According to statistics, the real threat to the United States does not lie in extremist terrorism but instead in white supremacy.
In June, the New York Times reported that nearly twice as many people had been killed by white supremacists and other extremists who are not Muslim as were killed by Muslim extremists. Furthermore, New America, a Washington Research center, found that 48 people have been killed by non-Muslim extremists, as compared to 26 by jihadist. However, those numbers do not include this week’s tragic shooting or other deaths such as the couple that murdered two police officers and left a Swastika on one body.
Although the data is clear, the public opinion has not yet turned to face the new threat. However, researchers have largely accepted the findings.
“There’s an acceptance now of the idea that the threat from jihadi terrorism in the United States has been overblown,” said Dr. John G. Horgan, who studies terrorism at the University of Massachusetts. “And there’s a belief that the threat of right-wing, antigovernment violence has been underestimated.”
However, it is clear that, until public perception changes and until the discussion of threats to the United States changes from a discussion of Muslim extremism to branch out to other, more present threats, the conversation will largely remain focused on jihadism, rather than white supremacy and other threats.