A perspective on terrorism

Article

Do Muslims Commit Most U.S. Terrorism Attacks?

Summary

The Libertarian publication Reason cites a Georgia State University study into U.S. terror attacks and media coverage that found -

1. Of the 89 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in the last five years, 11 were perpetrated by Muslims
2. Those 11 attacks generated 44% of the media coverage on the 89 incidents
3. Eighteen of the 89 attacks were against Muslims

Quote

"Your risk of being killed in a jihadist terror attack in the last 15 years amounted to roughly 1 in 2,640,000. Even if you stretch the period back to include 9/11, the risk would still just have been 1 in 110,000. Your lifetime risk of dying in a lightning strike is 1 in 161,000, and your chance of being killed in a motor vehicle crash is 1 in 114. Given that our government has already squandered more than $500 billion on homeland security, while encroaching on our liberties, it is vital that Americans keep the threat of terrorism in perspective." 

Understanding

The New York Times published an article Sunday, "One Nation Under Fox," that chronicled 18 hours of programming on the popular TV network last Thursday. The Times found that the amount of coverage Fox news anchors, program hosts, reporters and commentators gave "radical, Islamic terrorism"  was disproportionately greater than other mainstream news sources.

Why do we vilify others and fear phantom threats? What need in us does this stereotyping and anxiety fulfill? Divisiveness and violence will persist until we understand why we create and perpetuate the bogeyman. Identifying how the terrorist, the immigrant and the ni**er satisfy a need in our character is how the healing will begin.

We have created the other for some purpose, to solve some problem. Can we find a different solution?