Following the racist terrorist attack against Mexicans in El Paso, the shooting rampage in Dayton, and the recent mass shooting in Odessa, there’s a new GOP – NRA strategy just in time to help Donald Trump in 2020: downplay the angry white male angle and make the issue about anything EXCEPT white nationalism.
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The belief is that by keeping the White House and at least one branch of Congress in the hands of Republicans, the GOP – NRA will be able to control US Supreme Court confirmations and maintain the right for guns to remain in the hands of every (white) American in the land.
Their only potential roadblock is the recent string of mass shootings by white males in El Paso, Dayton, and Odessa, which has given credence to the narrative that white nationalism is on the rise and must be stopped via stringent gun control laws. So, the GOP – NRA has handed out a strict list of marching orders. Deny, deny, deny any connection between guns and white supremacy, ignore any discussion regarding white nationalism, and continue hammering home the narrative that mental illness, video games, and “violence from the left” are the actual causes behind the crazed killings.
According to a document obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, the GOP – NRA strategy involves a framework for how Republicans should respond to such questions as “Why won’t you pass legislation to close the ‘gun show loophole’ in federal law?” and “Why shouldn’t we ban high-capacity magazines?” as well as the million-dollar question: “Do you believe white nationalism is driving more mass shootings recently?”
The directed response is to steer all conversations regarding mass shootings by white males away from white nationalism and instead to the calmer implication that both sides are to blame.
“White nationalism and racism are pure evil and cannot be tolerated in any form,” the document said. “We also can’t excuse violence from the left such as the El Paso shooter, the recent Colorado shooters, the Congressional baseball shooter, Congresswoman Giffords’ shooter and Antifa,” it continued, using examples of leftist shootings (although the shooters were all white).
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The GOP – NRA strategy is to dig up every shooting by a non-conservative they can find in order to make the case that conservatives, Trump, or white nationalists are not solely responsible for the deaths but that people from both political spectrum’s are to blame.
However, with more and more mass shootings occurring on a regular basis at the hands of angry white males, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for Donald Trump and his cronies to blame the violence on Muslims and illegal immigrants. Additionally, Republicans are facing mounting pressure from all sides to address the root cause of these tragedies and demands that Congress take action.
Further, statistics are not on their side. According to the Anti-Defamation League, extremist-related murders have not only spiked within the last year, but 73% of these crimes are committed by right-wing extremists and white supremacists. Interestingly, not a single extremist-related murder in the United States last year was carried out by “the left.”
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According to ADL’s Center on Extremism, 73.3% of U.S. extremist-related murders in the past decade were committed by right-wing extremists, including white supremacists. Leaders must immediately take concrete steps to curb this alarming trend. #ElPaso pic.twitter.com/3MPbvzXo6e
— ADL (@ADL) August 4, 2019
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No matter what the GOP – NRA strategy would prefer us all to believe, white nationalism is on the rise and angry white men with guns is a huge problem in America. So, don’t fall for the smoke and mirrors. Disgruntled, white male terrorists are in the driver’s seat and Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric is still providing all the fuel.
I want to preface my responses by first saying- I am in total agreement with DJ on this:
“No matter what the GOP – NRA strategy would prefer us all to believe, white nationalism is on the rise and angry white men with guns is a huge problem in America. So, don’t fall for the smoke and mirrors. Disgruntled, white male terrorists are in the driver’s seat…..”
But here’s where I slightly disagree: “and Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric is still providing all the fuel.”
I would posit that Trump is providing most of the fuel….Not all of it. There are other motivations, Equally if not more venomous, at play when it comes to angry white males with guns terrorizing all of America.
Motivations such as FEAR and Self-loathing. Ignorance and isolation. Insecurity and Hatred. Oh and did I mention….FEAR.
So what’s the one character flaw that tends to be common among weak and fearful males…especially white males? They Scapegoat. Their incompetencies,…their failures….feeling like a Loser…to them, it’s almost always someone else’s fault. Rarely do such mucked up individuals take responsibility for their own inadequacies. Easier to blame the “Others” while wrapping themselves up in white nationalism and pretending to be about restoring this country to white dominance. It’s mostly a crock of sh*t.
White terrorists aren’t just shooting at people of Color, They’re shooting at anybody and everybody. Innocent victims of their deadly rampages are just as likely (if not moreso) to be White men, White women AND White children as innocent victims of Color. White male terrorists are nihilists. Life is meaningless to them so they kill for the sake of killing….and for revenge. Revenge for what?
Being born.
I’ll conclude with my take on the GOP-NRA connection…..
DJ laid it out accurately. And while the GOP and NRA are trying to pretend that angry white males with unfettered access to Guns are NOT a festering problem in America, here is their dilemma:
The GOP and NRA are having to deal with a few glaring realities they’ve NOT had to deal with before.
1. See my 2nd response. Angry white males are shooting at everything and everybody INCLUDING innocent White Americans (men, women and children). The number of White victims is growing. White women in particular are horrified and demanding gun reform Now!
2. The NRA has lost a lot of money and is losing a lot of power due to massive corruption among its leadership and rampant infighting. Does the NRA still have some pull. Yes. But that organization AIN’T nearly what it used to be.
3. Thanks to Trump, and the GOP’s fear of him, the GOP has thoroughly discredited itself. Like the NRA, they can (and do) still wreak havoc. But the Repubs have thoroughly discredited themselves. No principles. No values. Nothing. Just an empty, vacuous, shell of itself. That party will never be the same.
These white boys with guns is definitely a problem. But if the Repubs and NRA did not care when all those kids got killed in Connecticut then they do not care about anybody. The mad white boy problem is only going to get worse though. I want to see what happens when one of theirs gets killed.
“There is no shortage of malevolent people who would be comfortable with our society backsliding towards the historical norm, just for the opportunity to express that endless rage within them.” – Retired Gen. James Mattis
H/T: “James Mattis Gives the Country a Warning” – National Review, Sept. 3, 2019