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Toxic Roots of Oregon Building Takeover

The re-imprisonment scheduled for Monday of two rural Oregon ranchers on arson charges was the catalyst, but not the cause of the armed takeover of federal property by anti-government protestors that began on Saturday.
Brian Levin, J.D.
By 

Director, Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, California State University

Director, Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, California State University
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Crosslisted Courtesy CNN

(CNN) The re-imprisonment scheduled for Monday of two rural Oregon ranchers on arson charges was the catalyst, but not the cause of the armed takeover of federal property by anti-government protestors that began on Saturday.

The incident is the latest symbol of distrust for what some perceive as an overarching and predatory government. It's a perception that resurfaced with the ascendancy of Barack Obama, but it actually dates back to the Whiskey Rebellion just after the Revolutionary War.

Back then, it was conflict over taxes, slavery, civil rights, and immigration, but in recent years the sentiments have expanded. Gay rights, abortion, gun control, environmental regulations and land use are issues not only of public debate in the mainstream, but in the extreme realm as well.
The Bureau of Land Management has been a prominent, if not hated, symbol for decades within the extreme volatile fringes of this blustery, but mostly non-violent anti-government movement.

Read the complete column at CNN Digital:

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