US facing surge in rightwing extremists and militias

[T_i_B]

Source: Guardian

The US is facing a surge in anti-government extremist groups and armed militias, driven by deepening hostility on the right to Barack Obama, anger over the economy, and the increasing propagation of conspiracy theories by parts of the mass media such as Fox News.

The Southern Poverty Law Centre, the US's most prominent civil rights group focused on hate organisations, said in a report that extremist "patriot" groups "came roaring back to life" last year as their number jumped nearly 250% to more than 500 with deepening ties to conservative mainstream politics.

The SPLC report, called Rage on the Right, said the rise in extremist groups was "a cause for grave concern" given their propensity to use violence during their heyday in the 90s, most notably with the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. It added that the issues driving support for such groups were increasingly populist and that "signs of growing radicalisation are everywhere".

"Patriot groups have been fuelled by anger over the changing demographics of the country, the soaring public debt, the troubled economy and an array of initiatives by President Obama that have been branded "socialist" or even "fascist" by his political opponents," the report said.


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/04/us-surge-rightwing-extremist-groups

[physioex]

1. Yep.....

We are all sitting on a ticking time bomb. Only a matter of time before the next Timothy McVeigh.

[Alias Dictus Tyrant]

2. Meh, nothing new

I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. This has been around my entire life, it is practically a social club in some areas. Lots of talk with no interest in actually doing anything.

As an aside, the SPLC almost always blows things way out of proportion. As a rule I take anything they say with a grain of salt.

[old mark]

3. Going to the rifle range this weekend, practice shooting tea bags. nt

[BlueJazz]

4. Oh...So NOW they're upset about the national debt and troubled economy.

These are the same brain-dead people who had George Bush stickers plastered all over their cars and loved
phrases like "Mission Accomplished"

Oh Brother....

[KharmaTrain]

5. And Their Antics Are Self Destructive...

I recently read about times of social strife and the rise in militias...from the Whiskey Rebellion to the rise of the KKK after the civil war and in the 20s and 60s to the militias of the 90s. They are usually reactions to demographic changes in the country that include social changes. While they rise quickly and make a lot of noise, their hate agendas lead to more internal strife and violence than to those on the outside. In the end, these groups collapse under their own corruption and scaring more people than attracting. In today's case, any violence traced to the teabaggers (and I'm one that sees it as being inevitable) will ruin their credibility and their rushpublican benefactors. IMHO, a reason I think the GOOP leaders are struggling to keep it from getting too crazy and trying to control it.