According to President Biden, “Terrorism from White supremacy is the most lethal threat to the homeland today,” as he put it in an address to Congress. Attorney General Merrick Garland agreed, noting that “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists” are the most dangerous element of domestic violence. Garland declared that we must “bring federal resources to bear” and “adopt a broader societal response” to the threat of White supremacy.
But it’s a slur to claim that Americans live in fear from White supremacists like the brownshirts of yore. In reality, White supremacists are a small fringe group of pathetic losers who are despised by all.
Their gatherings often attract more attackers than members. No one raises money for their bail when they get in trouble, like Kamala Harris did for BLM when their “mostly peaceful” protests produced burning buildings and mass looting.
The Leftist media faithfully performs its task of propping up this imaginary threat. Incidents of White-on-Black violence make headline news for days while pundits emphasize the role of systemic hate. Similar incidents with different racial dimensions are often underreported or ignored.
In early May, five outbreaks of violence occurred within a few days. A California Taiwanese church was shot up by a Black man. Another Black man killed workers in a Dallas salon. A White man killed shoppers in a Buffalo grocery store. Pro-life offices were fire-bombed in Wisconsin and Oregon.
President Biden, as usual, only paid attention to the one that fit his White supremacy narrative. He seized upon the Buffalo incident as “proof of the poison with which White supremacy threatens America.” He vowed to not “let hate win.”
Even though the media’s over reporting makes them seem more numerous, incidents like the Buffalo shooting are, statistically, isolated events. But the Buffalo murders don’t even qualify anecdotally as an example of right wing-inspired terror.
C.E. Cupp on CNN explained the horrific incident by noting how “far right-wing media…stir up racial animus, ethnic animus, religious animus…getting people angry and afraid.” Another CNN expert compared Republicans to 1930s fascists and current Islamic dictatorships. “What these people want is a Christian White nationalist version of what you have in Iran today and Saudi Arabia.”
But the perp’s own 80-page manifesto reveals no hint of any such causation. Yes, he was deranged, a psychopath with an intense hatred of Blacks but no connections to White supremacy groups or ideology. He despised Fox News specifically and said he “wanted no part of conservatism.”
Though he was clearly not inspired by right wing influences, commentators latched on anyway to the killer’s advocacy of “replacement theory.” The New York Times called it a “racist, fringe conspiracy theory,” but it’s nothing of the sort.
It’s simply the fact that the US White population is shrinking while the population total is growing, mostly due to immigration. The concern isn’t skin color but whether this demographic shift will contribute to the decline of America’s culture and values. Recent trends in minority support of Republicans give hope that this may not happen, but at any rate, the observation is immaterial to White supremacy.
The Big Lie of pervasive White supremacy is deeply harmful. First, it serves as the pretext for our overgrown government to react to the “threat” with a series of banana republic-style measures to suppress opposition.
The so-called Ministry of Truth was paused, but the DOJ has created task forces to counter “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists,” including members of the military and parents advocating before school boards, but not Antifa, BLM, or Muslims.
Second, the Big Lie precludes a serious discussion of realistic remedies for interracial violence and the ongoing carnage of young Black men. We should do away with gun-free zones, which only reassure potential killers. We should work harder to keep guns out of the hands of the clearly deranged without a wholesale sacrificing of civil rights. We need to stop the push to decriminalize crime and denigrate police officers. And much more.
While we chase the chimera of White supremacy, real people continue to die.
Author Note: This column was written before the school shooting in Texas. Its conclusions are not affected.
A state senator who also serves as treasurer for Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaign remains under fire for a tweet he wrote Friday which many perceive as an insult of a foreign-born state lawmaker.
Sen. Martin Quezada (D-LD29) tweeted “This is what #WhiteNationalism looks like” with a finger pointing downward toward Rep. Quang Nguyen’s supportive retweet of Gov. Doug Ducey’s announced signing of legislation banning government-sponsored or funded Critical Race Theory instruction.
Among those who came to Nguyen’s defense was Rep. Justin Wilmeth (R-LD15) who called Nguyen “one of the most kind, funny and caring people in this country,” along with Rep. Shawnna Bolick (R-LD20) who reminded Quezada of their colleague’s history.
Nguyen (R-LD1) was born in Vietnam where several of his family members were killed by Communists. He fled to America as a child asylum applicant, later becoming a U.S. citizen and a successful businessman before his election to the Arizona House of Representatives in November 2020.
Known as a quiet and respectful lawmaker, Nguyen was vice-chair of the House Committee on Military Affairs & Public Safety. He was most animated during the session when talking about his daughter’s various experiences and achievements in the U.S. Navy.
But Nguyen garnered national headlines last month when he pushed back on a suggestion by Rep. Daniel Hernandez (D-LD2) that Communism is not as big of a threat to Americans as White Nationalism. After Hernandez finished, Nguyen spoke up and spoke out.
“So, let me tell you something about White Nationalism,” Nguyen said while looking over at Hernandez. “White Nationalism didn’t drown 250,000 Vietnamese in the South China sea. The Communists did. White Nationalism did not execute 86,000 South Vietnamese at the Fall of Saigon. Communists did. White Nationalism did not put me here. Communism did. So don’t take it lightly. Don’t mock me. Don’t mock what I go through in life.”
As of Saturday night, neither Hobbs nor Quezada had commented on the furor over the tweet.
Nguyen was the prime sponsor of HB2575 which mandates that hospitals offering in-person visitation must include clergy as approved visitors. If a hospital does not offer in-person visitation then hospital staff must facilitate virtual clergy visits. HB2575 cleared both chambers with bipartisan support and was signed by the governor in May.
During the House floor debate over the budget last week, State Representative Daniel Hernandez (D-Tucson) claimed that white nationalism poses a bigger threat than communism. In just over a century of its existence, the death toll of communism has reached over 100 million. State Representative Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott Valley), a survivor of Vietnam’s communist regime, fired back that Hernandez’s remarks ignored that death toll.
Hernandez made the claim that communism was a minimal threat when he rose to speak in opposition to the K-12 budget bill on Friday. The bill included the requirement that schools teach how political ideologies such as communism and totalitarianism conflict with America’s founding principles of freedom and democracy.
“So, we keep hearing about ‘the threat of communism, it is a great threat, it is such a bad thing.’ You know what’s a bigger threat?” said Hernandez. “White nationalism. The insurrection that happened on January 6. Those are bigger threats to our nation.”
Only one of five deaths that occurred on January 6 can be attributed to the rioters. The woman killed, Rosanne Boyland, was trampled to death by the mob. Another one of the deaths came from a Capitol Hill police officer that shot and killed a woman named Ashley Babbitt. Three of the other deaths occurred naturally; the remaining death was the result of a drug overdose.
“So, yes, let’s talk about communism,” continued Hernandez. “But let’s also talk about making sure that we are not letting people get away with the kinds of things that were happening on January 6, and teaching our kids that it’s okay to try and overthrow a democratically-elected government – with that, I vote nay.”
Cheers and clapping could be heard in the background as Hernandez ended his speech.
Nguyen fired back that Hernandez was taking the issue of communism lightly – mocking the experiences of him and other asylees, even, by suggesting that white nationalism was the bigger threat.
Nguyen sought political asylum at 12 years old from the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in April 1975 – a week before the Fall of Saigon.
“I’m not a big talker,” said Nguyen. “And, you know, I stood back there and I listened to everybody, and I just got irritated so I came over here and pressed the white button. Is it okay if I say ‘white button?’”
Nguyen paused when his quip inspired laughter. He continued.
“You know, I just recently heard somebody say that […] communism is not the enemy, but white nationalism [is]. So, let me tell you something about white nationalism. White nationalism didn’t drown 250,000 Vietnamese in the South China sea. The communists did. White nationalism did not execute 86,000 South Vietnamese at the Fall of Saigon. Communists did. White nationalism did not put me here. Communism did. So don’t take it lightly. Don’t mock me. Don’t mock what I go through in life. It’s rough. I lost most of my cousins, my family members due to communism. If we don’t stand up to teach communism to our children, we’ll lose this country. So sir, don’t mock me.”
Corinne Murdock is a contributing reporter for AZ Free News. In her free time, she works on her books and podcasts. Follow her on Twitter, @CorinneMurdock or email tips to corinnejournalist@gmail.com
