The recent grocery store mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, is placing a spotlight on white supremacy.

Eighteen-year-old Payton Gendron drove three hours from his home in Conklin, New York, to the Tops grocery store on May 14, 2022, and shot 13 people – most of them Black – killing 10 shoppers. Gendron’s gun had racist expletives written on it, and his 180-page online manifesto also repeated key elements of replacement theory.

This conspiracy theory, with roots in French nationalism of the 20th century, falsely warns that Western elites and Jews are bringing immigrants into a country to replace white people.

Since the shooting, several Republican politicians and commentators have used language that echoes this idea.

For example, Missouri Senate candidate Eric Schmitt, the state attorney general, said in May that Democrats are “fundamentally trying to change this country through illegal immigration.”

As scholars of white supremacy, white nationalism and extremism, we think it is important to understand what replacement theory means and how it shapes various white supremacist conspiracies, which motivate violent extremism.

Our research shows that this once-fringe theory has been gaining traction in the U.S. over the past few decades. It is necessary to understand the various elements that lead people to commit domestic violent extremism in order to stop it from happening. Here are three key points about replacement theory to keep in mind.

Read more - https://theconversation.com/replacement-theory-isnt-new-3-things-to-know-about-how-this-once-fringe-conspiracy-has-become-more-mainstream-183492