate the situation, the government made varied policies mainly targeting families. In addition, it encouraged family planning and the use of contraceptives, something whose opposition had eased (147).
Chapter 8: Families on the Home FrontThe Second World War saw an increase in GNP, which increased the marriage rate and birth rate (152). Just like the depression, World War II drew families together and enhanced kinship bonds as they had a shared sense of privation and danger. There was also increased migration, which strained public services, as well as housing (156). Increased employment and income, however, was cut by the food shortage that ate into the income. In addition, women started taking up roles that were traditionally preserved for men breeding fears of marital strife (161). However, there was little facilitation of the entry of women into the labor force by the government. Child abandonment was common as parents worked in the graveyards and in warzones. Labor laws were weakened so as to allow the participation of children in the labor force (166). The war also saw American adolescents create a unique teenage subculture that showed their disdain for social conventions (167). The losses for servicemen families were not only financial but also psychological and emotional. After the war, there was increased divorce, which was explained as having resulted from wartime separation strains, wedding rush and disillusionment, and housing shortage (173).
Chapter 9: The Golden Age: Families of the 1950s.After the war, many women returned to childrearing and home management (178). Public concerns were substituted with private life satisfaction. There was increase in marriage and birth rates with many people marrying at a younger age that before and during the war. Marriage was seen as the epitome of a person’s life and the route to happiness (180) with women abandoning career and education to achieve the emotional fulfillment that came with being a wife and mother (181). The 1960s also saw an increase in economic power of families evidenced by the suburban boom as living as separate households had become affordable thanks to increase in housing. Suburbanization reinforced the postwar society’s family orientation, where women concentrated on childrearing while men worked. Critics note that the society was women dominated thanks to fathers’ absence in their children’s lives. The 1950s middle-class, suburban family pursued the companionate family life ideal that used to be the precinct of well-to-do, upper-middleclass families in 1920s. This partnership, however, did not underline equality as the woman had her primary role as serving her husband (187). Families concentrated more on children with parents showering them with love, gifts, toys, less discipline and separate rooms. Family life, however, was unstable thanks to strains on traditional sex roles. Women had tasted the freedom of men roles during the world war, had gained education but were required to maintain their femininity (195). They were dissatisfied as they had no recognition for their work at home, while men had to deal with feelings of being misplaced in the home front. A distinctive youth culture emerged with children craving more love from their parents and challenging alienation from adult roles. This forced the parents to break down barriers between themselves and their children.
Chapter 10: Coming Apart: Radical Departures Since 1960 The family has undergone tremendous transformation in the recent times. The changes include lower birth rates, higher rates of single parenthood and divorce, and lower ages of partaking sex (204). These changes are thought to cause increased rates of delinquency, school dropout, suicide, teenage pregnancy and drug and alcohol abuse. This has been caused by changes in values and norms with people choosing personal happiness rather than sacrifice for family (206). There was increased need for self realization in the 50s and 60s with philosophers seeing family commitment as an impediment to individual fulfillment. Casual sex became the norm with increase in premarital sex and adultery. Black families, however, while depicted as disorganized were mainly composed of two spouses (212). They also maintained strong kinship ties thanks to their deprived status. It is believed that increased government welfare expenditure caused family-breakdown and illegitimacy (215). However, it is evident today that families headed by women have a higher likelihood of be poor. Nevertheless, the changes experienced in the 60s and 70s weighed heavily on children as they eroded the traditional ideal of childhood as a protected and special period of innocence (218). Television has become one of the parenting tools, exposing children to a world to which their parents were not exposed. The United States assumes a lower role in the welfare of children than European countries (225). Increased divorce rate is known to have stunted the children’s emotional and psychological growth and resulted in maladjustment that prevailed for years (226). However, there are instances where such children have higher independence, maturity and resilience. It is noteworthy that family laws have also changed with divorce being granted to offer couples with a way of evading acrimonious and long legal battles on who should be blamed and division of property.
Works cited
Mintz, Steven. Domestic Revolutions: A Social History Of American Family Life. New York: Simon and Schuster, Apr 3, 1989. Print