On January 3rd, 2016, a group of terrorists seized Oregon’s National Wildlife Refuge. Donning camouflage and waving guns, they protested the arrest of two local ranchers, who were sentenced to prison for arson. Originally, the protest was peaceful and no guns were visible. Hugs were exchanged, tears were shed; the two ranchers were greatly loved. But the peace soon came to an end as a handful of armed men emerged from the shadows and declared war.
Now, if you’ve been keeping up with social media, this story should already be ingrained into your mind. The so-called protest has been progressing since last Sunday, and media outlets have been anything but silent. You might, however, notice something off regarding the above summary. Something is missing.
Oh, that’s right. I didn’t address them by what ABC News and CNN have. Let me rephrase.
Militiamen.
Or, in other words, white terrorists.
Not one major media outlet has addressed them by their actual name. It’s only been ‘militiamen’ or ‘armed protesters’. Armed protesters? A terrorist is defined as someone who engages in violence to promote their personal political agendas. Militiamen are defined as a military force that engages in rebel or terrorist activities. Yep, the dictionary explicitly uses the term terrorist in correlation with militia. And yet, the news continues to label them as militiamen, as if to overshadow their much more darker name. The only reason we aren’t calling them terrorists is because they are white.
Look at any tragedy labeled a terrorist attack, and you’ll most likely see that the attackers are people of color. They may belong to an extremist group, or they may not. They may follow a certain religion, or they may not. The only major tie they hold to terrorism is that they are of color. The rest is irrelevant.
Now, look at any tragedy labeled a shooting or a massacre. Those at fault will most likely be white. They will either belong to an extremist group, or hold extremist beliefs. They might follow a certain religion, but that most likely won’t be noted. An investigation will be held regarding the criminal’s mental state, and they will probably be diagnosed with some major disorder as a means to excuse their crime. Their lives will be analyzed to the severest degree, and certain events will be highlighted, like how they were a straight-A student or volunteered often.
This is white privilege at its finest. When it comes to anything, white people will always be favored over people of color. Take the recent Planned Parenthood shooting in Colorado, for example. There is a reason it wasn’t addressed as a terrorist attack, the same reason we aren’t calling the militiamen in Oregon terrorists. It’s because they’re white. Terrorism only encompasses Muslims, right? Brown and black skin?
It needs to stop. An armed protest is terrorism. If these ‘militiamen’ were Muslim, police would have them dead in a second. But since they aren’t, the police are waiting them out, allowing them to thrive within the Wildlife Refuge. Since they aren’t, PETA is bringing them vegan snacks. Since they aren’t, they aren’t terrorists. Not in this society’s eyes.
Dear CNN, ABC News, and virtually every other media outlet: Militiamen are terrorists. Anyone who engages in violence as a means to promote their personal agenda is a terrorist. Stop calling them by some lighter term simply because their skin isn’t dark. Erase the assumption that terrorism can only be linked to people of color. White people are terrorists, too.
