Hoping It's the Local Boy Gone Bad

In discussing the assassination of President William McKinley, one statement by Vaidhyanathan really stood out to me:

Seeking greater meaning in the event, reporters and officials immediately labeled Czolgosz [the native-born assassin] an anarchist - and just as significantly - a foreigner. Many people express relief that McKinley's murderer was not an 'American.' (page 6)

In today's globalized society, people seem relieved when a terrorist is a native (and therefore a somewhat known entity), as opposed to a foreign national.

Think back to the Madrid train bombings. Many people hoped the tragedy was the work of the ETA, a familiar, albeit dangerous organization, instead of Al Queda or a terrorist Muslim group opposed to Spain's involvement in the war in Iraq. Even the government wanted to believe it was the ETA.

Today the idea of local "crazies" or a group that is easy to identify makes life seem so much simpler. Technology has brought new sophistication to terrorist groups. These organizations, often comprised of people with different religious and cultural values than most Americans, seem much scarier and threatening than a lone gunman or even a local entity like anti-government extremists.