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Originally Posted by UGAalum94
What was the baseline level of right-wing extremism that we're comparing it to?
I think we've had a couple of really high profile cases here lately, certainly, but compared to the early 1990s with Waco, Ruby Ridge, and Oklahoma City. . .
I think the FBI is correct that the situation needs to be monitored because no level of extremist violence should be regarded as normal, but unless we really know what the data is, it's hard to make comparisons. So often we're at the mercy of the media in our perceptions of increases and decreases.
ETA: This is kind of a random question but do we not hear as much lately about left wing extremism because of political shifts and leftist being happier or because there's actually less of it? I don't mean that a crazy balance of "hey, there's been a holocaust attack we're reporting, let's find a terrorist animal rights story to balance it out" should be attempted, but are we actually experiencing fewer destructive acts by extreme, extreme left wingers because capitalism is looking so weak already? Does this stuff really swing back and forth opposition to where the locus of political power is on the spectrum?
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First, we can't put OKC on the same level as Ruby Ridge. I would consider Oklahoma City's tragedy as right-wing terrorism. Ruby Ridge, at its very basic summary, was government intrusion on private land.
I think there are fewer left-wing extremist activities, because the extreme right has more targets--people of color, gays, abortionists, etc. With the left, their terrorism is usually more environmental in nature. It's much more sexy to report on right-wing nutjobs bombing a gay bar than it is to write an article about animal rights activists "liberating" a lab, in part because of the attempts at death and injury.
But, I stand by my point that some segments of the extreme right don't know what to do with themselves now that gay marriage is becoming the law of the land in a growing number of states AND we have a black President.