Springfield’s immigrant community was targeted by far-right extremists months before Trump shared racist rumors

Subtitle: Springfield’s immigrant community was targeted by far-right extremists months before Trump shared racist rumors

  • Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
    421·
    2 months ago

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_terrorism

    Stochastic terrorism is political violence that has been instigated by hostile public rhetoric which is directed at a group or an individual. Unlike incitement to terrorism, stochastic terrorism is accomplished by using indirect, vague, or coded language that allows the instigator to plausibly disclaim responsibility for the resulting violence.[1] A key element is the use of social media and other distributed forms of communications where the person who carries out the violence has no direct connection to the users of violent rhetoric.[2]

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      241·
      2 months ago

      This isn’t stochastic terrorism. This is just terrorism. They are trying to terrorize the Haitians into leaving Springfield:

      In December, a Springfield man was sentenced to 20 years in federal jail for hate crimes after attacking eight Haitians earlier in 2023. Last year, the local Haitian church was broken into and damaged twice. Longtime Black residents of Springfield have reported being verbally abused when walking on the city’s streets, having been confused with members of the Haitian community.

      • Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
        151·
        2 months ago

        The stochastic terrorism is the wild claims infrahumanising certain groups on social media. Then someone decides to act on those claims, and the people who posted them say “I had no idea that would happen”.

        Rinse and repeat until you’ve made the world worse, then die with lots of money.