{"id":27,"date":"2022-06-26T14:22:55","date_gmt":"2022-06-26T14:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/nasw-member-voices-mass-shootings-herald-rising-white-supremacist-movement.html"},"modified":"2022-06-26T14:22:55","modified_gmt":"2022-06-26T14:22:55","slug":"nasw-member-voices-mass-shootings-herald-rising-white-supremacist-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/nasw-member-voices-mass-shootings-herald-rising-white-supremacist-movement.html","title":{"rendered":"NASW Member Voices: Mass shootings herald rising white supremacist movement"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><!-- Facebook Like Button v1.9.6 BEGIN [http:\/\/blog.bottomlessinc.com] --><br \/>\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.socialworkblog.org%2Fpractice-and-professional-development%2F2022%2F06%2Fnasw-member-voices-mass-shootings-herald-rising-white-supremacist-movement%2F&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=450&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height: 30px; align: left; margin: 2px 0px 2px 0px\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<!-- Facebook Like Button END --><\/p>\n<address>\n<div id=\"attachment_14754\" style=\"width: 715px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-14754 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1168072851.jpg\" alt=\"Stop hands sign with USA flag and RACISM \/ Flag blackboard concept (Click for more)\" width=\"705\" height=\"495\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>By Mel Wilson, LCSW, MBA<\/p>\n<\/address>\n<p>The shooting of 13 people in Buffalo\u00a0of whom\u00a0ten perished by an avowed white supremacist was a tragedy waiting to happen. The fact that 11 of the 13 victims were Black was no mistake. The victims were targeted in a planned and calculated attack by a white supremacist radicalized into becoming a member of national racist and anti-Semitic hate groups. In other words, he\u00a0was\u00a0\u00a0not a \u201clone wolf\u201d killer. He is a part of a national movement that has been known to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security for many years.<\/p>\n<p>In June of 2021, the Biden administration alerted the nation about the rising threat of militias and\u00a0white supremacists in an\u00a0 intelligence report\u00a0delivered to Congress. The warning highlighted the growing problem of homegrown extremism in the United States. Though the Trump administration recognized the need to combat domestic terrorism, the former president \u00a0was seen as being reluctant to denounce\u00a0the violent extremism carried out by far-right nationalists and white supremacists. Which likely gave license for these groups to flourish \u2014 often in plain sight<\/p>\n<p>The truth is that the Buffalo race-based violence was one of the several such warning signs of the rapid growth of violent white supremacy. Such incidents include mass shootings at Mother Emanuel AME Church, the El Paso Walmart, and the Tree of Life Synagogue\u2014 all occurred within the last five years and were driven by contrived philosophies such a<em>s <\/em>White Replacement Theory. This conspiratorial set of beliefs claim that social changes in the United States (and worldwide) are connected to a plot by non-white elites to eradicate the white race. Supporters of the White Replacement movement believe that America is a white nation and should be led by white people.<\/p>\n<p>White Replacement Theory is far-reaching and has gained currency among millions of Americans. In fact, the Buffalo shooter\u2019s manifesto was taken verbatim from a manifesto of a White Replacement Theory adherent \u2014 who himself was a mass shooter who killed 51 people in two New Zealand mosques in 2019.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Political extremists have committed hundreds of murders<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14757\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-14757\" src=\"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/colin-lloyd-vJ92WGBBGb4-unsplash-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Over the past 10 years, the\u00a0Anti-Defamation League has counted nearly 450 U.S. murders committed by political extremists\u00a0 Of these 450 killings, right-wing extremists committed about 75 percent. Islamic extremists were responsible for about 20 percent, and left-wing extremists were responsible for\u00a0four percent.<\/p>\n<p>We cannot discuss racial and religion driven hate violence without pointing out that the carnage of these acts is inextricably tied to the proliferation and easy access to assault rifles \u2014 and high-capacity ammunition magazines. It is important to note that the Buffalo gun violence represents the 198th mass shooting this year, and 15,833 people have died from gun violence in 2022. Reducing access to guns will not end race-driven hate. However, there needs to be a national imperative to prevent the high loss of life and severe bodily harm\u2014 not to mention the emotional impact to communities targeted by hate violence \u2014that are the result of mass shootings.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Leadership is needed to end white supremacism<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The nation must come to grips with the fact that there exists a national (even international) white supremist movement that is growing rapidly \u2014 and is thriving in social media. To that point, there are several key immediate steps that are essential to take to respond to this crisis, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A need for conservative political leadership. The lack of which is a major obstacle in ridding America of white supremacy, which has plagued the nation since its inception. Unfortunately, conservatives in Congress and those at the State level have been either complicit in promoting hateful ideology, acquiesce to those who promulgate race-based conspiracy theories, or both.<\/li>\n<li>National and state-level leaders from all political persuasions must immediately and forcefully debunk harmful and bogus ideologies such as white Replacement Theory, and the unsubstantiated conspiracy-related mischaracterization of Critical Race Theory. They must also end the real and metaphorical spread of \u201cburning books\u201d that make school-aged children aware of America\u2019s racist past.<\/li>\n<li>The White House and Congress must work with major private sector social media companies and experts to provide oversight and develop standards for content that is conveyed through all social media platforms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The race-driven mass murders that occurred in Buffalo and other cities over the last five years are the tip of the iceberg of America\u2019s white supremacy problem. Coupled with anti-democracy voter suppression legislation, overturning women\u2019s rights to legal abortions, and attacks on transgender rights, white supremacy is an undeniable existential threat to the nation. It is without a doubt that we all have a responsibility to be vocal about our apprehension.<\/p>\n<p><em>Disclaimer: The National Association of Social Workers invites members to share their expertise and experiences through Member Voices. This blog was prepared by Mel Wilson in his personal capacity and does not necessarily reflect the view of the National Association of Social Workers.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info\"><img class=\"author-img\" src=\"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/MelWilson21-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h3>About The Author<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\tMel Wilson, LCSW, MBA, is the retired Senior Policy Advisor for the National Association of Social Workers. He continues to be active on a range social policy area including youth justice, immigration, criminal justice, and drug policy. He is a co-chairperson on the Justice Roundtable\u2019s Drug Policy Reform Working Group.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Images By Mel Wilson, LCSW, MBA The shooting of 13 people in Buffalo\u00a0of whom\u00a0ten perished by an avowed white<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[40,38,27,44,3,41,39,43,28,42],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}