By Jon Williams
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas — Since President Trump’s election in 2016, we have seen an endless stream of purported hate crimes which have been blamed on Trump supporters, the Alt-Right, and Republicans. These attacks have been breathlessly reported by the mainstream media as proof that the right is violent, angry, and volatile. Yet, time after time, these “attacks” turn out to be staged. Jussie Smollett, an actor on the popular T.V. series Empire, is just the latest in this long line of hoaxes.
Here’s an abridged list:
- Muslim woman in Michigan claims Trump supporter threatened to light her on fire if she didn’t remove her hijab. (Story here)
- Bisexual student in Chicago claimed a right-wing stalker was sending her bigoted messages and threatening letters. (Story here)
- Pennsylvania woman says she was accosted by gun toting Trump supporters at a gas station. (Story here)
- Canadian in California claims he was injured by “redneck” Trump supporters saying “We have a new president you faggot”. (Story here)
- A Native American Vietnam Vet claims Catholic kids in MAGA hats accosted him. Turns out, he’s not a Vietnam Vet, and he was the aggressor. (Story here)
A more complete list can be found at the Daily Caller by clicking here. Interestingly enough, there are many documented cases of left-wing hate attacks such as this one and this one from just last week.
As I have been speaking at various events around Texas, I always caution Conservatives to hold off on commenting on these types of attacks until at least a week after the initial reporting, simply because more often than not, they turn out to be hoaxes, falsely framed, or additional information comes out which refutes the “hate” label the left so desperately wants attached. I have entitled this article, “The economics of hate crime hoaxes” because I believe there to be an explanation for these false reports and staged “crimes” which stems from the economic theory of supply and demand.
You see, the left hates the right so viscerally, they assume that those on the right hate them in an equal measure. They also believe their hate is justified, and the hate they believe is coming from the right is unjustified that they create a DEMAND for violence against them which is in short SUPPLY. When demand outpaces supply, the market is more open to counterfeits.
Therefore, leftists create a false supply of right-wing hate.
Confirmation Bias kicks in for the plethora of left-leaning news outlets, and the feeding frenzy begins. Then, facts come out, and the “hate” turns out to be a hoax or staged. They wring their hands and tell us that the purveyor of fake hate is just misunderstood, and the cycle continues.
The real problem for the left, is there is little actual hate or violence coming from the Right. They must supply it themselves in order for their presuppositions and worldviews to make sense.
In a seemingly coordinated response, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released a statement yesterday stating that hate groups in American are on the rise. I dug a little deeper into their findings and discovered they have classified mainline Christian ministries as “hate groups” simply for their support of traditional marriage; not for calling for violence against other groups or individuals.
Simply stating on their websites that they believe marriage is to be between one man and one woman is grounds enough to get a group on the hate list.
Groups such as D. James Kennedy Ministries, a Presbyterian ministry out of Florida, The American Family Association in Mississippi, and the Family Research Institute in Colorado all made it to the new “hate group” list. With mainstream and well-known Christian ministries like these classified as hate groups, along with numerous individual churches whose pastors support traditional marriage from the pulpits, it is clear that the list put out by the SPLC is not a list of hate groups at all, it is simply a list of groups with which the SPLC disagrees on a variety of issues.
Classifying speech with which you disagree as “hate” is both dangerous and un-American. In the past, the SPLC’s list has been effective in highlighting and silencing voices of hate by shaming hateful voices such as KKK and Aryan Nation groups. With those groups on life support, they have to find something else to raise money on… it seems everyday Conservatives and Christians are it.
Their list is disingenuous and dangerous, and there’s at least one lawsuit charging them with libel. It seems, even the Southern Poverty Law Center is creating demand for hate that is in short supply.
Perhaps liberals and the ultra-liberal SPLC should heed Pastor Rick Warren’s now famous quote,
“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do.
“Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.”
Jon Williams is on the board of the Texas Young Republican Federation, and is also Founder & President of Cool Conservatives, an organization that creates dynamic online content designed to reach the hearts and minds of millennials and minorities. Learn how $5 a month or more can keep Texas Red at www.coolconservatives.org/just-5.
