We Are All Domestic Terrorists

At the conservative conference CPAC in 2022, a digital banner reading, "We Are All Domestic Terrorists" scrolled over top the main stage as a panel with the same name was set to begin. The panel was ostensibly about the rise of far right extremism which the FBI has historically labeled the top threat in the nation. Ultimately, it resulted in this wild photo:

That was during the Biden administration, which—if you were to go by most right wing outlets’ recounting of those years—was a lawless period where we walked the desolate wasteland as Kamala Harris made everyone get gender reassignment surgery and declare their love for chairman Mao. In a nation full of mindless sheep, the Republicans were the truly woke ones, and the punishment for their bravery? Being labeled domestic terrorists by their own damn government. Can you imagine?

List of Normal People Trump Officials Have Directly Called a "Terrorist" On Record Without Actual Terrorism Charges Just This Month

• Renee Good (posthumously), for Driving a car near ICE agents
• Alex Pretti (posthumously), for Protecting a woman assaulted by ICE agents
• Nekima Levy Armstrong, for protesting a church with an ICE leader as a pastor
• Chauntyll Louisa Allen, for the same as Nekima
• William Kelly, for the same as Nekima
• Don Lemon (as in, former CNN reporter), for the same as Nekima (despite his initial charges being struck down by a judge, he was also arrested today)

List of Things the Trump Administration Has Directed the Department of Justice to Consider as "Potential Domestic Terrorism"

Per the White House's executive order regarding NSPM-7:

The Attorney General shall issue specific guidance that ensures domestic terrorism priorities include politically motivated terrorist acts such as...

• Doxxing
• "Rioting / Looting"
• Trespassing
• Assault
• Destruction of property
• Threats of violence
• "Civil disorder"

List of Things the Trump Administration Uses as Examples of "Violent and Terroristic Indicia"

• Anti-fascism
• Anti-capitalism
• Anti-Christianity
• Support for overthrowing the US Government (I mean come on, that's just being patriotic)
• "Extremism on migration, race, and gender"
• Hostility towards those who "hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality"

So Anyway

I dunno what those sections were all about, sorry. Just some random bullet points.

The Department of Homeland Security especially has been pushing the whole "domestic terrorist" thing more or less constantly. If you take a gander at any conservative discussion space, you'll see people referring to average US citizens as "terrorists" and "scum."

It makes this line from the executive order all the more facepalmy:

These [terrorism] campaigns often begin by isolating and dehumanizing specific targets to justify murder or other violent action against them.

I'm just a non-neutral observer. I have some skin in the game; namely my literal skin. But what I'm observing is our government casually branding US citizens as "terrorists" for protesting or having some opinions they don't like. Seemingly, tailored to retaliate against their perceived enemies.

And unfortunately, their perceived enemies include anyone who doesn't "hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality," whatever the fuck that means.

Maybe have less of a body count associated with your ideology and maybe don't have spent 50 years trying to overturn legal abortion access against the vast will of the nation and maybe people won't see you as conservative extremists idk