It’s no secret that terrorism has been on the rise the last twenty plus years. The use of violence to incite fear on a large scale became widespread, and so did the many means of doing so. School shootings, bombings, and kidnappings have all been tactics used to incite fear in different groups of people. Most recently, vehicles, specifically cars, have been utilized in the killing of crowds of people. While intentions may have remained the same, methods of doing so have always been changing. This leads to the question:why cars?
Divvying these acts of violence into three categories of overgeneralization, vehicle based terrorism is most often perpetrated by Jihadi/Muslim extremists, male/white-supremicists, and anti-Muslim radicals. By the numbers, these three groups have committed the most terror attacks and are subsequently known for their atrocities by these trademarks. According to The Guardian In June 2017, three assailants connected to The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant drove a van across the London Bridge, killing 11 and injuring 48. In response to the attack less than 20 days later, out of frustration and hatred, a man drove a van into the Muslim Welfare house killing 1 and injuring 11. In an investigation after the attack, everyone’s suspicions were confirmed. These were targeted response attacks. According to the Global Terrorism Database Since 2002, we’ve seen nearly 26 different vehicle attacks by Jihadi/Muslim terrorists, with 6 anti-Muslim attacks mostly in response.
We grow as a society when we recognize things for what they are. After 9/11 our country recognized the open threat that a lack of air security allowed, deploying the TSA to airports across the nation. When we recognize breaches of security, we patch them. So why haven’t we deployed vehicle preventive barriers everywhere? Most recently, on Bourbon Street New Year’s Eve, such barriers were nowhere to be found. According to The Associated Press, The New Orleans city government was fixing their barrier columns on one of the busiest streets on the busiest day of the year, besides Mardi Gras. These attacks are easily preventable, the Magdeburg Christmas market had a blockade in place, yet refused to close off or block an Emergency vehicle exit. When someone wants to enter, any point of access is a hole in security.
Blockades of metal bollards, this is how we prevent vehicle attacks. At the rate these incidents are happening, it’s shocking that so many crowded open areas have zero protection from incoming traffic or other vehicles. As fast as bullets travel, and as far as bombs spread, getting out of the way of a moving vehicle is just as if not more difficult. Highways are full of cars not guns, we as Americans have become a little too comfortable with how close we are to these giant pieces of moving metal.
The pipeline to committing violent acts of terrorism is usually gradual. The rise of online spaces and social media allows for dangerous ideology to spread rapidly to people who are completely unaffiliated with the source. In cases such as the deadly attack on New Year’s Day in New Orleans, the perpetrator was not directly linked with known terrorist organizations, but he had stated that groups such as ISIS were an inspiration to him, and pledged his allegiance to the Muslim state. This man was most likely exposed to radical ideologies online and empathised with their cause. In cases such as these, the perpetrators usually have not been contacted by the terrorist groups they are emulating, they are under no direction except for their own will. Some of these attacks appear to be attempts to get terrorist organizations to recognize them. A sense of belonging is a very large motivator, and in terror groups where everyone has a shared ideology, those who commit these attacks often want to be a part of the faction.
Individuals who commit terror attacks under the direction of a larger terrorist group usually have a much clearer path. In a study published by the Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, the benefits of recruiting online are explored. The main points of this paper include the anonymity that communication online allows, and the desire to be part of an exclusive group often draws people in. Often, what started as basic online communication on social media will escalate to access to websites full of violent materials, face-to-face meetings, and instructions for deadly acts of terror. While there are many factors to what could lead a person down this rabbit hole, the main physiological aspect proposed in this paper is self perception. When faced with increasingly more radical instructions and information, many people will adapt the way they see themselves to accommodate for their actions. To put it simply, they change what they believe themselves to be instead of facing the increased harm they are doing. This change can lead an individual to commit acts they never could have imagined themselves doing. After being radicalized, the new member of the terrorist group will begin to post and speak openly about their ideology, and according to the American Public University: “moves away from the First Amendment’s protection of free speech and has the intent to commit a crime. This stage is known as the ‘acceptance of violence’ stage. That person has moved beyond simply reading radical extremist material to advocating for violence and expressing violent extremist beliefs.” This is the stage when the threat of violence becomes much more imminent.
Vehicle terror attacks are a dangerous threat to public safety. The pipeline to terrorism can affect almost anyone, making it extremely hard to catch these criminals before they act. Public safety is very important and citizens should be able to walk in open areas without the fear of being run over. Building more roadblocks with the ability to stop cars will create a better pedestrian environment and hopefully decrease the ever-rising fatalities from vehicle based terror.
