The Weathermen- a terrorist group

The Weathermen: A Radical and Violent Movement

The Weathermen, a terrorist organization, was established in 1969 as an extreme offshoot of the Students Democratic Movement, a student movement (SDS). SDS was established in 1960 to promote participatory democracy by embracing different points of view in order to address issues in governance. With the primary goals of assisting the underprivileged and ensuring that urban citizens participated in the democratic system in cities like Baltimore, Boston, and Chicago, SDS established a project known as the Economic Research and Action project in 1963. The organization protested the bombing of Vietnam in 1964 by marching into Washington, DC. Later, SDS would split in two. The founders focused on reforms in politics and government systems while those who joined the group later focused on resistance to the war in Vietnam. (Hewitt, 2000).

The Split and Radicalization

The SDS held a convention in 1969 and the organization split into two groups: the weathermen who were radical and violent and the progressive labor party. The Weathermen movement derived their name from a Bob Dylan’s lyric “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” Weathermen believed that peaceful street protest was not efficient and that the USA was doomed and needed a revolution. Additionally, the group urged all revolutionaries to support the hastening, overthrow, and collapse of the United States and to create an awakening of working-class youth and high schools students.

Violence and Protest Tactics

The Weathermen condemned possession of the property by private firms, privacy, and even marriages by promoting free love, communal living and encouraged sessions to train on criticisms. The weathermen used violence as a means of regulating the social and political decisions of the government. They organized protests in the streets using extreme violence, destroyed banks, and government buildings in their bid to combat the unjust system of governance. Its members were frustrated with the little reforms the government had gained after an extended period. They organized the protest against the state for the unending Vietnam War and the beating of Vietnam protestors by police.

Recruitment and Engagement

The recruitment of this group was mostly done in schools. They invaded institutions and made the young generation believe that they were oppressed by the system by being forced to tolerate faults by society instead of rising against them. Women groups were encouraged to recruit local people, the poor, and the working class to build a new society. The youths complained against oppression by police and the school bosses, and this perceived abuse motivated them to join the group. Weathermen organized protests in cities, bombed government buildings, and banks and took responsibility for bombings in New York in 1972.

The Underground Weathermen

The group saw a shift in operation when their leaders were accidentally involved in a bomb accident near a bomb factory. The arrest of its members by police resulted in a decision to go underground and thus the name Underground Weathermen. They resorted to guerrilla warfare to fight the US government. Attacks on federal buildings and banks during the protests resulted in many losses and the death of group members, yet they didn’t succeed in their mission to overthrow the government and stop the Vietnam War. (Gage, 2011).

Standards and Policies on Domestic Terrorism

Standards, laws, surveillance, and media coverage of domestic terrorism vary depending on the type of organization, their mission, and the strategies put in place towards the achievement of this mission. Application of greater legislation and oversight will apply to terrorists whose activities are not covered by the constitution. The standard used to deal with Weathermen, who were very radical, using extreme force and bombing buildings resulting in casualties, was different from that placed on the initial group SDS who engaged in activities protected by the constitution.

References

Gage, B. (2011). Terrorism and the American Experience: A State of the Field. The Journal of

American History, 98(1), 73-94.

Hewitt, C. (2000). The political context of terrorism in America: Ignoring extremists or

pandering to them?. Terrorism and Political Violence, 12(3-4), 325-344.