America's dangerous view of violence
In the past year, the fear of terrorist violence has risen monumentally in America.
75% of Americans believe that terrorism is a critical issue in the U.S., according to a survey published by the Public Religion Research Institute.
This isn’t that surprising, considering that there have been 15 fatal acts of terrorism since 2011, according to the International Security Data Site.
Additionally, nearly half of Americans are worried that either their family members or themselves will be a victim of terrorism.
While terrorism is an issue, the actual numbers are not as drastic as we may believe.
There have been only 93 deaths from acts of terror in the U.S. since 9/11, according to the International Security Data Site.
45 of these deaths are a result of extreme jihadist, or Islamic military, action, and 48 deaths were from extreme right wing violence, like the 2015 Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting.
Additionally, there have been 18 terrorist attacks from right wing extremists, which is double the number of jihadist attacks.
However, the term “terrorist” is rarely applied to right wing violence.
Terrorism, according to the FBI, is an illegal act that “is calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion.”
However, people justify the actions of right wing extremists, either by using their motives or a claim of mental illness.
For example, no presidential candidate has called for a ban on white conservatives, even though members of this group have committed more acts of terror in America.
The idea is ridiculous, and it's equally so when it involves Muslims.
Generalizing entire cultures does not stop the extremist violence, but it does paint an incorrect and offensive picture of that culture, no matter the religion, ethnicity, or political beliefs.
When terrorism is only applied to extreme Islam, we wrongly believe that Islamic cultures are inherently more violent and the enemies of America’s culture.
Americans are more than twice as likely to say that Christian terrorists are not acting on behalf of their religion than they are for Muslims, according to the Public Religion Research Institute.
By separating Christianity from the violence its extremists cause, but not doing the same for Islam, we make Christianity seem superior and Islam violent and wrong.
This increases islamophobia and leads to hatred and discrimination.
In addition, making Americans fear an enemy that has been blown out of proportion is blocking us from seeing another issue that kills many more.
In 2015 alone, 52,803 gun violence incidents were reported in America, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
These incidents resulted in 13,371 deaths and 26,964 injuries, absurdly high in comparison to other countries.
A simple way to remedy this would be to gather a bit more information about the people who obtain guns, a system many other countries have adopted.
For example, Iceland requires that “a record of the acquisition, possession and transfer of each privately held firearm be retained in an official register”, according to global research from the University of Sydney.
Iceland also has one of the lowest violent crime rates in the world, despite being 14th on the list of countries with the highest gun ownership.
We don’t have to take away anyone’s Second Amendment Rights to decrease the homicide rate in America.
A small inconvenience to gun owners can stop citizens from being violently murdered.
Instead of exaggerating the threat of terrorism and using that threat to justify islamophobia while erasing the violent terrorism of right wing extremists, we must take a closer look at America’s gun problem and figure out how to improve the regulations and keep our citizens safe.
