{"id":8216,"date":"2022-06-27T17:47:08","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T17:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=8216"},"modified":"2022-06-27T17:47:08","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T17:47:08","slug":"the-twisted-logic-behind-the-rights-great-replacement-arguments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=8216","title":{"rendered":"The Twisted Logic Behind The Right\u2019s \u2018Great Replacement\u2019 Arguments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“This more mainstream version of the replacement theory hides behind justifications that the criticism of changing American demographics is about politics and power. It\u2019s a narrative so prevalent on the right that nearly half of Republicans believe that immigrants are being brought to the country for political gains. According to a poll conducted in December by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research<\/a>, 47 percent of Republicans agreed with the statement that \u201cthere is a group of people in this country who are trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants who agree with their political views.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But those justifications are built on false assumptions about American demographics and immigration: that white people will soon be a minority in this country, that immigrants and non-white voters are all Democrats, and that no longer being the majority group means a loss of power. When those assumptions are torn down, the true justifications for these fears become transparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theory\u2019s first inaccurate assumption is that white Americans will soon become a minority population. But using any nuanced reading of the data, that\u2019s not true. Yes, in 2015, the U.S. Census Bureau published a population projection<\/a> that by the year 2044, non-Hispanic white Americans would no longer be a numerical majority in the country. But not being the majority is not the same as being a minority: Even in that projection, non-Hispanic white Americans would still make up a plurality of the population<\/a> compared with any other race. And non-Hispanic white Americans are not the only white Americans. When you include American Latinos who identify as solely white, you wind up with \u201cmore than 70 percent of the population identifying at least in part as white in 2044 and over two-thirds in 2060,\u201d according to research published last year<\/a> in the journal \u201cPerspectives on Politics.\u201d”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The same research showed that presenting the demographic-shifts story as \u201cmajority-minority by 2044\u201d prompts white Americans to say they feel more anxious and less hopeful. But when you present the same demographic changes in a more nuanced (and accurate) narrative around a rise in multiculturalism<\/a> and Americans who identify as more than one race, white Americans\u2019 self-reported anxiety was lower, even compared with a control group presented with basic facts about demographic changes with no narrative framing, according to the same study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s almost like inaccurately framing demographic shifts as a zero-sum game leads to inaccurate perceptions among Americans that can amplify fear and resentment.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Another plot hole in the mainstream replacement narrative is the assumption that immigrants will solely support the Democratic party. Stefanik\u2019s campaign ran a Facebook ad<\/a> in September that echoed replacement-theory rhetoric. \u201cRadical Democrats\u201d were planning \u201ca PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION,\u201d the ad claimed. \u201cTheir plan to grant amnesty to 11 MILLION illegal immigrants will overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlson, too, has repeatedly warned of a so-called Democratic plot<\/a> to \u201cimport an entirely new electorate from the Third World and change the demographics of the U.S. so completely they will never lose again.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even he concedes that this narrative is flawed, pointing out in his show last week that many non-white and immigrant voters are, in fact, Republican. In the 2020 election, roughly 2 in 5 Latino voters<\/a> cast a ballot for then-President Donald Trump. And, as my colleague Alex Samuels has written, messaging about racial grievances might, perhaps counterintuitively, attract some Latino voters<\/a> to the Republican Party. In fact, the GOP attracts voters from every racial group, and while white voters may be its base, not all nonwhite or immigrant voters are Democrats.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Twisted Logic Behind The Right\u2019s \u2018Great Replacement\u2019 Arguments<\/a><\/blockquote>