Great Replacement Theory is no longer fringe, it’s mainstream

[Satchel 6,908]

The only remaining question is the degree to which it will take hold across the country:

https://www.wpr.org/great-replacement-conspiracy-theory-isnt-fringe-anymore-its-mainstream

The speed with which this false narrative has tipped into American discourse since a French ethnonationalist first coined the term roughly a decade ago has stunned even extremism experts who have tracked the spread of hate-filled ideologies. They cite the failure of major social media platforms to effectively moderate such content, the role of Fox News hosts in amplifying these ideas, and the uptake of the conspiracy's language by some elected Republican officials.

 

Demographic change

Between 2010 and 2020, the percentage of Americans who identified as "white only" declinedby more than 10 percent, from 72 to 62 percent. During that same decade, several Western European countries saw record influxes of migrants from Muslim nations. It is against the backdrop of this demographic change that replacement rhetoric has accelerated in recent years.

"In the U.S., [it's] often called 'white genocide.' In Europe, [it's] called 'Eurabia,' " said Cynthia Miller-Idriss, professor and director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab at American University.

The baseless theories claim that these population shifts are orchestrated by elite power holders. In the U.S., Miller-Idriss said white nationalists ascribe the plot to Jews who they believe are bringing in immigrants and promoting interracial marriage to suppress whites. In Europe, the false narrative blames elite politicians for a growing Muslim population. Miller-Idriss said the coining of the term "great replacement" in France marked a key moment in the growth of these beliefs.

"It has unified and really spread [the conspiracies] online in memes and videos and in a lot of propaganda," she said. "It capitalized on a moment when you're not just reading written propaganda or sharing it in a newsletter or in a small group in a backwoods militia. But it's circulating in these dark online spaces where this [alleged] Buffalo shooter writes he was exposed and radicalized.

[Homercles 10,205]

Damn I can’t keep up with the grievances here.  BLM, cancel culture, critical race theory, books, abortions, LGTBQ…and now race replacement, which is literally getting folks killed.  

[David Dennison 18,661]

Snowflakes everywhere.

[NWBuck 8,548]

The irony is that the folks who espouse this theory are the ones most in need of replacing.

[ChiTownDoc 21,102]

Anyone wanna explain the math to them RE abortions…

[TwiceHorn 31,283]

1 hour ago, Homercles said:

Damn I can’t keep up with the grievances here.  BLM, cancel culture, critical race theory, books, abortions, LGTBQ…and now race replacement, which is literally getting folks killed.  

They're all rooted in the same thing.

[Captainant 27,466]

1 hour ago, Homercles said:

Damn I can’t keep up with the grievances here.  BLM, cancel culture, critical race theory, books, abortions, LGTBQ…and now race replacement, which is literally getting folks killed.  

If you're constantly aggrieved, you're constantly justified in taking out your TYRANNY BLASTER AR-15 and shooting up some BRANDON fans. At least thats what the loonies are comfortable broadcasting on social media

[Vegas64 665]

David Epstein, author of Range, has an interesting blog I follow and I like it because it's short. He brought up a good point about Replacement Theory in his latest, I'll copy and paste it below. Worth a read:

 

 

Replacement theory is a fear-stoking ideology. I’m not particularly interested in discussing that claim further.

But I do wonder if an actual understanding of demographics might make it harder for one to be radicalized around this particular “theory.”

At the end of this sentence, please stop reading for a moment and estimate the percentage of the U.S. population that is composed of Muslims. Take at least a few seconds to think…

Seriously, just guess; nobody’s grading you.

Spoiler

In the Ipsos 2016 “Perils of Perception” study, the average American guess was 17%. The actual answer is 1%. That is a startling magnitude of error.

Let’s say you meant to make the three-hour drive from New York City to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (to check out the incredible Midtown Scholar Bookstore, naturally) and overshot by that magnitude, going 17 times the actual distance. You’d end up in Los Angeles.

While we’re at it, what percentage of the American population is Black? Jewish? Make a guess! Again, you’re not getting graded, and according to a psychological finding known as the “generation effect,” you’ll better retain the correct information if you struggle to come up with your own answer first.

Answers:

Spoiler

-Black people make up 13.4% of the U.S. population.

-Jewish people make up 2.4% of the U.S. population, and about 0.2% of global population. (The shooter who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 was also into replacement theory.)

I think people's awareness of the numerical context of their world has a major impact on, for example, what they’re afraid of, and how they view inequality. I’ve been in rooms of 0.1-percenters who talk about the 1% as if they’re someone else.

On that note, the Ipsos study asked: “What percentage of total household wealth do you think the least wealthy 70% own?”

Spoiler

The average American answer was 28%. The correct answer: 7%.

Morning Brew (probably my favorite newsletter, alongside Eric Barker’s Barking Up the Wrong Tree) noted that replacement theory, “once a far-right fringe concept…has been increasingly cited on cable news.”

According to a poll conducted in December by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, one in three American adults “believes an effort is underway to replace U.S.-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains.”

If there is such a plot afoot, it’s not going so well. According to data from the Census Bureau, immigrants make up a smaller percentage of the American population than they did in the late 19th century.

Our values around not killing people obviously shouldn’t depend on how prevalent those people are. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder if these killers would be more resistant to radicalization if, while spelunking the internet, they became as curious about the numbers around them as they are about finding reasons to hate people.

I think we should all strive to develop number sense for our world, especially because it’s so easy now to find basic data with a few seconds of search. Perhaps familiarizing young people with the numbers around them would also be a great thing to do in school, year after year.

If you’re interested in improving your number sense, just spend a few minutes searching for a relevant number next time a news story intrigues you. Or just peruse the best website on the internet, Our World in Data.

No need to be perfect with your number sense, but I think there is an urgent need to be curious.

[softlynow 1,783]

A bunch of these threads could simply folded into the American Fascist thread. The Center-Right has lost control of its radical flank, and all it will take is one election giving WH and Congressional control to the GOP for the American experiment to end badly.

Big lies like this “theory” are the prelude to catastrophe.

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13,547]

America was not built on racism and we cannot allow that to be taught in our schools. Also, it's critical that whites remain the majority. 

[softlynow 1,783]

7 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

David Epstein, author of Range, has an interesting blog I follow and I like it because it's short. He brought up a good point about Replacement Theory in his latest, I'll copy and paste it below. Worth a read:

 

 

Replacement theory is a fear-stoking ideology. I’m not particularly interested in discussing that claim further.

But I do wonder if an actual understanding of demographics might make it harder for one to be radicalized around this particular “theory.”

At the end of this sentence, please stop reading for a moment and estimate the percentage of the U.S. population that is composed of Muslims. Take at least a few seconds to think…

Seriously, just guess; nobody’s grading you.

  Hide contents

In the Ipsos 2016 “Perils of Perception” study, the average American guess was 17%. The actual answer is 1%. That is a startling magnitude of error.

Let’s say you meant to make the three-hour drive from New York City to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (to check out the incredible Midtown Scholar Bookstore, naturally) and overshot by that magnitude, going 17 times the actual distance. You’d end up in Los Angeles.

While we’re at it, what percentage of the American population is Black? Jewish? Make a guess! Again, you’re not getting graded, and according to a psychological finding known as the “generation effect,” you’ll better retain the correct information if you struggle to come up with your own answer first.

Answers:

  Hide contents

-Black people make up 13.4% of the U.S. population.

-Jewish people make up 2.4% of the U.S. population, and about 0.2% of global population. (The shooter who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 was also into replacement theory.)

I think people's awareness of the numerical context of their world has a major impact on, for example, what they’re afraid of, and how they view inequality. I’ve been in rooms of 0.1-percenters who talk about the 1% as if they’re someone else.

On that note, the Ipsos study asked: “What percentage of total household wealth do you think the least wealthy 70% own?”

  Hide contents

The average American answer was 28%. The correct answer: 7%.

Morning Brew (probably my favorite newsletter, alongside Eric Barker’s Barking Up the Wrong Tree) noted that replacement theory, “once a far-right fringe concept…has been increasingly cited on cable news.”

According to a poll conducted in December by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, one in three American adults “believes an effort is underway to replace U.S.-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains.”

If there is such a plot afoot, it’s not going so well. According to data from the Census Bureau, immigrants make up a smaller percentage of the American population than they did in the late 19th century.

Our values around not killing people obviously shouldn’t depend on how prevalent those people are. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder if these killers would be more resistant to radicalization if, while spelunking the internet, they became as curious about the numbers around them as they are about finding reasons to hate people.

I think we should all strive to develop number sense for our world, especially because it’s so easy now to find basic data with a few seconds of search. Perhaps familiarizing young people with the numbers around them would also be a great thing to do in school, year after year.

If you’re interested in improving your number sense, just spend a few minutes searching for a relevant number next time a news story intrigues you. Or just peruse the best website on the internet, Our World in Data.

No need to be perfect with your number sense, but I think there is an urgent need to be curious.

No, there’s an urgent need to be armed or working on exiting this country.

[aggie08 21,434]

1 hour ago, Vegas64 said:

David Epstein, author of Range, has an interesting blog I follow and I like it because it's short. He brought up a good point about Replacement Theory in his latest, I'll copy and paste it below. Worth a read:

 

 

Replacement theory is a fear-stoking ideology. I’m not particularly interested in discussing that claim further.

But I do wonder if an actual understanding of demographics might make it harder for one to be radicalized around this particular “theory.”

At the end of this sentence, please stop reading for a moment and estimate the percentage of the U.S. population that is composed of Muslims. Take at least a few seconds to think…

Seriously, just guess; nobody’s grading you.

  Reveal hidden contents

In the Ipsos 2016 “Perils of Perception” study, the average American guess was 17%. The actual answer is 1%. That is a startling magnitude of error.

Let’s say you meant to make the three-hour drive from New York City to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (to check out the incredible Midtown Scholar Bookstore, naturally) and overshot by that magnitude, going 17 times the actual distance. You’d end up in Los Angeles.

While we’re at it, what percentage of the American population is Black? Jewish? Make a guess! Again, you’re not getting graded, and according to a psychological finding known as the “generation effect,” you’ll better retain the correct information if you struggle to come up with your own answer first.

Answers:

  Reveal hidden contents

-Black people make up 13.4% of the U.S. population.

-Jewish people make up 2.4% of the U.S. population, and about 0.2% of global population. (The shooter who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 was also into replacement theory.)

I think people's awareness of the numerical context of their world has a major impact on, for example, what they’re afraid of, and how they view inequality. I’ve been in rooms of 0.1-percenters who talk about the 1% as if they’re someone else.

On that note, the Ipsos study asked: “What percentage of total household wealth do you think the least wealthy 70% own?”

  Reveal hidden contents

The average American answer was 28%. The correct answer: 7%.

Morning Brew (probably my favorite newsletter, alongside Eric Barker’s Barking Up the Wrong Tree) noted that replacement theory, “once a far-right fringe concept…has been increasingly cited on cable news.”

According to a poll conducted in December by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, one in three American adults “believes an effort is underway to replace U.S.-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains.”

If there is such a plot afoot, it’s not going so well. According to data from the Census Bureau, immigrants make up a smaller percentage of the American population than they did in the late 19th century.

Our values around not killing people obviously shouldn’t depend on how prevalent those people are. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder if these killers would be more resistant to radicalization if, while spelunking the internet, they became as curious about the numbers around them as they are about finding reasons to hate people.

I think we should all strive to develop number sense for our world, especially because it’s so easy now to find basic data with a few seconds of search. Perhaps familiarizing young people with the numbers around them would also be a great thing to do in school, year after year.

If you’re interested in improving your number sense, just spend a few minutes searching for a relevant number next time a news story intrigues you. Or just peruse the best website on the internet, Our World in Data.

No need to be perfect with your number sense, but I think there is an urgent need to be curious.

That's a whole lot of words to say that people are stupid, easy to manipulate, and really, really bad at math.

[Vegas64 665]

1 minute ago, aggie08 said:

That's a whole lot of words to say that people are stupid, easy to manipulate, and really, really bad at math.

I guess that is as good as any of a summarized conclusion. I thought it was an interesting attempt to explain the "why" of how 1 out of 3 Americans are bought into this.

[Captainant 27,466]

6 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

I guess that is as good as any of a summarized conclusion. I thought it was an interesting attempt to explain the "why" of how 1 out of 3 Americans are bought into this.

1) Divide a bell curve into three parts: below, on, and above the curve.

2) target the bottom of the bell curve

3) ???

4) profit!

[hpslugga 4,044]

 

8 hours ago, softlynow said:

A bunch of these threads could simply folded into the American Fascist thread. The Center-Right has lost control of its radical flank, and all it will take is one election giving WH and Congressional control to the GOP for the American experiment to end badly.

Big lies like this “theory” are the prelude to catastrophe.

That’s the problem with the two-faction system. The “center right” is the Democrats and the “radical flank” is the Republicans. The latter was described about a decade ago by Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann as “an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.

When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges.” 

When the radical flank has gotten to the point where it no longer deals in reality and their ultimate goal is to “own the libs,” of course the center right isn’t gonna have a prayer to corral them.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,414]

There is truth behind the replacement theory from a results standpoint, but it's not some vast conspiracy other than non-Hispanic white people are not having as many kids and few white people migrate to the US.  White births basically peaked in 1960 and has steadily decreased.

[fattyflattie 4,636]

1 hour ago, hpslugga said:

That’s the problem with the two-faction system. The “center right” is the Democrats and the “radical flank” is the Republicans.

Lol. 

[David Dennison 18,661]

2 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Lol. 

It's true as long as Democrats support capitalism.

[hpslugga 4,044]

4 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

It's true as long as Democrats support capitalism.

Among other things…

[wildcat09 29,258]

9 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

David Epstein, author of Range, has an interesting blog I follow and I like it because it's short. He brought up a good point about Replacement Theory in his latest, I'll copy and paste it below. Worth a read:

 

 

Replacement theory is a fear-stoking ideology. I’m not particularly interested in discussing that claim further.

But I do wonder if an actual understanding of demographics might make it harder for one to be radicalized around this particular “theory.”

At the end of this sentence, please stop reading for a moment and estimate the percentage of the U.S. population that is composed of Muslims. Take at least a few seconds to think…

Seriously, just guess; nobody’s grading you.

  Reveal hidden contents

In the Ipsos 2016 “Perils of Perception” study, the average American guess was 17%. The actual answer is 1%. That is a startling magnitude of error.

Let’s say you meant to make the three-hour drive from New York City to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (to check out the incredible Midtown Scholar Bookstore, naturally) and overshot by that magnitude, going 17 times the actual distance. You’d end up in Los Angeles.

While we’re at it, what percentage of the American population is Black? Jewish? Make a guess! Again, you’re not getting graded, and according to a psychological finding known as the “generation effect,” you’ll better retain the correct information if you struggle to come up with your own answer first.

Answers:

  Reveal hidden contents

-Black people make up 13.4% of the U.S. population.

-Jewish people make up 2.4% of the U.S. population, and about 0.2% of global population. (The shooter who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 was also into replacement theory.)

I think people's awareness of the numerical context of their world has a major impact on, for example, what they’re afraid of, and how they view inequality. I’ve been in rooms of 0.1-percenters who talk about the 1% as if they’re someone else.

On that note, the Ipsos study asked: “What percentage of total household wealth do you think the least wealthy 70% own?”

  Reveal hidden contents

The average American answer was 28%. The correct answer: 7%.

Morning Brew (probably my favorite newsletter, alongside Eric Barker’s Barking Up the Wrong Tree) noted that replacement theory, “once a far-right fringe concept…has been increasingly cited on cable news.”

According to a poll conducted in December by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, one in three American adults “believes an effort is underway to replace U.S.-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains.”

If there is such a plot afoot, it’s not going so well. According to data from the Census Bureau, immigrants make up a smaller percentage of the American population than they did in the late 19th century.

Our values around not killing people obviously shouldn’t depend on how prevalent those people are. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder if these killers would be more resistant to radicalization if, while spelunking the internet, they became as curious about the numbers around them as they are about finding reasons to hate people.

I think we should all strive to develop number sense for our world, especially because it’s so easy now to find basic data with a few seconds of search. Perhaps familiarizing young people with the numbers around them would also be a great thing to do in school, year after year.

If you’re interested in improving your number sense, just spend a few minutes searching for a relevant number next time a news story intrigues you. Or just peruse the best website on the internet, Our World in Data.

No need to be perfect with your number sense, but I think there is an urgent need to be curious.

This isn't a bad blog post and, if it is widely read, it might even be helpful at preventing the radicalization of a few people who might otherwise be susceptible to being radicalized (e.g. young conservative men who think they're smarter than evangelicals so don't want to call themselves conservative). But it fundamentally misunderstands everything motivating those who believe in shit like the great replacement/white genocide theory. It's not simple factual misunderstandings, it's psychology. We all kind of know how this works. You argue with a 9/11 truther and you provide some factual evidence that he is mistaken and what happens?  Does he change his mind? Or does he dismiss your evidence or try to rationalize how actually it supports his argument and not yours?

People put a whole lot of time, effort, and thought into believing conspiracy theories. This blog post isn't going to be enough to sway 99.5% of them. You point out how few Muslims there actually are in America? They'll point out immigration patterns into Europe, or the fact that there's still more today than thirty years ago, or the fact that it only took 20 to do 9/11.  You point out that Jews are only 2.5% of the population and they'll say that's why they need the blacks and the browns to do their bidding. They're perfectly capable of believing an incorrect fact, pretending (even to themselves) that they never believed the incorrect fact and having a response ready to justify something they supposedly believed because of their belief of an incorrect fact, and then reverting back to believing in the incorrect fact even though they came to understand it was wrong when they were corrected on it previously.

It isn't just fringy lunatics that operate this way. It's basic motivated reasoning. So while approaches like this blog post aren't harmful, they're not really helpful either. Because people can always find new "facts" to justify their fears and their hatreds. A much more effective approach to changing peoples' minds on shit like this is changing their hearts, by them getting to actually know some black people or some Jewish people. And that's harder today than it's been in decades, because the right has been so incredibly effective at isolating itself, not just ideologically but geographically. 

[Brisketexan 104,628]

2 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Lol. 

Compare the American political spectrum to the rest of the western world.  The statement is accurate.  YOU think that Democrats are crazy radical leftists.  In 90% of western countries, the exact same platform/beliefs are center-right.

For example, around here, I am characterized as another lefty (man, if y'all knew my full political history and thinking).  Yet, if I was in the UK, I would be a firm supporter of the Liberal Democrats party (which, despite a name of two American buzzwords, is the center-right party in the UK -- you have conservatives on the right, labor on the left, other parties at other spots, and lib-dem at the center-right).

Also, the statement above about Americans being bad at math is spot-on.  I recall well on a trip we took to Europe a few years ago, we had multiple friends/family members tell us "are you sure you want to go?  There are terrorists everywhere, you're gonna get blown up on a subway," all that shit.  When I explained that 1) of course, as I always to when traveling anywhere, including in my own city, we'll have situational awareness, and 2) statistically, looking at the rate of terrorism deaths per million in Europe, the most dangerous part of our trip is by far our drive to the Austin airport, I just got blank stares and denials.  They were sure that we were walking into a death trap/war zone.  Because that is what the media they consume told them, and because people are bad, bad, bad at math.  It's the same phenomenon I've shared here before -- someone reads a story or has an uncle who "had a wreck, but died because his seatbelt trapped him in his car," so they don't wear a seatbelt because SEATBELTS KILL YOU!  And they disregard the cold fact that for every case in which a seatbelt caused death/serious injury.....there are literally dozens upon dozens of cases where a seatbelt SAVED a life or prevented serious injury.

We are hardwired to be scared of shit.  And when there is no immediate threat, we'll search until we find one to be scared of.  "Dark people are gonna take over America!" is just the latest incarnation.

[Mrs Whiggins 13,049]

8 hours ago, aggie08 said:

That's a whole lot of words to say that people are stupid, easy to manipulate, and really, really bad at math.

To wit, your user name. (No offense). An Aggie I know who has been quoting the Rudder Association (I think I got the name right?) was talking about how A&M didn't need diversity staff because A&M was already diverse and that black enrollment had increased by 80% (or something like that) over the last two decades.

And I'm like, you know if you increase the number of black students from five hundred to a thousand that is 100% right? Doesn't your school have over 60,000 students?

 

 

[hpslugga 4,044]

13 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

For example, around here, I am characterized as another lefty (man, if y'all knew my full political history and thinking).  Yet, if I was in the UK, I would be a firm supporter of the Liberal Democrats party (which, despite a name of two American buzzwords, is the center-right party in the UK -- you have conservatives on the right, labor on the left, other parties at other spots, and lib-dem at the center-right).

Actually their political culture has experienced a similar rightward shift ever since Tony Blair betrayed the foundations of Labour in his weird obsession of becoming George Bush’s lapdog. Today, a Jeremy Corbyn is treated there  just like we treat Bernie Sanders. That having been said, the UK is just a mere isolated bad example when it comes to Western Europe and I absolutely agree that the generalization you described is accurate damn near everywhere else, with the occasional exception of Italy.

13 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Also, the statement above about Americans being bad at math is spot-on.  I recall well on a trip we took to Europe a few years ago, we had multiple friends/family members tell us "are you sure you want to go?  There are terrorists everywhere, you're gonna get blown up on a subway," all that shit.  When I explained that 1) of course, as I always to when traveling anywhere, including in my own city, we'll have situational awareness, and 2) statistically, looking at the rate of terrorism deaths per million in Europe, the most dangerous part of our trip is by far our drive to the Austin airport, I just got blank stares and denials.  They were sure that we were walking into a death trap/war zone.  Because that is what the media they consume told them, and because people are bad, bad, bad at math. 

They’re bad at math and astonishingly superficial when it comes to world politics.

 

[gmr548 16,517]

Anyone wanna explain the math to them RE abortions…

I remember watching a documentary on contemporary white supremacy that pre-dated Trump as a politician. In that film, the ones interviewed expressed support for legal abortion because the majority of babies aborted are minorities.

Morally abhorrent, obviously, but the logic checks out. Now we have the cult wanting to ban abortion as part of a broader platform based on replacement theory. These idiots don’t even realize they’d be hastening their hypothetical replacement.

[The Original Greaser Bob 2,799]

Blah blah blah.

Only one rule:  Vote for Less Stupid People.

[jimmyjazz 45,560]

The data in this chart are almost 2 decades old, but it still illustrates the point.  When 13% of the population has 37% of the abortions, and abortions become illegal, then which direction does that 13% number go?  (Hint:  not down.)

[The Original Greaser Bob 2,799]

Was listening to Left Right and Center this morning and the black dude was talking about Replacement Theory and he was all like:  We already had the Great Replacement - when you white motherfuckers killed all the Indians.  Plus you brought all of us black people here and you're bitching about replacement theory?

[The Original Greaser Bob 2,799]

Just now, jimmyjazz said:

The data in this chart are almost 2 decades old, but it still illustrates the point.  When 13% of the population has 37% of the abortions, and abortions become illegal, then which direction does that 13% number go?  (Hint:  not down.)

Are all of Brisket's aborted progeny circa 2004 in the white stats or the hispanic stats?

[Brisketexan 104,628]

Are all of Brisket's aborted progeny circa 2004 in the white stats or the hispanic stats?

In the “Mexican coonass” sliver off to the right. There ain’t many of us, but we eat well.

[Biff Tannen 45,499]

36 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

We are hardwired to be scared of shit.  And when there is no immediate threat, we'll search until we find one to be scared of.

This is what has been plaguing me lately.  I don't get this.  I do not feel I am this way.  Clearly, a fuck ton of people are.  Am I that privileged or lucky that I've never felt afraid?

[Fudge Nuggets 19,151]

39 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

This isn't a bad blog post and, if it is widely read, it might even be helpful at preventing the radicalization of a few people who might otherwise be susceptible to being radicalized (e.g. young conservative men who think they're smarter than evangelicals so don't want to call themselves conservative). But it fundamentally misunderstands everything motivating those who believe in shit like the great replacement/white genocide theory. It's not simple factual misunderstandings, it's psychology. We all kind of know how this works. You argue with a 9/11 truther and you provide some factual evidence that he is mistaken and what happens?  Does he change his mind? Or does he dismiss your evidence or try to rationalize how actually it supports his argument and not yours?

People put a whole lot of time, effort, and thought into believing conspiracy theories. This blog post isn't going to be enough to sway 99.5% of them. You point out how few Muslims there actually are in America? They'll point out immigration patterns into Europe, or the fact that there's still more today than thirty years ago, or the fact that it only took 20 to do 9/11.  You point out that Jews are only 2.5% of the population and they'll say that's why they need the blacks and the browns to do their bidding. They're perfectly capable of believing an incorrect fact, pretending (even to themselves) that they never believed the incorrect fact and having a response ready to justify something they supposedly believed because of their belief of an incorrect fact, and then reverting back to believing in the incorrect fact even though they came to understand it was wrong when they were corrected on it previously.

It isn't just fringy lunatics that operate this way. It's basic motivated reasoning. So while approaches like this blog post aren't harmful, they're not really helpful either. Because people can always find new "facts" to justify their fears and their hatreds. A much more effective approach to changing peoples' minds on shit like this is changing their hearts, by them getting to actually know some black people or some Jewish people. And that's harder today than it's been in decades, because the right has been so incredibly effective at isolating itself, not just ideologically but geographically. 

The likes of WWS aren't reading that blog post.  Put it in a 10 minute YouTube video and you might have a slim chance of targeting the stoobids.

[Biff Tannen 45,499]

13 minutes ago, The Original Greaser Bob said:

Blah blah blah.

Only one rule:  Vote for Less Stupid People.

[Fudge Nuggets 19,151]

42 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

We are hardwired to be scared of shit. 

Twenty years ago my employer had a position opening in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  All the more experienced and better qualified rednecks were too scared to go (because funny sounding city name in a Mooslim country) so passed on the opportunity.  Snowflake-ism led to the biggest break in my career so I am forever grateful for their bitchassedness.

[Fudge Nuggets 19,151]

5 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Think both apply in this case to be honest about it.

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13,547]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Compare the American political spectrum to the rest of the western world.  The statement is accurate.  YOU think that Democrats are crazy radical leftists.  In 90% of western countries, the exact same platform/beliefs are center-right.

For example, around here, I am characterized as another lefty (man, if y'all knew my full political history and thinking).  Yet, if I was in the UK, I would be a firm supporter of the Liberal Democrats party (which, despite a name of two American buzzwords, is the center-right party in the UK -- you have conservatives on the right, labor on the left, other parties at other spots, and lib-dem at the center-right).

Also, the statement above about Americans being bad at math is spot-on.  I recall well on a trip we took to Europe a few years ago, we had multiple friends/family members tell us "are you sure you want to go?  There are terrorists everywhere, you're gonna get blown up on a subway," all that shit.  When I explained that 1) of course, as I always to when traveling anywhere, including in my own city, we'll have situational awareness, and 2) statistically, looking at the rate of terrorism deaths per million in Europe, the most dangerous part of our trip is by far our drive to the Austin airport, I just got blank stares and denials.  They were sure that we were walking into a death trap/war zone.  Because that is what the media they consume told them, and because people are bad, bad, bad at math.  It's the same phenomenon I've shared here before -- someone reads a story or has an uncle who "had a wreck, but died because his seatbelt trapped him in his car," so they don't wear a seatbelt because SEATBELTS KILL YOU!  And they disregard the cold fact that for every case in which a seatbelt caused death/serious injury.....there are literally dozens upon dozens of cases where a seatbelt SAVED a life or prevented serious injury.

We are hardwired to be scared of shit.  And when there is no immediate threat, we'll search until we find one to be scared of.  "Dark people are gonna take over America!" is just the latest incarnation.

When me and some of my fellow country boy drivers would be stuck at downtown dairy processing plants with hours-long waits for clean trailers ahead of us, I'd tell them I was going on a hike thru downtown and get a lot of "ooohhh you don't wanna go there" responses.

What they thought most downtowns were like- 

 

What most gentrified, park-filled downtowns are like-

 

[hayden_horn 11,360]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Compare the American political spectrum to the rest of the western world.  The statement is accurate.  YOU think that Democrats are crazy radical leftists.  In 90% of western countries, the exact same platform/beliefs are center-right.

For example, around here, I am characterized as another lefty (man, if y'all knew my full political history and thinking).  Yet, if I was in the UK, I would be a firm supporter of the Liberal Democrats party (which, despite a name of two American buzzwords, is the center-right party in the UK -- you have conservatives on the right, labor on the left, other parties at other spots, and lib-dem at the center-right).

Also, the statement above about Americans being bad at math is spot-on.  I recall well on a trip we took to Europe a few years ago, we had multiple friends/family members tell us "are you sure you want to go?  There are terrorists everywhere, you're gonna get blown up on a subway," all that shit.  When I explained that 1) of course, as I always to when traveling anywhere, including in my own city, we'll have situational awareness, and 2) statistically, looking at the rate of terrorism deaths per million in Europe, the most dangerous part of our trip is by far our drive to the Austin airport, I just got blank stares and denials.  They were sure that we were walking into a death trap/war zone.  Because that is what the media they consume told them, and because people are bad, bad, bad at math.  It's the same phenomenon I've shared here before -- someone reads a story or has an uncle who "had a wreck, but died because his seatbelt trapped him in his car," so they don't wear a seatbelt because SEATBELTS KILL YOU!  And they disregard the cold fact that for every case in which a seatbelt caused death/serious injury.....there are literally dozens upon dozens of cases where a seatbelt SAVED a life or prevented serious injury.

We are hardwired to be scared of shit.  And when there is no immediate threat, we'll search until we find one to be scared of.  "Dark people are gonna take over America!" is just the latest incarnation.

hope you were able to avoid the muslim "no-go" zones rules by sharia law and where the cops dare to tread.

lol.

remember that shit?

[The Original Greaser Bob 2,799]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

Hah.  I have a paltry rdefense. I didn't mean vote for fewer stupid people.  I meant in each election, vote for the least stupid candidate. 

[Hookah Horns 3,082]

There's also a non-racist version of this. For example, my dad isn't the slightest bit racist and couldn't care less about what proportion of the country is white, but does believe that the Dems' policy re: immigration is part of a scheme to make immigrants loyal Dem voters, which will eventually give them an insurmountable advantage ad infinitum. I'm sure he picked this up from Tucker. I tried to explain that while it wouldn't be the worst idea, that's unfortunately just not how the democrats play the game of politics. They're not schemers.

[Hookah Horns 3,082]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Compare the American political spectrum to the rest of the western world.  The statement is accurate.  YOU think that Democrats are crazy radical leftists.  In 90% of western countries, the exact same platform/beliefs are center-right.

For example, around here, I am characterized as another lefty (man, if y'all knew my full political history and thinking).  Yet, if I was in the UK, I would be a firm supporter of the Liberal Democrats party (which, despite a name of two American buzzwords, is the center-right party in the UK -- you have conservatives on the right, labor on the left, other parties at other spots, and lib-dem at the center-right).

Also, the statement above about Americans being bad at math is spot-on.  I recall well on a trip we took to Europe a few years ago, we had multiple friends/family members tell us "are you sure you want to go?  There are terrorists everywhere, you're gonna get blown up on a subway," all that shit.  When I explained that 1) of course, as I always to when traveling anywhere, including in my own city, we'll have situational awareness, and 2) statistically, looking at the rate of terrorism deaths per million in Europe, the most dangerous part of our trip is by far our drive to the Austin airport, I just got blank stares and denials.  They were sure that we were walking into a death trap/war zone.  Because that is what the media they consume told them, and because people are bad, bad, bad at math.  It's the same phenomenon I've shared here before -- someone reads a story or has an uncle who "had a wreck, but died because his seatbelt trapped him in his car," so they don't wear a seatbelt because SEATBELTS KILL YOU!  And they disregard the cold fact that for every case in which a seatbelt caused death/serious injury.....there are literally dozens upon dozens of cases where a seatbelt SAVED a life or prevented serious injury.

We are hardwired to be scared of shit.  And when there is no immediate threat, we'll search until we find one to be scared of.  "Dark people are gonna take over America!" is just the latest incarnation.

I feel like that's more about them generally not liking dark people than it is a predilection for fear.

[Bevo14 8,274]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

"Dark people are gonna take over America!" is just the latest incarnation.

latest?

['stache 21,774]

15 minutes ago, Hookah Horns said:

There's also a non-racist version of this. For example, my dad isn't the slightest bit racist and couldn't care less about what proportion of the country is white, but does believe that the Dems' policy re: immigration is part of a scheme to make immigrants loyal Dem voters, which will eventually give them an insurmountable advantage ad infinitum. I'm sure he picked this up from Tucker. I tried to explain that while it wouldn't be the worst idea, that's unfortunately just not how the democrats play the game of politics. They're not schemers.

I can't for the life of me figure out why immigrants might generally like democrats better than republicans. I've racked my brain, just can't come up with anything. Confounding, isn't it?

[fattyflattie 4,636]

1 hour ago, 'stache said:

I can't for the life of me figure out why immigrants might generally like democrats better than republicans.

Free shit?  Same reason they’ve been getting voters forever. 

[fattyflattie 4,636]

2 hours ago, Hookah Horns said:

I tried to explain that while it wouldn't be the worst idea, that's unfortunately just not how the democrats play the game of politics. They're not schemers.

Godamnit. How do I post a gif of the green shirt guy laughing to death?

[WhatTheBuck 28,713]

14 hours ago, softlynow said:

The Center-Right

The what?

[wildcat09 29,258]

20 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Free shit?  Same reason they’ve been getting voters forever. 

Or it's the fact that Democrats don't routinely encourage people to murder them.

[fattyflattie 4,636]

3 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Or it's the fact that Democrats don't routinely encourage people to murder them.

Links to R political figure encouraging murder of Hispanics? 

[jimmyjazz 45,560]

26 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Free shit?  Same reason they’ve been getting voters forever. 

If you think the Democrats' "free shit" comes anywhere close to that given to corporate America by the right, you're even more stoned than I have always assumed.

[Beau Vine 54,003]

13 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Links to R political figure encouraging murder of Hispanics? 

Quote

Privately, the president had often talked about fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh. After publicly suggesting that soldiers shoot migrants if they threw rocks, the president backed off when his staff told him that was illegal. But later in a meeting, aides recalled, he suggested that they shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down. That’s not allowed either, they told him.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/02/trumps-most-insulting-violent-language-is-often-reserved-immigrants/

[hpslugga 4,044]

38 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Free shit?  Same reason they’ve been getting voters forever. 

^
Believing in belief; Exhibit A

[wildcat09 29,258]

6 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/02/trumps-most-insulting-violent-language-is-often-reserved-immigrants/

Well sure, but aside from the President of the United States is what I'm sure he was asking.