Survivalist Groups

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
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
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