The Dangerous Rise of Left-Wing Terrorism

Throughout the Obama years, I’ve heard politicians and pundits proclaiming that the vast majority of domestic terrorism comes out of the political right. This always bothered me and seemed like a way for Obama’s administration to cover up and deflect charges of left-wing extremism and radical Muslim terrorism. But the truth is there is ample evidence of right-wing extremist terrorism out there.

Granted, these are fringe groups and individuals, just like pretty much any other terrorism. Generally speaking it is one bad actor taking out their anger on someone who represents what they disagree with. While there are plenty of right-wing extreme groups, they tend to be largely law-abiding.

But the historic truth is that regardless of which side of the political spectrum you look at, the more extreme elements tend towards violence. The KKK, inarguably the best-known white supremacist group in our country’s history, has a long and bloody history. While actually a movement which has been started and populated by Democrats, the popular perception today is that it is a far-right group.

In reality, if we are to call the KKK a right-wing group, it should be considered more of the alt-right, than true conservatism. But public perception and reality don’t always have much in common, especially when the media is working hard to present things in the light of their anti-right agenda.

Another historic truth is that the growth of these fringe groups is closely tied to the country’s politics. When conservatives are in office, left-wing fringe groups tend to rise. When liberals or progressives are in power, right-wing groups tend to. This is actually a natural result of living in a society which allows and even promotes freedom of speech. Those who are opposed to the direction the government is taking are more likely to gather together, seeking to make their voices heard.

During the time when former-President Obama was in office, right-wing extremism was on the rise, especially militias, like those who supported Clive Bundy when the BLM moved in on his ranch and started killing his cattle. Now that we have Donald Trump for president, the nation’s direction is shifting more conservative and we are seeing a rise in left-wing fringe groups.

But there are key differences between right-wing and left-wing extremist groups, in addition to their political philosophy. These differences most clearly manifest themselves in the tactics that the groups consider an acceptable and normal part of their actions.

This can perhaps be most easily seen in what happened at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. Various alt-right white supremacist groups gathered together to hold a peaceful protest. While many were armed and it was a member of that group who ultimately committed the most violent act, killing one and injuring 17 others, the overall purpose of the group was to gather for a march and rally; nothing more. They were armed because it was their habit to carry arms to defend themselves.

Since this was a public event and had been announced ahead-of-time, there was time for those on the left to react, and they did. Members of AntiFa groups gathered as well for a counter-protest, carrying shields, clubs and guns to confront the marchers, many of whom were also armed.

In this, we can see that there was a huge difference between the alt-right groups being armed and the AntiFa groups being armed. One group was armed to defend themselves, while the other group came with the intent of fostering a confrontation, and was armed for that confrontation.

Clearly, this was a recipe for disaster. Two highly emotional groups, from opposite ends of the political spectrum, both of which were armed, in the same place at the same time. It doesn’t matter who gave the first blow, all it took was a spark to create a full-scale riot. In the midst of this, one emotionally-charged member of the alt-right group got in his car and using it as a weapon attacked those on the left.

Let me say right now that most people on either the right or the left would have disagreed with what happened in Charlottesville. Those on the right were from the alt-right, and while the media often equates the two, true conservatives reject the alt-right for what it is, a splinter group which does not promote the principles of conservatism. While it may seem that more on the left are likely to side with AntiFa, than there are those on the right who would side with the white supremacists, they by no means make up the majority.

But this shows us something dangerous that is happening in this country right now; perhaps one of the most dangerous parts of the political division that this country seems to be embroiled in. That is, that we have extremist groups gaining ground on both extremes of the political spectrum. Those on the right, which formed during the Obama years, haven’t disbanded; while new groups are forming on the left.

Actually, AntiFa is not a new group, as there has been an anti-fascist movement ever since the NAZI party rose in power in Germany. But the AntiFa group of today bears little resemblance to the groups back then. Mostly, the difference comes from the left redefining what fascism is, using that word to describe almost anything on the right, just as they use the word “racist” against anyone and anything on the right.

The left has a long history of being anti-establishment. At one time, that was a large part of what it meant to be a liberal. But today, conservatives more closely meet this definition than those who call themselves liberal do. Then again, modern liberalism isn’t classic liberalism, it’s progressivism, which is a horse of an entirely different color.

Even so, they have maintained a few things that liberals have historically been known for; mostly a willingness to use violence as a means of “sending a message.” Groups like the Black Panthers and even environmental groups are well known for the violence they have fomented. Black Lives Matter (BLM), AntiFa, and Obama’s Organizing for Action all depend on violence as part of their playbook. In fact, workers hired by Organizing for Action are required to be personally involved in violent acts of protest to be paid.

We can clearly see this in the various “demonstrations” that are held by these left-wing groups. Ever since the demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri, which gave birth to the Black Lives Matter movement, each and every one of these events has turned violent. While an attempt is made to present these events as local, grass roots events and the violence as spontaneous expression of the local people, they are about as spontaneous as a ballet performance.

All of these left-wing groups are known for sending in people to “support” the local events. A large part of that support is to be the organizers and agitators who are pushing locals to commit acts of violence. Photographic evidence shows the people with the bullhorns, who are leading the chants, to be from the larger organization, not from the local one.

With what is going on behind the scenes, it is no wonder that there is a rise in these events or even that there is a rise in the violence at these events. That is intentional. The left understands the media concept of “if it bleeds, it leads” and are making good use of it, providing their accomplices in the media with stories that they can run and spin to their advantage.

While statistically left-wing terrorism hasn’t caught up to recorded right-wing terrorism, that’s more a statistical game than anything else. First of all, the only acts which are being counted in these statistics are ones in which people are killed. If a lone gunman kills someone of a different race and they can be proven to be conservative or Republican, that goes into the column of right-wing terrorist events. But if 200 BLM members burn buildings, overturn police cars, beat up innocent bystanders and destroy property, that isn’t counted, as long as nobody is killed.

The really noticeable difference between the recorded right-wing terrorist events and what is happening on the left is that the events recorded as right-wing terrorism are lone actor events, where one gunman kills one or two people. The events happening on the left involve dozens to hundreds of people.

What makes this even worse, is that the groups on the left are beginning to arm themselves. As we saw in Charlottesville, they showed up at the event ready to rumble. But the shields and clubs weren’t the worst of that, it was that they brought guns with them as well. They were ready to take on the white supremacists at any level necessary, in order to be victorious.

This trend towards being armed has reached the point where it is becoming obvious. In the past, almost all gun owners were conservatives. But today, there are more and more liberals who are becoming armed. There are even liberal militias forming, training and making public statements. While their level of training is nothing to be impressed with yet, that is nothing more than a matter of time.

The left’s propensity towards violence is clear. We see it in the actions of BLM and AntiFa. We saw it for years with the Black Panthers. We even see it with mass shootings, which are almost exclusively undertaken by people who identify themselves as being on the left. When leftists don’t get their way, they tend to resort to violence; and they do so en masse.

Is there a solution to this? Probably not. With most of the people on the left denying God and his moral law, there really isn’t much to hold them back, other than criminal law. But the mob mentality can easily eradicate the restraint which would normally keep people from risking criminal charges.

We could very well be headed for another civil war. But this one, if it comes, will be much worse than the previous one. In that one, sides were clearly drawn and identified by geography. The war was fought by organized armies, mostly fighting in open country, where there were few civilians to get in the way. But the next civil war will be fought in the streets of our cities, without uniforms, clearly defined armies or clearly defined battle lines. It will be much more dangerous for those who want to be left in peace.