Essay/Term paper: Paramilitary and survivalist groups

Essay, term paper, research paper:  History Essays

Paramilitary and Survivalist Groups


There are many different forms of militias and paramilitary groups,
whose membership and ideology often vary from, place to place. However, what
most have in common, is their hatred for the federal government. In recent
years, there have been far too many violent acts done by these militias,
seeking to prove their points to the government, and the public at large. They
have threatened to blow up power plants, government buildings, even the Hoover
Dam. They hold many military exercises and are frequently in the news. There
are many different things that support growth of these groups. Some of them
have proved themselves to be extremely dangerous, such as when Timothy McVeigh
bombed the Oklahoma City Federal Building, causing a mass catastrophe which
killed 169 people, and severely injured many others. Some of these groups
claim to be able to justify racism, hate, and even murder. Consequently, many
questions are raised for the safety of the public.

Militias and paramilitary groups vary in philosophy based on their
geographic locations. In the East and North East, these groups are usually not
racist. Militia and paramilitary groups in this area tend to believe in non-
entity United Nations "conspiracies" and "take-overs", and they are strong
defenders of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. They usually tend
to be non-violent, except in some cases, when they are protesting laws that
"lessen the strength" of the Second Amendment. Thus these groups are not as
racist, but more intolerant of gun-laws. In the mid-western area, there are
great numbers of militias and paramilitary groups who feel very strongly about
"anti-Christian" laws, or capital issues like abortion. Groups in this area
are anti-abortionists, and have right-winged beliefs surrounding similar major
issues. They do not feel as strongly about gun-control, in contrast to the
beliefs of the Eastern-area militias. In the western area, the militia and
paramilitary groups concentrate their efforts on "protecting" their so-called
"Christian" beliefs which, are "derived" from the Bible, and seem to almost
justify racism. militias in this particular area, especially in the
Montana/Idaho region, tend to be very well armed, because of less strict gun-
laws and because of lower populations. As a result of lower populations, their
are less street crime, which is the primary reason for gun-laws. The
paramilitary and militia groups in this area also concentrate their efforts on
expressing their outrage and resentment for the Waco and Ruby Ridge incidents.
Consequently, they are probably the most dangerous groups, as they not only
have a great number of weapons at their disposal, but also have a tangible
reason to be angry at the federal government (Junas 1-7). Militias in the
South are usually very racist, and unlike the groups in the North, they are not
very tolerant of minorities or blacks in particular. Groups in this area,
like the Ku Klux Klan, burn crosses in front of blacks homes, and go out of
their way to make life miserable for them. In conclusion, most members of
paramilitary groups and militias in the South are white, and extremely racist
(Doe, Interview). Since the ideals of militias and paramilitary groups are so
diverse based on the groups locations, the only thing they really have in
common, is that they hate the federal government.

In addition to geography, there are other factors which affect the way
militias and paramilitary groups live, especially the way these groups grow.
Technological advances are a key reason for growth of these groups. With fax
machines, electronic bulletin boards, and the Internet, these groups can now
enroll many new members. When these advances were not around they expressed
their opinions the most by handing-out flyers in busy public areas (Dees and
Corcoran 87). By preaching their beliefs of a coming "New World Order", or
"NWO" for short, these groups try to scare people into becoming members of
these organizations. They also claim that NAFTA, and other similar trade
agreements are evidence of the "NWO" (Morganthau 36-39). Some organizations
preach that the coming of this "NWO" is evidence of the approaching "End-
Times", mentioned in the Bible (Dees and Corcoran 11). Possibly the largest
reason for growth of militias and paramilitary groups is gun control
legislation which "interferes" with the Second Amendment (Dees and Corcoran 73).
A great number of individual gun-owners were angered into joining militias
when the Brady-Bill was passed, therefor "limiting" their Second Amendment
rights (Junas 1-7). Finallymore inconvenient public buildings, especially
airports and large federal buildings. Most people would rather do away with
metal detectors, and other inconveniences, if it would make their lives easier
(Hubert and Delsohn A-1). Some militias and paramilitary groups, particularly
those responsible for large bombings, have been found to be "well-stocked" with
all sorts of weapons, detonators, and bombs. When these particular groups
catch the federal government off-guard, there is a great possibility for
catastrophe (Evans 1-2). Although most militias and paramilitary groups are
small, when compared to the federal government, even when they are united, they
may pose a threat to the American public. By using bombs and calling in bomb
threats, these groups have proven themselves to be dangerous to the public.
They also, threaten the people of the United States, not physically, but with
their conspiracy theories they make the democratic process nearly unworkable,
and impossible to execute. Truly we would all suffer if we did not live in a
democracy. Some of these groups can be a serious threat to the U.S., but most
of them are a threat to democracy, which is by far, much worse (Evans 1-2).

In addition to the physical threat of some militias and paramilitary
groups, there is another important issue surrounding these groups. Most of
these groups have members which are made up of entirely racist people, which
claim to be able to justify racism and hate of minorities. There are two large
types of these racist-oriented militia groups. There are those which claim to
be listening to "the word of God", and those which ramble of their fears of the
white race "dying off" some day. The groups which feel that the Bible, and
"word of God" commands them to be racist, have a primary belief. The Bible
mentions "the true Israelites", and "the beasts of the field", and these racist
paramilitary groups and militias claim that the white race is the supreme race
of "Israelites", and that the minorities, and people of color, are
"respectively", "the beasts of the field" (Dees and Corcoran 10). The groups
which claim that the white race is dying off, claim that a few Jewish bankers
are secretly controlling the UN They have such far-fetched theories that most
people do not care to listen to them, which is the reciprocating factor when
they use violence to try to get the attention of the public. These groups,
given the reason, could definitely be a threat to the public (Dees and Corcoran
18).

There are differences in the beliefs of these groups, based on where
they are located. There are multiple causes for the growth of these groups.
These groups have proven themselves to be dangerously threatening t democracy,
although maybe not entirely to the American public. These groups feel that
they can justify racism through the Bible, or with their fears of the white
race dying. They have caused mass catastrophes, and probably will continue to
in the future, unless something new is done to stop them. Because of this,
many questions are raised for the safety of the public.