America is sitting on a powder keg

The prolonged but so far peaceful stand-off between a militia group and federal authorities in the US state of Oregon has triggered renewed accusations of racism and double standards in American law enforcement.

On Saturday an anti-government protest by a group of ranchers escalated into an armed take-over of a building in a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon. The militia group, calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, is protesting against prison sentences handed to two ranchers convicted of arson in the refuge. 

Fellow Americans unimpressed by their exploits have dubbed the militiamen “domestic terrorists”, mocking them on the social media with hashtags such as #YallQaeda, #YeeHawsdists and #VanillaISIS. Others claim that mainstream US media are giving the all-white anti-government militia the kind of favourable coverage that would never be extended to black protesters seizing federal property.

Critics are claiming that the group members are effectively shielded by the colour of their skin. “The white skin of the armed men and women who’ve taken over the federal property serves as a powerful force-field protecting them from the shoot-first-ask-questions-later style of law enforcement that permeates communities of colour every day,” civil-rights activist Shaun King wrote in the New York Daily News. An article on the Salon news website also noted that the US government and its agents seemed more likely to use violence against black people than against whites. The critic said the Oregon incident “clearly showed racial inequity” operating in American society.

It’s also been pointed out, however, that the authorities likely fear repeating mistakes made in the 1993 stand-off with a religious cult in Waco, Texas. That siege ended in a gunfight, a flood of teargas and a fire that killed more than 80 people.

The Oregon affair underscores two issues that are the focus of heated debate in the US – the racial divide and the constitutional right to bear arms.

Barack Obama, the first African-American elected president, has been unable to do much about either problem. He has repeatedly called for tougher gun controls in the wake of murderous shooting sprees and he has expressed sorrow over notorious cases of police violence against African-American citizens. But those messages have met with stoic intransigence and fierce opposition from politicians, gun owners and law-enforcement agencies.

The racial divide will continue to be a serious source of tension in American society as long as non-white minorities feel they are not being treated fairly. And that perception is deep-seated and long-standing, its verity proved by decades of credible evidence. Such double standards can only be combated if US authorities admit to the problem and then work with the public to resolve it. The alternative is to allow the sense of persecution and feelings of resentment to fester, which can only lead to greater social discord and violence.

Complaints about the racial divide in the US have become increasingly louder, while the ease with which civilians can gain access to firearms is a major factor in the frequency of deadly shooting sprees. 

American authorities need to act now in order to prevent the loss of more innocent lives and an intensification of social unrest.