Domestic Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Domestic Terrorism - Essay Example In the movie, the Klans acts were terrorism. Terrorism means to cause terror. Burning crosses, throwing fire bombs into houses, and murdering civilians without a legal reason amounts to terrorism. The sole purpose of these acts were to drive fear into the Civil Rights activists and the African Americans in Mississippi. The reason for this terrorism was to force a frightened public, white or black, to accept Jim Crow laws in Mississippi. Compared to terrorism today, similarities can be seen. 9/11 was orchestrated by Osama bin Laden to cause fear in Americans by murdering civilians. Middle Eastern suicide bombers in Iraq, Israel, and Palestine kill civilians in an effort to scare the civilian population. These terrorists act to pressure civilians to pressure politicians to withdraw from territory, or other issues on their agenda. There is no difference from a terrorist today and a Ku Klux Klan member that acted in a terroristic way in the Civil Rights era. Terrorism is a crime, but there are differences in defining crime. For example, murder, extortion, kidnapping, and terrorism are crimes. Crime is an illegal activity. Terrorism is definitely a criminal activity. The reason the Civil Rights activist murders, fire burning, and the cross burning was terrorism is the Ku Klux Klans intention. Terrorisms goal is to create fear and panic. Sometimes it succeeds, or other times it has the opposite effect. The Ku Klux Klans terrorism in the Civil Rights era inspired resistance. I do not believe every Ku Klux Klan member was a terrorist. Only the ones who acted in a terroristic manner or committed a terroristic crime were terrorist. For example, Ku Klux Klan members who got together to speak on White Pride, burning crosses on their own property, or how much they hated African Americans are not committing crimes. As disgusting as it is, the First Amendment gives the right to free speech, even hate speech. Burning a cross on your