Weapon of Choice (38 page)

We do know that in 1984, the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) was officially established and biocontainment requirements were set and classified so that researchers like those in
Weapon of Choice
would have protection against biological hazards in their BSL3 (P3) laboratories.

As encountered in
Weapon of Choice
, the element beryllium is an industrial problem. Because of its stiffness, light weight, and stability over a wide temperature range, it is used extensively in the defense and aerospace industries as well as in the production of precision optical instruments, meteorological satellites, MRI scanners, and other sophisticated equipment. But beryllium is a Category 1 carcinogen and causes pulmonary and systemic granulomatous disease. The element can be handled safely as long as appropriate procedures are used. However, some individuals are hypersensitive to beryllium and if they inhale dust are susceptible to chronic beryllium disease, an immune disease that requires aggressive treatment.

In 1985, the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC) was founded on the premise of white nationalism, and is now headquartered in St. Louis. The CCC was the 1980's reincarnation of the White Citizens' Council (WCC), which had been formed in the 1950s and kept active in the 1960s by remnants of the KKK in order to combat school desegregation.

The CCC is made up of local chapters, the agenda is unabashedly racist, and the meetings regularly feature politicians as keynote speakers. And like the KKK and the WCC, rabid extremism is never far from the surface at the CCC chapter meetings.

Circa 1985, white supremacy groups were active throughout the country. The Order, a radical extremist group, is real. Founded in 1983 by factions from the Aryan Nations and the National Alliance,
the group funded their terror tactics by armed robbery, counterfeiting, and other violent operations until forced underground when the leadership was apprehended by the FBI in 1984.

Sadly, despite hate crime legislation, hate groups are active across America today. In 2010, The Southern Poverty Law Center had documented a staggering 1,002 active hate groups in the United States—a more than 65 percent increase since 2000.