As detailed in my Nov. 24, 2017, article for The Epoch Times, titled “Bigotry, Prejudice, Racism: America’s Toxic Virus,” a virus proliferated by hate is infecting our country.
In the article, I argued that President Abraham Lincoln reflected the dignity of the presidential office. He responded to another virus, that produced the Civil War, through his character, ethics, and leadership. The article stressed that “these virtues are once again critical for America, as a new virus, propagated by bigotry, prejudice, and racism is now infecting the nation.”
Lincoln’s words and actions must now resonate throughout every generation of those privileged to call America home. His call to “heal the wounds of the nation and restore it” has lessons to be applied to the hate expressed through groups including white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan.
FBI, DHS Warned of Threats
Months before the violence was unleashed on Aug. 12 in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulting in the tragic loss of innocent life and senseless injuries, members of the intelligence community gave warning to an emerging threat.
IA Joint Intelligence Bulletin (JIB) dated May 10, 2017, provided “insight into the targeting preferences of white supremacist extremists and the state of white supremacist extremism in the United States.”
The JIB report also details that white supremacist extremists were responsible for 49 homicides in 26 attacks from 2000 to 2016, more than any other domestic extremist movement.
Firearms were used in most of these lethal incidents, which were typically mass casualty attacks.
The report also punctuates that racial minorities were the primary victims of these attacks.
