The Forgotten Terrorists
We have foreign based terrorists which we spend billions trying to identify and eradicate, a necessary if unfortunate use of our nation’s time and resources. Next we have domestic terrorists which we also have expended a tremendous amount of energy and resource to locate and eradicate before they can do harm, or capture after the fact if that is the unfortunate circumstance. We have, in my opinion, left out a major group of terrorists, and for an unforgivable reason. That reason as unthinkable as it might be is because 99% of their terrorism is directed at a segment of American society we do not care about, so do not attach any importance to it as a nation, but leave local law enforcement to deal with it, a force hampered by scarce manpower, available resources, and restricted by laws designed to protect the average citizen and not to combat terrorism. These groups of terrorists are commonly known as gangs. They are prevalent throughout the world, but thrive in a country which is supposed to be the champion of the oppressed. So why is a huge and organized group of individuals who murder, bomb, kill innocents to intimidate rivals or law enforcement, and who support these activities with gun and drug smuggling, kidnapping and slave trade, the slave trade which consists mainly of young girls sold for sex, not classified as terrorists by the federal government? A group who has killed more innocent people in the U.S. than the most successful of terrorists! Who smuggle in more arms and drugs into this country every day than any labeled terrorist cell or organization so that their reign of terror can be continued unabated. Some gangs are organized nationwide, they run our prisons from within, and control large areas of our cities through bribes, intimidation, murder, drug addiction, prostitution, and all out war to attain their objectives. Yet we nationally do nothing except to offer up empty promises prior to reelection campaigns! Why, because these atrocities are primarily aimed at a segment of our population we do not care about, people who have no advocates, no resources to fight back. Our attitude seems to be, let them kill each other off, than there will be less for us to have to worry about. Shame on you, shame on me!
Gangs in America are and should be classified as domestic terrorists. Federal backing and the FBI should be out in full force backing up local law enforcement to crack down on these terrorist cells in every city in our country. The laws that have been changed to allow us to more effectively combat terrorism should automatically be applied to any gang member. Troops should be employed to stop any gang war, track down and capture any known gang members. It should be made clear that becoming a member of a gang or participating in gang activities automatically makes you a domestic terrorist and a fugitive from federal justice. As I said, gangs murder more people, smuggle in more drugs and illegal weaponry than the most prolific of recognized domestic terrorists! Huge segments of American populations are subjected to living in fear and hopelessness, much the same as people living in Afghanistan, who were and still are to a large degree terrorized by the Taliban. We champion their cause, so why do we leave huge segments of our own society at the mercy of groups of individuals who fit perfectly into the mold of terrorists? Apathy and a concerted effort by most of us to forget these populations ever existed is most probable. The unforgiveable truth is that the poor do not get the same protections as the affluent in America. Politicians only care long enough to garner votes, then a thin pretense of caring, but no time or energy spared for a group that cannot contribute to the coffers of their continued success as a politician. Politicians only represent themselves and the party that supports them, no one else unless they have a lobbyist who is backed by a lot of available revenue! So the most prolific terrorists on the planet are ignored by state and federal politicians because their targets are people who have little effect on whether or not they are successful, and for all the reasons listed in this article, a shameful yet true fact about America. All gangs, in all cities, big or small, should be labeled terrorist by the federal government and be targeted as intensely as any terrorist organization on the planet. The fact that we have not already done so points out that we are not the America we purport to be, we are actually supporting a terrorist organization by allowing it to thrive within our borders, one of the largest and most prolific domestic terrorist organizations to ever exist! We are not the only governments guilty of such a crime, and for exactly the same reasons. Until we get politicians who are asked to represent the people instead of themselves, their party, and large lobbying entities, we are doomed as a country. We will never solve poverty, hunger, inner city crime, or terrorism. The gap between the privileged and the underprivileged will get larger and larger until we will not be able to describe ourselves as a democracy. I think the advent of ignored terrorism is the best example that what I say is fact. We have to vote anyone out of office that twists facts, is not transparent, who takes anything from lobbyists, who wheels and deals in the backrooms of congress, who in short is disconnected from the population he or she is supposed to represent. The politicians need to know these are the reasons we are not voting for them. We the people still outnumber the rich and powerful as a voting block, even though they are the only ones actually being represented by our politicians. We have to get rid of the electoral vote; in this day and age its only value is for its ability to remove the power of our votes. It was initially instituted because huge segments of the population were illiterate, isolated, and uninformed. In this day and age with everyone who can walk and talk having or owning a worldwide communication device, the need for the electoral vote does not exist. When this is abolished only those individuals who we actually vote for can come to office. We then need to act as one and steadfastly remove from office those that represent any entity except we the people. I guaranty you that gangs will then be addressed as a major threat to national security and the security of its citizens, as it will be those citizens in control of their representatives in an actual true democracy. It is all up to us, we can’t wait for someone else to do it. We also need candidates willing to run on such a platform, and stand by it after elected, so we can show our support for such an individual, even though they might only have enough money for one commercial at election time, we need to look at the record and vote accordingly, not be swayed by lies, twisted truths, and outright misrepresentations of the facts in use by all political ads televised or in print in our modern society! In other words we cannot be lazy voters; our citizenship has to be the most important product of our American life. If not, we get just what we deserve, which is what we are getting now!
Written by John Love
Former Marine and Viet Nam Vet with two Tours of Duty
John.love@live.com I fought for it, still haven’t got it, don’t want to say that about our boys serving today!
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