THE “GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY” PART II

 

…Marjorie Taylor Greene is an example of those that still promote things like Trump’s “Big Lie”

 

Key politicians of both parties have come out against the “Great Replacement”

Isn’t it interesting that one of the individual that is considered a key to selling the Great Replacement Theory, is Fox’s: Tucker Carlson.

Ever since he started his own show, he has gone from just kind of referring to the Black & Brown immigrants, to now emphasizing that they are making an attack on America.  And he does it on every one of his shows.

In fact, in response to Carlson’s September segment of negative shows, that also had Florida’s Matt Gaetz support, the conservative commentator and National Immigration Forum Senior Fellow, Linda Chavez, she called the “great replacement theory” what it really is!  

Ms. Chavez  said: “It is sickening…racist, xenophobic and paranoid.”   Chevez also noted that the Democrats having a “replacement theory” would not make all that much sense. “And the Republicans have since the 1970’s done fairly well with Latino voters.”

But she’s referring to the Republican Party, before Donald Trump became president.  Traditional Republicans, of which today they’re seems to be very few.  Those that call themselves Republicans today, such as Mr. Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Green, Ted Cruz and Kevin McCarthy, they are lock, stock and barrel, owned by the Donald J. Trump Party.

In response to the events in Charlottesville in August 2017, former Presients Geotge H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Geroge W. Bush, and Barack Obama, they all came out against the extremists rhetoric that was so steeped in the “great replacement theory”. 

In an October 2017 speech, George W. Bush issued perhaps the strongest response. “Our identity as a nation, unlike other nations, is not determined by geography or ethnicity, by soil or blood….This means that people of every race, religion, and ethnicity can be fully and equally American.  It means that bigotry or white supremacy is any form is blasphemy against American creed.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a leading anti-hate organization, has vigilantly tracked the rise of the “great replacement theory” and escribed it roots in racism, fascism and antisemitism. In a recent piece, the ADL noted that self-proclaimed white supremacists have celebrated Carlson’s broadcasts with one announcement: “Now Tucker is name dropping the Great Replacement Theory on his broadcasts…that’s due to us.”

So, how can we combat the rise of the “Great Replacement Theory?”

When faced with a dark and extreme ideology likr this, it can feel overwhelming and like it’s impossible to make a difference.  However, we have the power to educate ourselves and be the catalysts for change in our own communities.

Here where and how we can start:

• Learn more about the history.  Read through this resource, visit a library, or better yet, use the internet to find information from fact-checked and trusted sources and researchers about the history of nativism and extremism in the United States, and efforts to combat them.

• Help others understand where statements and theories like this originate.  Share this resource with and talk with your family and friends.

• Amplify the voices of those who have spoken out against theories like this.  Share speeches, quotes and articles that push back against this ideology, and outline why it’s so dangerous.

• Ask questions.  When faced with a public official or community member who continues to share thoughts that fall along these lines, ask them, yourselves, and others questions about where they’re getting their information, what proof they have to back up their statements, and more about where their theories come from.  You may not change their minds, but your questions might inspire others to ask question as well.

• Get involved in your community to support immigrants, refugees and migrants.  With the rise in extremist narratives and ideas in the mainstream, it’s imperative the we engage with the subject in a positive way.  Speak up in support of policies that would help reform our immigration system to make us a country of welcome, or volunteer to help refugees resettling in your community.  If you are looking for ways to take action on a national scale, see resources such as the National Immigration Forums, Advocacy Resources Landing Page.

Let’s face it.  We are dealing with an issue that has gotten way ahead of most of us even having a concept of what is going on with the extremists.

They, such as Fox News and their Tucker Carlson, and others, have gotten a serious lead on the rest of us.

But we are in the right, and the democracy of this nation is now for the first time, entering a time which will determine if it will remain as such.

Yes, life as we know it, may be on the verge of disappearing.  Only those of us that realize what’s going on with those extremists and those white supremist and those that prefer autocracy over democracy. 

It’s now up to us real Americans that want to keep us as a nation of immigrants.  That is our strengths, not our problems.

Copyright G. Ater 2022