An uncomfortable parallel
   
    As events this past Saturday continued to transpire, I noticed that the word "terrorism" was being used by more and more people. From my own vantage point this seems pretty accurate, and from what I was able to ascertain from reports, it certainly does fit the definition of terrorism, assuming that I and most observers correctly understand what acts of violence constitute "terrorism" under our legal definitions.
    As this (correct, in my view) narrative continued to be assumed, one very important question continued to elude me. It is no secret that when the average American hears the word "terrorism", he or she usually thinks of an act perpetrated by Muslims from the Middle East, rather than domestic acts committed by white Americans. Acknowledging this (and putting aside the question of what President Trump should or should not have said and when), when the media's descriptions of the groups commonly referred to as the "Alt Right" were aired, I couldn't help but notice the parallels between these entities and ISIS. And this begs the question: do the people who join such groups have similar motivations?
    I then looked to see if there were any articles online anywhere that discussed the parallels between the Alt-Right and Isis. I found an article from May 18 in New York Magazine by Alice Marwick and Becca Lewis titled "The Online Radicalization We're Not Talking About." The article hits on the parallels between the Alt-Right and ISIS, including the similarity between the types of people the two groups most successfully recruit; namely: young men who are socially isolated and looking for answers.
    The point was made abundantly clear on Saturday in Charlotesville when a man who fits this description used his vehicle to commit an ISIS-like attack on a group of people protesting, among other things, in disagreement with his racial ideology. In the coming weeks and months, we are likely to learn more about this individual and his level of isolation, and how and why he came to attach himself to the Alt-Right. (Marwick and Lewis)
    The more we learn about this individual and other individuals who involve themselves in the Alt-Right, the parallels with ISIS are likely to become more and more apparent, if they are not already. However, this will raise many important questions about what to do and what not to do in combating these organizations Marwick and Lewis note that "given the similarities between far-right and Islamic radicalization, it’s worth examining the efforts by political scientists and counter-terrorism experts to combat the latter. They recommend staying away from heavy content moderation (which fuels accusations of censorship), and instead crafting and spreading messages that speak to young men’s alienation and disenfranchisement, without using scapegoats." (Marwick and Lewis)
    Another important question to ask is the most effective narrative to  use when attempting to counter the narrative of the Alt Right or ISIS. It is no secret that many counter-terrorism experts recommend downplaying the Islamic nature of ISIS and other similar groups in order to not dignify them. It is important that we ask how that method transfers to groups such as the Alt-Right. Many have observed that inflammatory rhetoric towards Muslims in the middle east only makes it easier for groups such as ISIS to recruit. It is also not difficult to find inflammatory rhetoric expressed towards those very demographics that the Alt-Right draws from.
    It is important to gain a better understanding of how and if the Alt-Right recruits individuals to join their cause. The distinction between the Alt-Right and more established Hate Groups seems fluid at best. However, insomuch as there is a distinction between the two of them, it is important that it does not go unacknowledged, or else phenomena may get conflated which are distinctive. For example, several people have opined on the phenomenon of White Nationalists using Christianity to justify their acts, which supposedly draws a religious parallel with ISIS. While this may very well exist, it is less prominent with "white nationalist" type groups than it is with groups that are identified as "Christian Identity" groups.(splc.org) However, insomuch as there is a religious motivation behind some who embrace white nationalism, it is important that this narrative be countered.

http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/05/the-online-radicalization-were-not-talking-about.html
https://www.splcenter.org/issues/hate-and-extremism