30 August 2023
The Jacksonville shooter (whose name I shall not write) ultimately killed three innocent Black Americans at a Dollar General Store only after he was first spotted at nearby Edward Waters University (EWU).
As the shooter donned his bulletproof vest, some EWU students eyed what they believed to be a suspicious person.
The students at the Florida historically black institution immediately alerted a nearby security guard who approached the suspect near his car. Upon seeing the officer, the suspect fled in his car toward what would be his next target.
Had the cowardly shooter not turned the weapon on himself after killing three innocent Americans at the discount store, his first encounter at Edward Waters University would have been more than strong trial evidence that his plan was to kill Black Americans.
In plain language, the Jacksonville shooter was engaged in a terrorist plot.
“Terrorist” is defined (rather circularly) by Webster’s dictionary as
“relating to, or characteristic of terrorists or terrorism: practicing or involving violent acts of terror.”
The key to the definition is that terrorism involves acts of violence.
One might imagine one of the definitional requirements of terrorism would be the use of violence to achieve political or cultural objectives, but Webster’s ignores this element.
But, we know from our recent history, terrorism can be simple violence calculated to induce fear and terror in its victims — and its victims are most often those who are identifiable and insular — those who are either vulnerable minorities or protected class members.
This is a pattern that is clear from the racist massacres dating from the era of post-Civil War Reconstruction until last week in Jacksonville.
But had these recent incidents been perpetrated by any identifiable non-American, this nation would have acted swiftly to prevent future atrocities through passage of anti-terrorism legislation and would have appropriated funds for both the FBI and DOJ to investigate and prosecute them “to the full extent of the law.”
Instead, in the wake of the repeated attacks, national and local politicians recite a litany of delay and denial mixed with indifferent thoughts and belated prayers about the deaths of their fellow countrymen and women.
Instead it is past time to act.
They must denominate these clockwork-like acts of violence as real terrorism; and, in doing so must both legislate and appropriate the resources necessary to prevent them.
But to do this they must first confront a hard truth — the truth that the most dangerous terrorists in our midst are other Americans: mainly radicalized young white Americans who seek to kill and terrorize their own neighbors — Americans who are Jewish, Black or Hispanic.
The same fervor to fight terror which once spread across all spheres of politics after 9/11 seems to have evaporated in the last half decade once the incidence of terror evolved to acts against Americans by other Americans.
But that doesn’t change the state of reality.
As the founder John Adams once said: “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
Despite our own inclinations, the facts and evidence demand we address the problem where it exists.
We need to stop terrorism where it arises. And that is the threat of terrorism in our own front yard.
Albert Turner Goins Sr. lives in White Bear Lake.