According to a new poll, a majority of Republicans believe in the racist theory that the suspect in last month’s horrific mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, was motivated by. According to the poll, even more, Republicans feel racism against white people is “as great a problem” as racism against black people.
It’s an indication of how far white racial animosity has infiltrated the Republican Party.
'Great replacement' was not the only discredited racist theory motivating the Buffalo shooter https://t.co/0vk9BVhx17
— Darby Abbott-Dems 4 the Win (@DarbysCastle) June 1, 2022
According to a study issued last week by Yahoo News and YouGov, 61% of Trump supporters believe “a group of people in this nation is aiming to replace native-born Americans with immigrants and people of color who share their political beliefs.”
It’s the same notion as the racist manifesto purportedly written by the Buffalo shooting gunman, who police claim live-streamed himself gunning down Black patrons at a Tops store. And it’s gaining a lot of traction among Trump followers, who see him as an authoritarian zealot who still has a lot of support in his own party.
Helen Joyce blames acceptance of trans people on three Jewish billionaires, a core tenet of "Great Replacement" theory's obsession with trans people. In his own racist screed, the Buffalo shooter claimed Jews were forcibly transitioning kids to reduce the white birthrate. https://t.co/tPNJ8iLG6X
— Gillian Branstetter (@GBBranstetter) June 3, 2022
There’s no denying how this concept, dubbed “replacement theory,” grew popular among Republicans. Whether it was his baseless claim that Mexico was “sending” rapists and drug criminals into the United States, his complaint that migrants from mostly Black countries were leaving “s—-holes” to come to the United States, or his frequent claims that immigrants crossing our southern border constituted a “invasion,” Trump amplified the party’s racist rhetoric during his campaign and in office.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, among others, have made similar allegations that mirror the replacement idea. Tucker Carlson, a Fox News anchor, has also promoted it. And, as I noted last week, this right-wing fear-mongering tradition is inextricably linked to various forms of extremist violence.
It's Not Just Great Replacement Theory That Influenced the Buffalo Shooter
Scientists say the entire scientific community needs to reckon with how their research is too-easily co-opted by racist elements online.https://t.co/TUsUD171pX
— The Boofing Douchebag (@kroltanz) June 1, 2022
The fact that so many conservatives believe this scaremongering is proof of its success. And recent horrific shootings demonstrate that one no longer needs to wonder where racial emotions lead.
The suspect in the deadly shootings of 23 people in a Texas Walmart in 2019 allegedly called for a “Hispanic invasion” and said he planned to slaughter as many Mexicans as possible. The suspect in the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shootings allegedly wrote about Jews bringing “invaders” (read: immigration) to “murder our people.” “Jews will not replace us,” white supremacists screamed at the fatal “Unite the Right” protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
