Las Vegas shooting shows that right-wing domestic terrorism still not taken seriously

Why would anyone with anti-government and white supremacist inclinations target police officers, who would seem to be their “natural” allies? Let’s face it: Police spend most of their time finding ways to keep minorities off the street—one way or another—and make the world safe for white people. For most anti-government types, federal enforcement of civil rights for minorities against abuses from discrimination has always been part of the “problem” with this country. 

But the blonde-haired Jared and Amanda Miller—who carried out their own personal “revolution” in killing two Las Vegas police officers and a man (initially described by the media as a woman) inside a Wal-Mart, before almost botching a murder/suicide pact—apparently viewed police as a tool of the government, enforcing laws that went against the grain of “survival of the fittest,” meaning, of course, people that fit in the white supremacist/neo-Nazi fantasy. After draping the dead officers with a “Don’t tread on me” serpent cloth, the pair left a Nazi flag; although it was mendaciously surmised that this latter was merely how they viewed the government, other Nazi-type regalia was found in their apartment. 

I don’t buy the claim that Amanda Miller was merely a “follower” of a man who espoused wild conspiracy theories, as suggested by her defensive father; she was doubtless just as much a racist and anti-government nutcase as her husband was. They certainly acted in the “Bonnie and Clyde” tradition, and while there is some question whether Bonnie Parker actually killed anyone, this “Bonnie” was a cold-blooded killer, shooting one officer point-blank in the back of the head as he was refilling a soft-drink cup, and then engaging in a brief shoot-out with the second officer, mortally wounding him. 

Given this circumstance, one may actually question who was the one wearing the “pants” in this duo—much like Vicki Weaver, who prior to the 1992 shoot-out with ATF agents on the relatively “mild-mannered” anti-government militant Randy Weaver’s outpost in Ruby Ridge, Idaho,  warned--both verbally and in writing--of her support of "armed intervention" against the feds, and a willingness to die for their "cause." One should not forget that the Weavers did befriend and avow the beliefs of the white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups Aryan Nations and The Order--again soft-pedaled and even denied by the media and their supporters--which had carried out many murders, bombings and robberies in prior years. They were no "innocents."

The Millers were certainly an “eccentric” pair as far as white supremacist/anti-government types go (the two “ideologies” are typically inseparable with these people), although their apparently frequent appearances in Halloween garb—as The Joker and Harley Quinn—is probably no more “strange” than the pair who they apparently “idolized,” the Columbine High School killers, who were initially identified by the media (incorrectly) of being associated with a clique known as the “Trench Coat Mafia.” One must say that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, unlike others of their ilk, seem to be virtually alone as an “inspiration” to other mass shooters, at least to the youthful set; their stated “plan”—to blow-up the school cafeteria, killing as many as 500 students, and following it up by a 9-11 style attack—was certainly the kind of grandiosity to “encourage” minds that have not yet fully formed a sense of reality.

While the Millers’ anti-government views are not “uncommon,” when one throws racism into the mix—and people who live in their apartment building noted that they were “fond” of letting them know about their inclinations in this regard—the evil becomes particularly pernicious. Then throw in a gun collection which they were “proud” of, and then allegedly being thrown off the Cliven Bundy ranch (the fanatic who “coincidentally” chose to defy the law on paying grazing fees on government land when Bill Clinton was elected president) for espousing too “violent” views; one may find this odd, since Bundy supporters are threatening violence to keep federal agents off “his” land.

It has been noted by others that there has been a great “disparity” in the way the media and law enforcement deals with domestic and foreign terrorists. The Millers were not the first domestic terrorists to openly espouse their intentions to kill people based on their ideology, yet no one took this “seriously”; their neighbors are only talking about this knowledge after the fact. Unlike left-wing “terrorist” groups of recent memory, like the Weather Underground, property—not people—are the targets, with right-wing hate groups there is no “victory” unless people actually die. And most of the people are affiliated with a neo-Nazi or white supremacist group, yet save for the efforts of the Southern Poverty Law Center, law enforcement—whether local or federal—almost examine their involvement. 

This has to change. Ignoring the danger of right-wing domestic terrorists only aids their aim to turn this country into a wasteland of feral chaos which they intend to “control.”