So here we go again. This past Friday a man named Anders Behring Breivik allegedly detonated a bomb in Norway, killing 7. And, in a separate incident, while impersonating a police officer, but carrying a firearm (which Norwegian police don’t do, according to one al Jazeera interviewee) shot and killed up to 84 additional people attending a youth camp on an island an hour or so north of the Norwegian capital of Oslo.
The details, while absolutely horrific and entirely deplorable, aren’t what I’m most interested in. Or even the hysteria that predictably ensued for most of the day Friday, not to mention part of yesterday, following these events. You know the typical rush to judgement these acts were immediately thought linked, as terrorism, with Fundamental Islam without creditable evidence. Turns out it wasn’t terrorism at all, thank God, it was just right-wing extremism — like people are supposed to be assured because this is different somehow? Which is my point.
Give me a break. Please, I’m begging you. Shut the fuck up!
Since Friday I’ve read a number of interesting articles in response to what occurred, and, in large part, is still unfolding. Glenn Greenwald wrote a couple of compelling pieces, The Oslo attacks, and The omnipotence of Al Qaeda and meaninglessness of “Terrorism”. Check them both out! But what was most interesting, to me, at least was what numbers Islamic Terrorism really represents in America between the years of 1980 to 2005, for instance — it’s only 6%, by the way, according to the F.B.I.
But, as you might expect, what the article spends most of it’s time stating isn’t why I’m interested in it. That article isn’t by any means flawless in all it’s assertions. Which isn’t the fault of it’s author. It was sourced from the F.B.I. after all — an agency of a plutocratic government who’s only duty is to serve corporate interests and pay good money for their minions to represent them. But “Extreme Left-Wing Groups?” The same “extremist’s” that “have not flown planes into buildings, taken hostages, or sent Anthrax through the mail. [And] […] have never even injured anyone?” Check out Will Potter’s essay on the Green Scare for further context into this context.
Now I’m not condoning such acts of violence. Nor am I defending them. I’m merely citing the discrepancies between what is labelled and thought of as one thing, when in reality, they are, as in the case of the events that occurred in Norway this past Friday, the exact same as other heinous acts of terrorism.
But, not only that, what is being labelled as terrorism is, at best, a crime? Just saying…
Addendum…
It’s now Tuesday July 26th, and what I wrote above, for the record, wasn’t suggesting Left-Wing Extremism doesn’t exist. I was merely pointing towards one article and commenting on it’s source’s hyper condemnation of certain events and groups. Nothing more.
But the numbers of the deceased from Friday’s attack have gone down, no less tragically mind you, from 93 to 76. And on today’s broadcast of Democracy Now! Glenn Greenwald spoke about much of what he wrote about in the 2 articles I linked to above and how the Norway Attacks Expose U.S. Media’s Double Standard on “Terrorism”. Shocking! Check it out…