A Buffalo, New York, man stormed into a supermarket Saturday and carried out a massacre with the alleged intent of killing “as many blacks as possible,” according to a 180-page manifesto believed to have been authored by the suspected shooter that is laced with references to the “great replacement theory.”
The slaughter in Buffalo that killed 10 has sparked a national conversation about the theory, which has been the inspiration for a slew of racial attacks in recent years across the country. Political pundits and politicians such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have accused conservative groups and Fox News of amplifying the theory.
SCHUMER ASKS FOX TO STOP ‘RECKLESS AMPLIFICATION’ OF GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY
What is great replacement theory?
Great replacement theory is a conspiracy theory that contends elites in society are banding together to replace white people with nonwhite people. Proponents of the white supremacist-linked thesis in the United States often point to the decline in birth rates among white people and the mass migration of nonwhite people into the U.S. In addition to replacing white people physically, the theory maintains that elites are also seeking to supplant the culture and political power of whites with nonwhite people.
The theory comes in different forms and has multiple iterations, including one in which Jews are the “replacist” elites striving to supplant white people, per the Immigration Forum. Oftentimes, the theory is linked to the “white genocide” conspiracy, which holds that white people are at risk of extinction and typically blames a Jewish plot for causing the extinction. Different precursors to these theories have long clouded political debate but have been largely relegated to the fringes in recent decades.
The contemporary great replacement theory was heavily inspired by elements of 20th-century French nationalism and author Maurice Barres, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Barres’s writing was filled with antisemitism and promoted racial purity, Agence France-Presse reported. At the time, this was largely considered mainstream discourse, according to the outlet.
“The name of France might well survive; the special character of our country would, however, be destroyed, and the people settled in our name and on our territory would be heading towards destinies contradictory to the destinies and needs of our land and our dead,” Barres wrote in an article for the French newspaper Le Journal.
The term “great replacement” appears to have been popularized by French author Renaud Camus, who wrote a 2011 book called Le Grand Remplacement, per the ADL. His book holds that the burgeoning population of Muslims in France poses a serious danger to French culture. He describes the purported replacement process as “genocide by substitution,” according to Agence France-Presse.
Disillusioned followers of the theory have been known to use it as justification for violence as a means to stop the alleged replacement or white genocide. A common slogan in white supremacist circles that spout these ideas maintains that “we must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Is the theory being spread by conservatives and Fox News?
Politicos on the left have seized on the Buffalo shooting to disparage some familiar targets on the right. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote a letter to Fox News that claims it has spread the racist theory and calls on the network to stop. Allegations of Fox News alluding to the theory have been circulating for years, particularly when it comes to immigration.
Some conservatives have been critical of those inside their tent who have voiced any kind of support for the theory.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) slammed Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) earlier this week for ads Cheney said have lent credence to the theory.
Cheney’s criticism was veiled, with the congressman writing on Twitter that the “House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism. History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse. @GOP leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them.”
The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism. History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse. @GOP leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them.
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) May 16, 2022
Stefanik replaced Cheney in GOP leadership last year after the party booted the latter from the No. 3 spot for her continued criticism of former President Donald Trump.
THE BUFFALO SHOOTER WAS AN ECO-SOCIALIST RACIST WHO HATED FOX NEWS AND BEN SHAPIRO
Tucker Carlson, Fox News’s prime-time star, has been one of the top targets of these criticisms. Carlson has been accused of pushing the theory on several occasions, including in a 2021 segment on immigration.
“In political terms, this policy is called the ‘great replacement,’ the replacement of legacy Americans with more obedient people from far-away countries,” Carlson said. “They brag about it all the time, but if you dare to say it’s happening, they will scream at you with maximum hysteria.”
In response to rejuvenated criticism and allegations that he has been espousing the theory, Carlson condemned the attack in Buffalo and denounced racism, calling for the de-escalation of racial tensions. When asked for comment, Fox News pointed the Washington Examiner to Carlson’s response.
Tucker Carlson tries to distance himself and Fox News from the Buffalo shooter, who was inspired by racist conspiracy theories Carlson has pushed on his show pic.twitter.com/oRTOcvxC4n
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 17, 2022
A poll by the Associated Press found that about one-third of people believed there are efforts to replace those born in the U.S. with immigrants for political gain.
Many conservatives, such as Republican strategist Andrew Surabian, have pushed back against claims that they have been espousing the fringe theory, rejecting the assertions as smear attacks. Others have pointed out that the alleged Buffalo shooter described himself as an “ethno-nationalist eco-fascist national socialist” and wrote negatively about conservatism.
The dishonest smears from much of the leftwing media, which is purposely conflating the below (actual great replacement theory) with conservatives who point out that Dems like open borders because they think it will help them electorally, is vile and just next level gaslighting. https://t.co/GzIpj6qyvp
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) May 17, 2022
Role in mass shootings and racial attacks
The fringe theory has been espoused by assailants in several high-profile hate crimes. For example, in 2015, the suspect behind the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting wrote a manifesto calling for a race war. In 2018, when a gunman entered a synagogue in Pittsburgh, killing nine, he later told a SWAT team that Jews were committing genocide against his people, CNN reported. In 2019, a gunman entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and killed 23 people. Authorities subsequently found a manifesto believed to have been authored by the shooter that expressed his intent to kill Mexicans and pushed great replacement theory, per the New York Times.
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Congress previously held hearings about the threats hate crimes pose to the safety of everyday people. The Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on the matter in 2019 to investigate what Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) described as a rise in racial and religious hate crimes. Last year, President Joe Biden signed the Hate Crimes Act, which was intended to bolster the reporting system for domestic hate crimes.
In response to revelations that the Buffalo massacre was motivated by great replacement theory, some, such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, have called for a national strategy to address extremists. On Tuesday, Biden visited Buffalo and called for people to reject the lie that they are being replaced and to reject hate more broadly.
