The theory behind hate crimes in the U.S.
In the wake of the most recent mass shooting by a white man at a Buffalo supermarket, the so-called “Great Replacement Theory” may be largely responsible for the race-fueled attacks plaguing the U.S.
Perhaps Payton Gendron subscribed to the theory.
This theory may have been believed by Payton Gendron, the 18-year-old white man charged with killing ten people and wounding three others in Buffalo. Genedron allegedly claimed in a manifesto that the decline in white birth rates was essentially a genocide.
A conspiracy theory
But what is the “Great Replacement”? The short answer is that it is a conspiracy theory that says that people of color are being brought into Western countries such as the United States in an effort to “replace” white voters with the aim of achieving a political agenda.
White supremacist theory
White supremacists and anti-immigration groups often endorse the theory, according to the National Immigration Forum.
Concern over the extinction of the white race
NPR reports that white supremacists believe that the influx of non-white immigrants will result in the extinction of the white race. As a result, they think that the United States should close its borders to immigrants.
The threat to the nation
Belk is quoted as saying white nationalists are worried that they won’t be the majority. People of color are therefore seen as threats by both themselves and their nation.
A French theory
National Immigration Forum reports that the “Great Replacement” theory comes from French nationalism books written in the early 1900s.
Le Grand Remplacement
The current application of the theory is credited to French writer Renaud Camus (pictured), who wrote: “Le Grand Remplacement,” or “The Great Replacement,” published in 2011.
Caumus believes immigrants of color are colonizing Europe
Camus argues in his book that white Europeans are being reverse colonized by Black and Brown immigrants, who are flooding the continent in a manner comparable to an extinction event.
Inspired by ‘The Camp of Saints’
Camus was influenced by French author Jean Raspail’s 1973 novel ‘The Camp of the Saints.’ The fictitious story features immigrants working together to conquer France.
White supremacists blame Jews
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), many white supremacists are upset with the Jewish community in the United States.
Antisemitism is associated with the replacement theory
White supremacists blame the Jewish community for non-white immigration to the US, according to ADL. The replacement theory has now also been linked to antisemitism.
A slogan of 14 words
The white supremacist movement has a fourteen-word slogan that is part of its guiding principles: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children.”
David Lane came up with this slogan:
The Southern Poverty Law Center says the slogan was created by David Lane, a prominent member of The Order, a white supremacist group.
Hate crimes are at their highest level in 12 years
It is obvious today that the “Great Replacement” theory has had a significant impact on American society. A massive increase in assaults on Asian Americans and Blacks caused hate crimes in the US to rise to the highest level in twelve years last year, according to the FBI.
“Abhorrent to the fabric of this nation.”
President Biden said about the Buffalo mass shooting: “A racially motivated hate crime is abhorrent to the very fabric of our nation.”
“We must put an end to hate-fueled domestic terrorism.”
Continuing, Biden said, “Any act of domestic terrorism, including those perpetrated in the name of a repugnant white nationalist ideology, is contrary to everything we stand for in America. Hatred must have no safe harbor. We must end hate-fueled domestic terrorism at all costs.”
