Over the years, the American political landscape has been marred time and time again by controversial opinions and inappropriate remarks. However, it is shocking that American politicians have actively pushed a conspiracy theory such as the existence of an orchestrated effort to kick Americans out of their own country, and that such a hateful ideology could be viewed as the mainstream. Donald Trump’s ideologies would have been seen as extremism twenty years ago, and he was seen as a joke for much of the 2016 election cycle; yet, he managed to capture the presidency. Trump’s election is just one example of the shift in ideology that is currently occurring in America. The wide-scale acceptance of theories such as the racist “great replacement theory” demonstrates the concerning trend towards extremism in mainstream politics.

According to a survey conducted by the Associated Press NORC Center at the University of Chicago(AP-NORC), “twenty-nine percent of a wide range of Americans surveyed believe that a group of people is trying to replace native- born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains,” while twenty-nine percent “express concern that an increase in immigration is leading to native- born Americans losing economic, political, and cultural influence.” These ideas, which sit at the core of the “replacement theory” first outlined by the French author Renaud Camus, are innately racist and hateful; the idea that immigrants and minorities are an evil force of replacement ultimately leads to prejudices that hurt the quality of life for minority Americans. The Pew Research Center found that “32% of Asian adults say they have feared someone might threaten or physically attack them” and that a “majority of Asian adults (81%) also say violence against them is increasing, far surpassing the share of all U.S. adults (56%) who say the same.” America is, at its core, a nation of immigrants; this very fact has played a key role in America achieving economic and political success despite being fairly young in relation to other world powers such as the United Kingdom. A lack of inclusivity defies our core principles of acceptance and liberty, and threatens America’s moral authority across the globe.

Having established this well-defined shift in ideology, it becomes clear that events such as the horrendous Buffalo shooting of the 14th of May, 2022 are the result of a trend toward extremism. Ten innocent people, all people of color, were killed in a shooting that, at first glance, appears like a mentally ill and hateful person committing a heinous crime. However, further below the surface, this is no random act of violence. This is an extreme manifestation of the belief that minorities are here to rob the majority of their quality of life. Payton Gendron, the shooter in this case, stated himself that he is part of a movement that is trying to “save” the majority. He also stated that he was inspired by other members of this unthinkably racist movement who commited mass murders such as the 2015 Charleston predominantly-Black church event, and the 2018 murder of 11 Jewish worshippers in Pittsburgh. This “replacement theory” has been peddled by high-ranking Republican politicians; support for such racist ideas ultimately inspires instances of violence such as this. While they may not intend to inspire acts of violence, their adoption of replacement theory into political ideology reflects that these ideas are becoming more and more accepted in American dialogue.

Action needs to be taken immediately to discourage the hateful theory that minorities are the cause of the problems faced by white Americans. At its very core, this ideology is an attack on the very democracy that white supremacists claim to protect, as it values the purported interests of select groups over those of other Americans. Politicians and influencers such as Tucker Carlson need to stop using hateful ideology, or at the very least, provide disclaimers denouncing violent acts on account of their hateful beliefs. Left-wing politicians need to speak out more, and call out their hateful right wing counterparts more vocally. Legislatively, there needs to be greater gun regulation, as hateful domestic terrorists shouldn’t have access to powerful firearms. If no action is taken, this corrosion of democracy will only worsen exponentially, and more innocents will be robbed of their security and their lives.