White America Can’t Continue to Ignore the Threat of Domestic Terrorism
An alert from federal authorities warns of plans to try to take control of the U.S. Capitol on March 4
While the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a joint intelligence bulletin to state and local law enforcement warning domestic groups have plans to take control of the U.S. Capitol and remove Democratic lawmakers on March 4, the reality is, the date represents the start of something much bigger and longer-lasting. As large protests are expected in D.C., the threat of violence is very high despite the presence of the National Guard.
The bulletin, which warns of “domestic violent extremists” being emboldened by the attempted insurrection on January 6, fails to address the threat they pose beyond March 4. The bulletin also warns states that domestic violent extremists still have a “perception of election fraud and other conspiracy theories associated with the presidential transition, which may contribute to … mobilizing to violence with little or no warning.
The law enforcement official who spoke to NBC on condition of anonymity says the bulletin makes clear that “the threat did not begin or end on January 6.” This particular statement is one that cannot be emphasized enough. For decades, anti-racists and civil rights leaders warned of growing white nationalist extremism. In the last decade, many voices have been sounding the alarm only to be met with complacency from White America and be drowned out by big media.
America must come to grips with the reality it has created. Regardless of what happens, March 4, 2021, will mark a day that will be the start of something scary that won’t go away for a long time. As I’ve previously written, the Nashville bombing on Christmas day in 2020 was a warning. One that again went ignored. American’s shrugged their shoulders at the bombing because the bomber was smeared all over the block. They never even wondered why or how. They simply didn’t care.
White Supremacy Eats Itself
Now, white supremacy is turning on the nation, its government, and white people along with Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC). Despite hate groups still pining for a civil war, they’ll settle for destruction and chaos like that from Nashville in order to preserve their dominion over BIPOC. White supremacy is taking a beating and they believe it no longer works the way it once did with white privilege under attack. Their solution? A far-right fascist dictatorship. Because White extremists can’t get their way. Their attempts at attacking us, Americans, are temper-tantrums.
So how do we combat it? We can’t have National Guard on our streets forever. What’s next? Green zones and checkpoints? No. The way we combat it is by addressing it head-on. If you know someone who harbors beliefs along the lines of these extremists, it’s your job to talk to them and reason with them. This doesn’t mean attacking them and starting a heated argument. It means having real conversations and listening regardless of how wrong they are. After you’re done listening, you can then issue a retort with reason and logic.
White people need to be informed that the plight of Black people puts them at risk because poor and middle-class White people are collateral losses in the fight to maintain white supremacy. This is as much about classism as it is about racism. As classism affects BIPOC on multiple fronts, White people face it on a singular front: poverty and living on the edges of poverty. But White people must know that equality means justice for them too. It means helping the poor and underserved, which includes them. This is why it’s so important for other White folks to do this work. To get the messaging out there.
White people have proximity to each other in ways BIPOC don’t. So it’s on White folks to lean into this. White America can’t depend on BIPOC to guide them through every aspect of racial justice. Some things have to be done without our help. This arena of talking to other White folks about their hateful views is one of those cases. White folks are on their own on this one and we need them to come through more than ever. We must try to support them.
But in the end, White folks have to do it.
Oh, and if something tragic pops off, don’t act like the warnings weren’t there. We see enough fake shock in the media and “this is not who we are” speeches from politicians and celebrities without the pearl-clutching from White America. Do us a favor, save it, and do what you need to do to help us stop it.
Arturo is an anti-racist politics nerd, journalist, and founder of The Antagonist Magazine. He is a top writer on racism on Medium and a regular contributor to several media outlets. He is also a proud member of the Writers and Editors of Color (#WEOC) Collective. If you’d like to learn more about the issues covered here, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also support his work here.