Replacement Theory
Critical Analysis
According to the polling data above, what percentage of all respondents agree or strongly agree with the statement, “The Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate with voters from poorer countries around the world.”
According to the polling data above, what percentage of White respondents agree or strongly agree with the statement, “The Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate with voters from poorer countries around the world.”
Do you agree, strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the statement, “The Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate with voters from poorer countries around the world.”
Not all immigrants are U.S. citizens, and as a result, not all immigrants are eligible to vote in federal elections. In fact, as of 2018, the share of the foreign-born population eligible to vote was less than half (see chart below)*. What are some obstacles to voting that immigrants face.
The gunman who killed 10 people in a racist rampage in Buffalo, NY, left behind a lengthy manifesto about why he was planning to kill minorities, who he claimed were going to replace White Americans. The “Replacement theory,” espoused by the suspect in the Buffalo massacre, has been embraced by some right-wing politicians and commentators. No public figure has promoted replacement theory more than Fox host Tucker Carlson, who has made it a central theme of his show since 2016. A Times investigation published this month showed that in more than 400 episodes of his show, Mr. Carlson has amplified the notion that Democratic politicians and other assorted elites want to force demographic change through immigration. How much responsibility for the Buffalo massacre belongs to Tucker Carlson?
On August 11, 2017, In the evening, hundreds of white nationalists gathered at University of Virginia ahead of August 12th’s planned Unite the Right rally. Wielding torches, their chants include phrases such as “white lives matter,” “Jews will not replace us,” and the Nazi-associated phrase “blood and soil.” On Aug. 15, 2017, President Donald Trump held a press conference to discuss an executive order he had signed on infrastructure permitting. Reporters shortly began asking questions about Trump’s initial response to violent protests in Charlottesville, Va. It was at this press conference that Trump said that "you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides." Do you agree that there neo-Nazis are “fine people?”
Replacement Theory is an outlandish racist idea that is obviously not true. But it taps into a basic fear that many Americans feel. Think about the major technological changes going on in American culture and try to explain why so many people fear that they are being replaced.
What are some steps Joe Biden could take to address the impacts of replacement theory.
Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, the third-ranking House Republican is under scrutiny for campaign advertisements she has circulated that play on themes of the white supremacist “great replacement” theory. That belief, espoused by the Buffalo gunman, holds that the elite class, sometimes manipulated by Jews, wants to “replace” and disempower white Americans. Last year, in an ad on Facebook, Ms. Stefanik accused “radical Democrats” of planning what she described as a “PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION.” The ad claimed, “Their plan to grant amnesty to 11 MILLION illegal immigrants will overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington,” the ad said. Do you think leaders of a major American political party should amplify racist talking points?
How does Americans media consumption impact the belief in replacement theory?*
Learning Extension
Check out all the polling data from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research study: Immigration Attitudes and Conspiratorial Thinkers
Action Extension
Contact your party leadership (see image below)* and express your opinion on Replacement theory.
Visual Extension*
