Thread by @ARCCollective

1. When looking at the tragedy in Buffalo, NY where a murderer (inspired by another murderer in Christchurch, NZ) took the lives of 10 human beings, I've seen a lot of Canadians being smug and saying, "at least that can't happen here."

They are wrong.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

2. In fact Canadian right-wing extremists have punched above their weight when spreading the "Great Replacement" conspiracy which motivated both the Buffalo and, earlier, Christchurch murderers who rationalized their murders in racist screeds (I won't call them "manifestos").

3. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

When the murders took place I checked to see what the reaction of right-wing extremists was.

In short, this is representative.

- Misinformation.
- Trudeau's fault.
- False flag.

4. But there was more that didn't fit these themes precisely.

For example Proud Boy founder and (sadly) Canadian Gavin McInnes seems to deny that the murderer was motivated by racist beliefs and wasn't the act of a right-wing extremist.

5. Also, we have "Red Ice" (shared by Diagolon's Jeremy MacKenzie) and someone posting on the Global Freedom Convoy (remember the claim the #OttawaOccupation wasn't racist?) who seem to suggest the real victims here are maligned white people.

6. They reference an incident in Milwaukee in which 17 people were injured in a shooting.

Even if the claim the media ignored this was true, I think a person livestreaming racially based murders with the hope others will follow is more significant than random gun violence.

7. And also the media didn't ignore the events in Milwaukee.

These are just a few of the articles I could find without looking especially hard.

8. But this is all irrelevant when looking at the larger picture of course.

So let's look at "The Great Replacement", the conspiracy the murder claims motivated him to commit these acts.

9. In 2011, anti-racist sites such were inundated with the Bob Whitaker Mantra. It was an easily refuted rant that suggested being anti-racist was in fact being anti-white.

"Boneheads Are SO Cute When They Think They’re Clever: Bob Whitaker's Mantra"

tinyurl.com/s84jecma

10. Though incredibly inept and clumsy, in many ways the mantra echoed the same themes of the later, "Great Replacement" conspiracy, particularly the belief in an orchestrated effort to use demographic change to replace white people.

11. In Canada, one of the most strident supporters of the "Great Replacement" conspiracy was Lauren Southern, then a personality with Rebel Media. She echoed the rhetoric of the identitarians such as Generation Identity.

12. For more details I invite readers to view the excellent video by @HeyItsVadim who breaks down Southern's claims as well as whether she (or others who promoted the "Great Replacement" conspiracy) bare any responsibly for Christchurch.

13. Southern wasn't the only Rebel Media personality to share this conspiracy. Faith Goldy also promoted it and while I wasn't able to download this video...

14. ...I was able to get this one where, though she doesn't mention the conspiracy by name, clearly is talking about it.

15. Now prior to the murders in Buffalo this weekend if most Canadians were aware of the "Great Replacement" conspiracy it was as a result of the murder of 51 people in Christchurch, New Zealand. The murder was motivated by this conspiracy.

theguardian.com/world/2019/mar…

16. The Christchurch murder also donated to Generation Identity who promoted the "Great Replacement" conspiracy as well as other groups that he appears to have believed were of like mind when it came to the conspiracy.

christchurchattack.royalcommission.nz

17. In Canada, two neo-Nazis, Paul Fromm and Kevin Goudreau, were both investigated, the former having published the racist screed of the Christchurch murderer and the former calling for similar action directed at targets including @antihateca

vice.com/en/article/nex…

18. The reaction to the investigation on the infamous hate site Stormfront was to claim persecution.

19. Both Kevin Goudreau and Bill Noble (the moderator "Jotunn" though he also went by "Leto Atreides II" and "Exterminance" in the past) were involved in this forum discussion.

20. In the Stormfront forum thread Goudreau makes mention of Stephen Garvey, a right-wing extremist who was associated with the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam.

cbc.ca/news/politics/…

21. Though Garvey today seems more concerned with 5G towers, he was also someone who pushed the "Great Replacement" conspiracy.

22. The blog Garvey wrote this for is run by former NB professor Ricardo Duchesne who, you guessed it, also promotes the idea that there is an orchestrated effort to replace white people.

dailyhive.com/vancouver/mark…

23. Of course more recently Pat King has been trending on Twitter due to his past "Great Replacement" rhetoric.

https://twitter.com/VestsCanada/status/1159997274900041729?s=20&t=7o6Bcjz9FYccfJahsXP_FQ

24. This now has become fodder for the Conservative Party leadership campaign.

https://twitter.com/prairielarry/status/1526345086321270784?s=20&t=9NJ4IEms9FuhEJAqovkSLg

25. The reality is that I haven't even scratched the surface with these examples. I could provide for more examples of how the "Great Replacement" conspiracy has found fertile ground in Canada.

26. An if you think that such a tragedy that occurred in Christchurch and now Buffalo can't happen in Canada because we are somehow unique, I'm here to say that not only can it happen, but it really already has.

theconversation.com/remembering-th…

27. More than once.

cbc.ca/news/canada/lo…

28. So rather than being smug and pointing out fingers to our south, perhaps we should recognize the problem that already exists in this country and deal with it rather than pretend it doesn't exist?

29. Because in the end, this isn't going anywhere without a concerted effort to address it.

30. globalnews.ca/news/5835260/c…

31. Dude...

https://twitter.com/JenOConnell_/status/1526766617111166978?s=20&t=9NJ4IEms9FuhEJAqovkSLg