WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 - TEXAS REPORT ON EXTREMISM

 WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 - TEXAS REPORT ON EXTREMISM

(Today’s blog comes mainly from the Texas Tribune - an independent media outlet in Texas.)

“Texas continues to be a hotbed for extremism and antisemitism, driven by the heavy presence of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) and anti-LGBTQ+ groups headquartered or active in the state.

“That’s according to a report released Thursday by the Anti-Defamation League that examined nearly three years of “alarming levels of extremist ideology and activity” in Texas and suggested a handful of policies to combat the growing problem.

“Since 2021, the report found, antisemitic incidents in the state have jumped by 89%, and there have been six “terrorist plots” in addition to 28 “extremist events” such as training and rallies. Texas also led the nation in RMVE propaganda last year; had the most residents charged in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection; and, in March, saw a neo-Nazi and extreme misogynist gunman kill eight people at an Allen shopping mall.

“The report follows years of warnings that extremist groups have been emboldened by the Republican Party and its amplification of things such as “great replacement theory,” a white supremacist conspiracy theory that claims there is an intentional, Jewish-driven effort to destroy white people through immigration, interracial marriage, and the LGBTQ+ community.

“That conspiracy theory — and corresponding violence — has been bolstered by frequent depictions of immigrants as “invaders” by major figures such as Tucker Carlson and Gov. Greg Abbott. Before he set fire to an Austin synagogue on Halloween 2020, Franklin Barret Sechriest wrote in his diary that “no invader is innocent.”

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The article points out: “ a white supremacist conspiracy theory that claims there is an intentional, Jewish-driven effort to destroy white people through immigration, interracial marriage, and the LGBTQ+ community.”

Let’s get along, folks. 

And my Jewish friends are all behind this!!  (I can imagine the meetings - probably held in sacred parts of synagogues - “Heh, heh, how can we destroy white people  - let’s bring in some lesbians.  How about those weird transgender folks at the border?)  NO WAY!!!

From the Austin Statesman newspaper:

“Austin’s oldest Jewish congregation is celebrating its first High Holy Days at its Shoal Creek campus since an arson attack in October 2021.

And, I can almost imagine the white supremacist meetings (“Let’s torch a Jewish synagogue this week, and spray paint a swastika on their walls. We’re going to tar and feather a black man this month.”)  

Are those people at the Texas-Mexico border “invaders”?  It sure looks like there are a lot of families - not “invaders.”  From some things I have read, many people at the border want to escape gangs and discrimination where they currently live.  They are searching for the “American Dream.” 

Wikipedia says, “The American Dream is the national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals including representative democracy, rights, liberty, and equality, in which freedom is interpreted as the opportunity for individual prosperity and success, as well as upward social mobility for oneself and their children, achieved through hard work in a capitalist society with few barriers.

I have quoted the text on the Statue of Liberty frequently over the years.  Here it is in completeness: (Written by Emma Lazarus - a Jewish American)

“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows worldwide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

I like the statement - A mighty woman with a torch. And she (the Statue of Liberty) holds imprisoned lightning.  

YES - GIVE ME YOUR  TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE!!!  

My relatives, to the best of my knowledge, were all immigrants. From the little I know of them, they were tired and poor.  No royalty in my background.  They came for a new life.  

And my Jewish friends were looking for places to worship - far away from the gas chambers in Germany.  

And the tired and poor blacks kidnapped from their countries to be slaves.  

I think we are getting better most days - but I’m not so sure sometimes!!!

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, SEPTEMBER 27, 2023.