#OregonUnderAttack: What’s the Difference Between A Terrorist & A Militia? Religion + Skin Color, Apparently.

#OregonUnderAttack has been the most trending topic over the past several days after a self-proclaimed militia group occupied a US government building in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Father and son, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, are the leaders of the “peaceful protest” (as ABC News calls it) in support of Oregon ranchers who faced jail time for arson. This group is armed and ready to attack to get what they want. Ryan Bundy stated that they were “willing to kill and be killed if necessary,” according to Ian Kullgren. Now, here’s the problem.

Where are law enforcements? Where is the National Guard? Where are the waves of news stations dying to cover this story? Why is the media calling it a peaceful protest organized by people who are fighting for their rights? Why is this considered patriotism and not terrorism? Pay close attention to what mass media decides to cover and how they cover it. It matters. Because this IS terrorism and we’re trying to pretend it’s not.  

Last April, Cliven Bundy, Ammon’s father told the press, “[African-Americans] abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.” His comments went viral, but were somehow swept under the rug until now.

Hashtags like #YallQaeda and #VanillaIsis made their way to further prove that white privilege is very real. If these militia members were Muslim or black or Native American, they’d be dead by now. We saw it in Baltimore. We saw it in Ferguson. The National Guard responded immediately and called the protesters “enemy forces” according to documents that became public this year. We know it too well. And those protestors were UNARMED. A 12 year-old boy was dead in two seconds, but numerous heavily armed “militiamen” with threats haven’t even been touched.  These men could count on their white privilege to allow them to carry out this attack. This is the definition of domestic terrorism and white terror.

Let’s stop pretending it isn’t.