Paramilitary and Survivalist Groups

There are many different forms of militias and paramilitary

groups, whose membership and ideology often vary from, place to

place.  However, what most have in common, is their hatred for the

federal government.  In recent years, there have been far too many

violent acts done by these militias, seeking to prove their points to

the government, and the public at large.  They have threatened to

blow up power plants, government buildings, even the Hoover

Dam.  They hold many military exercises and are frequently in the

news.  There are many different things that support growth of these

groups.  Some of them have proved themselves to be extremely

dangerous, such as when Timothy McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma

City Federal Building, causing a mass catastrophe which killed 169

people, and severely injured many others.  Some of these groups

claim to be able to justify racism, hate, and even murder. 

Consequently, many questions are raised for the safety of the public.

Militias and paramilitary groups vary in philosophy based on

their geographic locations.  In the East and North East, these groups

are usually not racist.  Militia and paramilitary groups in this area

tend to believe in non-entity United Nations "conspiracies" and

"take-overs", and they are strong defenders of the Second

Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  They usually tend to be non-

violent, except in some cases, when they are protesting laws that

"lessen the strength" of the Second Amendment.  Thus these groups

are not as racist, but more intolerant of gun-laws.  In the mid-

western area, there are great numbers of militias and paramilitary

groups who feel very strongly about "anti-Christian" laws, or capital

issues like abortion.  Groups in this area are anti-abortionists, and

have right-winged beliefs surrounding similar major issues. 

They do not feel as strongly about gun-control, in contrast to the

beliefs of the Eastern-area militias.  In the western area, the militia

and paramilitary groups concentrate their efforts on "protecting"

their so-called "Christian" beliefs which, are "derived" from the

Bible, and seem to almost justify racism.  militias in this particular

area, especially in the Montana/Idaho region, tend to be very well

armed, because of less strict gun-laws and because of lower

populations.  As a result of lower populations, their are less street

crime, which is the primary reason for gun-laws.  The paramilitary

and militia groups in this area also concentrate their efforts on

expressing their outrage and resentment for the Waco and Ruby

Ridge incidents.  Consequently, they are probably the most

dangerous groups, as they not only have a great number of weapons

at their disposal, but also have a tangible reason to be angry at the

federal government (Junas 1-7).  Militias in the South are usually

very racist, and unlike the groups in the North, they are not very

tolerant of minorities or blacks in particular.  Groups in this area,

like the Ku Klux Klan, burn crosses in front of blacks homes, and

go out of their way to make life miserable for them.  In conclusion,

most members of paramilitary groups and militias in the South are

white, and extremely racist (Doe, Interview).  Since the ideals of

militias and paramilitary groups are so diverse based on the groups

locations, the only thing they really have in common, is that they

hate the federal government.

In addition to geography, there are other factors which affect

the way militias and paramilitary groups live, especially the way

these groups grow.  Technological advances are a key reason for

growth of these groups.  With fax machines, electronic bulletin

boards, and the Internet, these groups can now enroll many new

members.  When these advances were not around they expressed

their opinions the most by handing-out flyers in busy public areas

(Dees and Corcoran 87).  By preaching their beliefs of a coming

"New World Order", or "NWO" for short, these groups try to scare

people into becoming members of these organizations.  They also

claim that NAFTA, and other similar trade agreements are evidence

of the "NWO" (Morganthau 36-39).  Some organizations preach

that the coming of this "NWO" is evidence of the approaching

"End-Times", mentioned in the Bible (Dees and Corcoran 11). 

Possibly the largest reason for growth of militias and paramilitary

groups is gun control legislation which "interferes" with the Second

Amendment (Dees and Corcoran 73).  A great number of individual

gun-owners were angered into joining militias when the Brady-Bill

was passed, therefor "limiting" their Second Amendment rights

(Junas 1-7).  Finallymore   inconvenient public buildings, especially

airports and large federal buildings.  Most people would rather do

away with metal detectors, and other inconveniences, if it would

make their lives easier (Hubert and Delsohn A-1).  Some militias

and paramilitary groups, particularly those responsible for large

bombings, have been found to be "well-stocked" with all sorts of

weapons, detonators, and bombs.  When these particular groups

catch the federal government off-guard, there is a great possibility

for catastrophe (Evans 1-2).  Although most militias and

paramilitary groups are small, when compared to the federal

government, even when they are united, they may pose a threat to

the American public.  By using bombs and calling in bomb threats,

these groups have proven themselves to be dangerous to the public. 

They also, threaten the people of the United States, not  physically,

but with their conspiracy theories they make the democratic process

nearly unworkable, and impossible to execute.  Truly we would all

suffer if we did not live in a democracy.  Some of these groups can

be a serious threat to the U.S., but most of them are a threat to

democracy, which is by far, much worse (Evans 1-2). 

In addition to the physical threat of some militias and

paramilitary groups, there is another important issue surrounding

these groups.  Most of these groups have members which are made

up of entirely racist people, which claim to be able to justify racism

and hate of minorities.  There are two large types of these racist-

oriented militia groups.  There are those which claim to be listening

to "the word of God", and those which ramble of their fears of the

white race "dying off" some day.  The groups which feel that the

Bible, and "word of God" commands them to be racist, have a

primary belief.   The Bible mentions "the true Israelites", and "the

beasts of the field", and these racist paramilitary groups and militias

claim that the white race is the supreme race of "Israelites", and that

the minorities, and people of color, are "respectively", "the beasts of

the field" (Dees and Corcoran 10).  The groups which claim that the

white race is dying off, claim that a few Jewish bankers are secretly

controlling the UN  They have such far-fetched theories that most

people do not care to listen to them, which is the reciprocating

factor when they use violence to try to get the attention of the public. 

These groups, given the reason, could definitely be a threat to the

public (Dees and Corcoran 18).

There are differences in the beliefs of these groups, based on

where they are located.  There are multiple causes for the growth of

these groups.  These groups have proven themselves to be

dangerously threatening t democracy, although maybe not entirely

to the American public.  These groups feel that they can justify

racism through the Bible, or with their fears of the white race dying. 

They have caused mass catastrophes, and probably will continue to

in the future, unless something new is done to stop them.  Because

of this, many questions are raised for the safety of the public.