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While we need to learn about extremist white supremacist groups like those that the shooter, Wade Michael Page, belonged to, it is equally important that we understand the ways in which racism is, and always has been, a part of mainstream America. The targets of white supremacist terror may change (or expand) over time—with Sikhs, Muslims, and other immigrants bearing the brunt lately—but let us not forget that this country was built through violent colonial conquest, justified by a deep-seated ideology of white superiority. Indeed, racist violence has been central to this country since its inception, from the genocide of indigenous nations and the enslavement of Africans, to the thousands of lynchings in the South and the “massive resistance” movement against civil rights that took its toll in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed four black girls.
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Smart, powerful and important writing from Sonny Singh in the article, Soul Searching for the Roots of White Supremacist Terror in the United States following the shooting in Oak Creek, WI.
Another great quote:
Why do we Sikhs have to assert our patriotic credibility at a time like this? Why do we have to explain that we are a peaceful people? We, who have just been the victims of a white supremacist murderous rampage. We, who have been in this country for over one hundred years. We, who were born to stand up for the oppressed and overthrow the tyrant.
