Surveillance of whole populations weakens democracy while failing to prevent terror

Evidence

One does not need a Ph.D. in sociology or psychology to see that this is an inherently racist behavioral model fraught with double standards. For instance, the same kind of surveillance does not take place in white Christian communities, even though white supremacist terrorist organizations have long existed in the United States. A DHS report released in 2009 cautioned against violence by white supremacist groups: “The threat posed by lone wolves and small terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years. In addition, the historical election of an African American president and the prospect of policy changes are proving to be a driving force for rightwing extremist recruitment and radicalization.” The report also names the recession and economic insecurity as factors that spur the growth of domestic terrorism. One of the key differences between the DHS report and the aforementioned NYPD report is that race, gender, and religion are incidental to the DHS’s analysis. While it speaks about the anti-black, anti-immigrant, xenophobic, and pro-gun politics of white supremacist groups, it fails to make the leap to the conclusion that there is a four-step process of radicalization that begins with a person simply being a white Christian male. Naturally, there is no program to infiltrate white Christian communities to see how these dangerous men eat, worship, play, or shop. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 487 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Secrecy about surveillance lists creates chronic uncertainty and vulnerability for Muslim citizens — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 276; Mass surveillance based on racial stereotypes weakens democracy without preventing terrorism.; Covert framing of Muslim surveillance as anti-terrorism suppressed public protest (+7 more)

Related

• Surveillance targets Muslims while ignoring white supremacist militias (similarity 0.90)
• Terrorism declined while mass shootings rose, yet only Muslims faced surveillance (similarity 0.90)
• Mass surveillance based on racial stereotypes weakens democracy without preventing terrorism. (similarity 0.88)
• Racialized group surveillance weakens democracy and expands state power (similarity 0.83)
• Mass state surveillance laws target white citizens and Muslims with unequal public scrutiny (similarity 0.82)
• White supremacist violence is analyzed without racial profiling theories. (similarity 0.81)
• The War on Terror racialized Muslim bodies to justify their surveillance (similarity 0.81)
• Religious practices get reframed as security threats justifying citizen surveillance (similarity 0.81)
• Racializing Muslims as threats sustains a surveillance state with gendered effects (similarity 0.81)
• NYPD’s anti-Muslim surveillance produced zero terrorism leads over six years (similarity 0.80)
• Support for a targeted minority doubles as surveillance and control of that minority (similarity 0.80)
• The government actively recruits Muslim Americans to police their own communities for extremism. (similarity 0.80)
• Surveillance makes citizens feel citizenship confers no protection (similarity 0.80)
• Surveillance derives from country-of-origin priority lists that racialize Muslim identity (similarity 0.80)
• Surveillance justified by religious identity constitutes racialization of Muslims (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Covert framing of Muslim surveillance as anti-terrorism suppressed public protest #expands (0.60)
• Terrorism declined while mass shootings rose, yet only Muslims faced surveillance #expands (0.60)
• Surveillance targets Muslims while ignoring white supremacist militias #expands (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 487
• Islamophobia undermines democracy by manufacturing fear and manufactured consent. #corroborates (0.55) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 635
• The War on Terror racialized Muslim bodies to justify their surveillance #expands (0.50) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 29
• Drone warfare deactivates the democratic critique rooted in exposable lives #expands (0.50)