Terrosim+Literature+Review

Literature Review  Sin ce 9/11 terrorism has become one of the most popular topics discussed  worldwide on a social and political level. There have been  many conversations that are centered on what qualifies as terrorism and how to combat it. The majority of these discussions are biased and use an “us” vs. ‘them” dichotomy that make it seem as though only foreigners, particularly of Middle Eastern descent, are  capable of enacting terror. Doing this largely ignores the growing domestic terrorism that is  taking place in the United States and creates a culture of xenophobia and fearmongering.

The ways in which certain groups of people are portrayed through societal conditioning and media contributes to this narrowed view of terrorism. Racial framing, a concept c reated by sociologist Joe Feagin, is the collection of racial ideas, stereotypes, images, emotions, and inclinations to discriminate. In America, along with the majority of w esternized countries, Middle Easterners are generalized as violent individuals who come from an uncivilized  culture. When people who are  of Middle Eastern descent commit terroristic acts they are seen  as further confirming this stereotype which a creates a greater stigma against other Middle Easterners. White Americans are often seen as individuals, so if an act of terror is committed <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">by someone of that background, such as the Charleston church shooting, it is seen as a crime that was committed <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">independently.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The media further fuels these ideas with the differences in how they report international terrorism and domestic terrorism. When discussing international terrorism the media creates a narrative where Middle Easterners/Muslims are “others” and they only seek to attack Americans due to jealo usly <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">over our freedoms. This ignores the fact that groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda mostly kill and injure people within their respective countries and that there have been US led interventions in Middle Eastern countries prior to 9/11 that have caused destruction to the region. Domestic terrorists are often depicted <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> as “lone w olfs <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">” who carry out violent acts due to isolation from society. Less emphasis is put <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> on any organizations this person might be a part of or ideologies that they had that might have influenced them <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and more is put on the individual mental health of the attacker. Contrary to this belief many of these act are encouraged by the far right organizations and leaders such as, Louis Beam, specifically tell their members to commit terroristic acts alone to appear isolated from any political motivation.

Works Cited <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Feagin, Joe R. 2011. Racial and Ethnic Relations. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gruenewald, Jeff, Steven Chermak, and Joshua D. Freilich. "Distinguishing “Loner” Attacks from Other Domestic Extremist Violence."//Criminology & Public Policy//. Criminology & <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pratt, Douglas. "Terrorism and Political Violence." //Taylor and Francis Online//. Taylor and Francis Online, 08 June 2010. Web. 01 Mar. 2017 . <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Zelizer, Barbie, and Stuart Allan. //Journalism after September 11//. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.