Despite the fact that you’re far more likely to die in a traffic accident than of a terrorist attack in Ohio, a recent poll showed terrorism ranked among the top four concerns for Ohioans, but car accidents received no mention.
Fifteen years after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, terrorism still shapes how people think and view the two major candidates for president.
What is the basis for the fear?
On average, since 1995, 153 people have died on U.S. soil each year due to terrorism, which is defined as criminal acts designed to intimidate or coerce opinion or actions. That includes the 2001 attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 in one day. Minus that one day, the average is about a dozen deaths a year over two decades — less in the last 14 years.
In Ohio in the last 45 years combined, six people have been killed by terrorist attacks, and all of those were before 1986.
In contrast, 752 people died last year in Ohio alone as a result of traffic accidents. Far more people die of poisonings, falls and weather disasters than terrorism.
The concern about terrorism was registered in a poll conducted in August, after attacks in France and Orlando captured the public. In response to an open-ended question about their issue of greatest concern, about 4.9 percent of respondents listed terrorism or the Islamic State as the top problem — fourth among a long list of issues — and another 4.2 percent named national security/defense, ranking sixth. Poverty/economic inequality was the top problem among those polled, at 10.9 percent.
Those most likely to be concerned about terrorism were women far more than men, Generation X, which is most likely to be in the family-rearing stage, and Republicans.
And the August poll showed that while Ohio residents still place a high priority on economic issues, terrorism and related immigration issues play an important role in defining their support or dislike for presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
The Bliss Institute for Applied Politics at the University of Akron designed the survey as part of the @YourVoteOhio project, an effort by major Ohio news organizations to determine what issues Ohio voters consider the most important and their reasons for backing a particular candidate. The Center for Marketing Opinion and Research in Akron conducted a phone survey of 1,079 Ohioans in August after surveying them in April and May. The margin of error was 3 percent.
Matter of perception
The relative safety of Ohio isn’t lost on most people living here.
Stevi Lunsford, 24, of Canton, said New York and Washington, D.C., are more likely terrorist targets than Ohio.
“I mean there’s places that are more important to people who want to take down America,” she said. “So, in Ohio, I feel a lot more safe. But in those states, I wouldn’t feel so comfortable.”
Still, though, the fear of terrorism has affected Americans.
A Pew Research Center poll conducted in August shows that 40 percent of Americans believe there is a greater chance of a major attack today than at the time of the 9/11 attacks — the highest percentage in 14 years. Republicans are entirely responsible for the growth, according to the poll, with 58 percent concerned about the chances of an attack.
And in Ohio, it is terrorism, national security and related immigration issues that define Donald Trump, according to the poll done for the state’s news organizations. Those who like him are highly likely to name one of those reasons as their cause for support. Not so for Clinton, whose issue-strengths are spread across multiple topics.
The fear factor
The Ohio polls show that the state’s residents have a sense that trade policies, income inequality and general economic conditions are critical issues, but the images and sounds of terrorism have made a lasting impression.
John Mueller, a political science professor at Ohio State University who studies government policy in response to terrorism, said that since 9/11, the number of Americans killed by Islamic terrorists has averaged about seven a year, even counting the 49 a lone gunman killed in Orlando in June. Far more die in drug overdoses every week, he said.
He said the odds of being killed in a terrorist attack are roughly 1 in 40 million. The odds of being killed in a car crash are about 1 in 8,000.
Mueller said the chances of being killed in a collision with a deer crossing a road, by lightening, by drowning in a bathtub or in an industrial accident are all greater. He said politicians seek to attract support, and the media seek to attract an audience, by playing into people’s fears of terrorism.
“There are always dangers out there. You can’t be completely safe,” Mueller said. “You want to worry the most about the things that are the most dangerous. ... Any death is regrettable, obviously, but you should also keep it in proportion.”
The Global Terrorism Database at the University of Maryland shows only 50 terrorist incidents have occurred in Ohio since 1970. Anti-abortion activists committed 19 of those with explosives or incendiary devices against clinics or similar facilities. Other attacks that involved taking hostages, bombings and armed assaults were linked by authorities to the Christian Liberation Army, the Aryan Republican Army, left-wing militants, anarchists, black nationalists, the Black Panthers, a neo-Nazi group, workers on strike and white extremists. Six were killed and five were injured in the attacks.
Despite the rarity of terrorist attacks in Ohio, several of the 1,079 respondents in the August survey cited the presidential candidates’ stance on terrorism in their support for a candidate. About 3.2 percent said they might change their view of Clinton if she pledged to strengthen the military and developed what they view as a better plan to combat terrorists.
Trump has attracted support due to statements he has made on terrorism. Of the respondents who said they felt positive about Trump’s positions on the issues, 6.3 percent cited his pledges to fight to stop terrorists.
Concerns vary
Edward Hudson, 58, of Massillon, thinks it’s unlikely he would be a victim of terrorism, but he said it would be more of a concern if he were to travel, as he considers a terrorist act more likely to occur outside the United States.
Jane Tucker, 57, of Canton, said she considers it unlikely she would be the victim of terrorism in her home state.
“But then I don’t expect to get hit by lightning, either. But I don’t worry about it,” she said, adding that she considers the mass shootings of the past several years as terrorist attacks.
Susie Shea, 28, of Kent, said she’s not surprised that terrorism is home-grown and that abortion clinics have been prime targets of attacks for more than 40 years.
“I think that was probably done from people that were born here. Not people from other countries,” she said.
Bernie Miner, 65, of Jackson Township in Stark County, said he’s vulnerable to a potential terrorist attack every time he leaves his home.
As for the odds, “I don’t think you could put a percentage to it. ... They can strike anywhere at any time, so again, I think it’s situational awareness is what we need to be concerned with. Every time we go out, we need to be aware of who’s around us, what’s around us, and try to reduce our risk.”
Reach Repository staff writer Robert Wang at 330-580-8327 or robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP