Reference no: EM133777226

Assignment:

DIRECTIONS:

Read the excerpt below from, "The National Immigration Forum." This piece uncovers a somewhat new phenomenon that has been linked to explaining some reformation of hate groups and mass shootings recently.

After reading the excerpt below, provide a discussion response to the questions that follow that contain at least 2 direct quotes from Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 of textbook "Race in America" by Matthew Desmond and Mustafa Emirbayer 2nd edition and excerpt below from, "The National Immigration Forum" to support position and reference the material where quote was found.

READ:

"In mid-September 2021, the U.S. media turned its attention to an increasing number of Haitian migrants seeking protection at the border in Del Rio, Texas. While most of the arriving migrants were either turned back into Mexico or deported to destitute conditions in Haiti, some Haitian families were allowed to stay in the U.S. and pursue asylum claims in immigration court.

On Sept. 22, cable television host Tucker Carlson provided his own theory as to what was happening at the border. In a segment titled "Nothing About What's Happening Is an Accident," Carlson said that current U.S. border policy is designed to 'change the racial mix of the country.... In political terms this policy is called the 'great replacement,' the replacement of legacy Americans with more obedient people from faraway countries." Carlson concluded that President Biden's policies with regard to the Haitian migrants have put the U.S. on a "suicidal" path.

Since Carlson's comments, numerous public figures on the far right have echoed or supported this "great replacement" theory - which has also been called "white replacement theory" or simply "replacement theory" - and it has started to gain broader attention. On Sept. 29, Axios summarized the situation: "A racist conspiracy theory goes mainstream." Several more moderate conservatives have criticized the theory for being anti-American and for its roots in white supremacy, including former President George W. Bush and former Reagan administration official Linda Chavez."

But what exactly is the "great replacement" theory?

The "great replacement" theory, in simple terms, states that welcoming immigration policies - particularly those impacting nonwhite immigrants - are part of a plot designed to undermine or "replace" the political power and culture of white people living in Western countries.

Multiple iterations of the "great replacement" theory have been and continue to be used by anti-immigrant groups, white supremacists, and others. Prominent iterations include:

Rhetoric of invasion: The theory often uses martial and violent rhetoric of a migrant "invasion" that must be stopped before it "conquers" "white America."

Voter replacement: The theory also sometimes incorporates the inaccurate assumption that nonwhite immigrants will vote a certain way, and therefore pro-immigration policies are designed by elites to diminish the political influence of white Americans.

Antisemitism: In still other iterations, the theory can be found embedded in a web of other xenophobic conspiracies, including anti-semitic notions that Jewish elites are responsible for the "replacement" plot.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:

1. What are the implications of the replacement theory's growing popularity?

2. Do we feel that the replacement theory is simply another attempt by influential Whites to instill fear in other Whites that will ultimately create more racial divide and stifle between Whites and non-Whites? The fear being instilled is that Whites are becoming the minority and losing political, economic, and cultural power.