White Replacement Extremism, El Paso And The Politics Of Education
Author’s note: I expect to be criticized for not using the term “allegedly” before the descriptions of the crimes that Patrick Wood Crusius has been charged with, but not convicted. Although there are legal reasons — often to protect the author and the publication from liability — I have chosen to leave out the “alleged” term. This article is about the use of language to frame narratives and thus I consider it inappropriate to play word gymnastics to protect myself from legal jeopardy for crimes that were clearly committed by Crusius against Mexicans. In addition, the individuals murdered by him no longer have a voice with which to frame their own narratives. As I will explain in this article, not only did Patrick Wood Crusius decide to frame his narrative at the expense of murdered victims, the basis of his narrative, the “great replacement” continues to be part of a larger national narrative that has made its way into how children are educated in schools today. At some point we must take a stand and push back on narratives that kill people. Giving Crusius the “alleged’ narrative is just plain wrong; thus, I chose to not be part of the grammatical gymnastics that gets people killed.
A little over two years ago a domestic terrorist drove overnight from Allen, Texas and murdered 23, mostly Mexican shoppers, at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. Patrick Wood Crusius is awaiting trial for “capital murder of multiple persons” in El Paso. [1] Crusius attacked the Mexicans “as a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” according to “The Inconvenient Truth,” a manifesto allegedly written by him and posted online before his act of domestic terrorism. [2]
The great replacement theory argues that Whites are being replaced by minorities. The theory has manifested itself in the mainstream via The 1619 Project and Donald J. Trump’s 1776 Report as well as in the ongoing public discussion about teaching critical race theory in schools. For an in depth understanding of the critical race theory and why it is a hotly debated topic, readers are encouraged to follow this link for an in-depth analysis.
For the purposes of this article, the critical race theory argument is about the idea that the “traditional, classic American” culture is being replaced by minorities in America, as Newt Gingrich recently succinctly opined on Fox Business. (see this link)
Although to the average reader it may not seem like the murder of Mexicans in El Paso is related to the ongoing debate about what is taught to children in schools, especially in Texas schools, Patrick Crusius himself told us that it is related.
The Christchurch Murders
About four months before Crusius went on his murder rampage in El Paso, another 51 individuals were killed on March 15, 2019 at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. The 51 murder victims and the 50 more who were injured were killed by a gunman who left behind a manifesto linking the great replacement theory with his murders. [3]
Whites are being ethnically wiped out of the world is the central premise of the great replacement theory. It was taken up by white supremacists but has now become part of the mainstream debate on what children are taught in school. Although it is framed as critical race theory and patriotism (1776 Report) to make the debate palatable to everyday Americans, the underlining driving factor is that White Americans are afraid of being displaced by minorities.
The Christchurch murders exposed the growing narrative about minorities across the world and how demographics are changing. Although narratives about culture and identity are an important element of nationality, it is the extremism and resulting violence that makes the narrative dangerous.
It is no longer simple narratives about the English language being supplanted by Spanish, but rather, dangerous murder rampages to protect against a perceived “apocalypse” that only existed within extremists’ minds.
Had the debate remained within extremists’ groups it would not be a topic for national debates framed around what children are taught in schools. That critical race theory is being debated at school boards makes the argument over whether “traditional, classic American” culture is being replaced by Mexicans that more dangerous.
The great replacement theory “contains the seeds to inspire extreme and violent action”. [3] It did with Patrick Wood Crusius driving about 600 miles to kill Mexicans. As Crusius is alleged to have written in his manifesto, to defend Texas from “an invasion of Hispanics.” [2]
The Aim of Terrorism Is To Achieve Political Change
Terrorism has one goal. It is to achieve political change. In this case, the political change is to keep “Hispanic invaders” out of Texas. To what end? It is to keep “traditional, classic American” culture from being replaced by the fastest growing demographic in America today, minorities — many of them, Latinos.
In the United States there have been several domestic terrorism murders in recent years. Only one has been tied directly to the great replacement theory, Patrick Wood Crusius’ attack at the Walmart in El Paso. Only one other act of terrorism has been tied directly to the fear of Whites being replaced by minorities, the Christchurch murders in New Zealand.
This is important to understand because as individuals debate whether Crusius deserves the death penalty, individuals like Tucker Carlson and Newt Gingrich are making the great replacement theory mainstream by packaging it as a debate on what to teach America’s children.
Critical Race Theory
Make no mistake about the ongoing discussions about critical race theory (CRT) that is dominating America today, not only on news segments but in school boards, as well. It is not about patriotism as they would have readers believe. Critical race theory is about keeping “traditional, classic Americans” as the ideal of what it is to be an American.
CRT has evolved away from extremists and immigration into the schools where American children are taught to be Americans. It is no coincidence that it morphed into the schools. It is a decades-old U.S. military dictum that to counter guerrilla warfare, the “hearts-and-minds” of the people must be convinced that the fighters fighting proclaimed-oppressors are the enemy and not the soldiers opposing them.
What better way than to conquer the “hearts-and-minds” of America then through its children?
The narrative in critical race theory is simply about whether immigrants and minorities have a place in America today.
El Paso At Center Of Critical Race Theory
Typically, El Paso is again at the center of debates with national implications, but local political provincialism keeps most El Pasoans in the dark about what is going on in their community. The epicenter of the immigration debate is El Paso. Many do not realize it. So is critical race theory but few have noticed it.
Note that last week’s “remembrances” focused on, rightfully so, the victims but the underlining cause of the murders was distorted away from the narratives on critical race theory. CRT was not part of the conversation, and it should have been.
Crusius, on his alleged manifesto, wrote that his attack against Mexicans was “simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.” [6] Clearly, Crusius was responding to the great replacement theory that is the underlining driving force behind the critical race theory debate. As a matter of fact, Crusius adds in his alleged manifesto that “the Hispanic community was not my target before I read The Great Replacement,” referencing the book by French author Renaud Camus’, Le Grand Remplacement. (follow this link for more analysis)
Crusius’ alleged manifesto explains that Hispanics (immigrants) are being imported by Democrats leading to “losing Texas and a few other states with heavy Hispanic populations” to create an “Hispanic voting bloc.” [6]
Walmart
Walmart, for its part, has little to say or do about the fact that its store was the sight of a murder rampage driven by hatred of Mexicans because of critical race theory. When 49 individuals were killed at the Pulse in Orlando on June 12, 2016, the Pulse did not reopen. It instead was transformed into a remembrance sight for those killed and as a reminder that hate has no place in society. Walmart, on the other hand, with over 5,000 stores in the United States and another 2,634 [4] has offered a token Grand Candela memorial at the entrance of the store as nothing more than a token gesture to the killing of Mexicans because of white supremacy. If the Pulse can be a beacon against murdering Latinos because of hate, why can’t Walmart offer more than a token statue that does not even include the names of the 23 victims?
Walmart, apparently, would rather pretend the incident never happened as evidenced by their empty gesture. Critical race theory is raging in America and the price is targeting minorities, often with violence, to keep the “traditional, classic American” as the ideal American in place.
When a Walmart employee “sent an email to 20,000” other Walmart employees only a few days after the murders, “calling for a strike in response to Wal-Mart’s inaction on gun violence,” what did Walmart do? It said, “that it would not change its policies on selling guns or allowing customers to carry guns in stores.” [5]
The problem of armed violence “is more acute in low-income communities and communities of color, according to a lawsuit filed against Walmart in 2019 because of the El Paso murders. [5]
The Faulty Narrative
The narrative about Patrick Wood Crusius is framed around legal processes, mental illness and whether the death penalty should be applied. It is purposely framed that way because the dialog that El Paso, and the nation, should be having is why did Crusius target Mexicans, makes many uncomfortable.
By having the discussion distorted by Crusius’ legal jeopardy, it puts critical race theory in the backburner keeping an inconvenient discussion away. Crusius clearly said that the displacement of the White culture is what drove him to murder Mexicans. Of all the domestic terrorists in America today, he represents what critical race theory is about and thus no one is having that discussion because it is “an inconvenient truth” that few dare to touch.
The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a Threat Assessment for Texas in January 2020. Its analysis focused extensively on Patrick Crusius’ El Paso murders and how “White Racially Motivated (WRM) is currently the most violent active domestic terrorism type” of domestic terrorism threat in America today. [7]
The debate over teaching critical race theory is “White Racially Motivated” domestic terrorism wrapped in a nice package of how patriotism should be taught in American schools. Yet, no one in El Paso or the nation are talking about.
Footnotes:
1. State of Texas v. Patrick Wood Crusius, Re-indictment, 34th Judicial District Court (19–07656-CR), June 25, 2020.
2. United States of America v. Patrick Wood Crusius, Indictment, United States District Court, Western District of Texas (EP20CR0389), February 6, 2020.
3. Jacob Davey and Julia Ebner, “’The Great Replacement’: The Violent Consequences of Mainstream Extremism,” Institute for Strategic Dialog, 2019.
4. Walmart corporate data.
5. Jessica Garcia, et al v. Walmart, Inc. et al, 448th District Court (2019DCV3471), October 7, 2019.
6. “The Inconvenient Truth Manifesto,” allegedly posted by Patrick Crusius online, copy captured by author on August 3, 2019.
7. “Texas Domestic Terrorism Threat Assessment, A State Intelligence Estimates,” Texas Fusion Center, Intelligence & Counterterrorism Division, Texas Department of Public Safety, January 2020.
