(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Expert Opinions on Right-Wing Stochastic Terrorism in America [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-22 According to Dictionary.com, stochastic terrorism is defined as, “the public demonization of a person or group resulting in the incitement of a violent act, which is statistically probable but whose specifics cannot be predicted…” Stochastic terrorism is on the rise in the mainstream Republican party. It is protected speech under the First Amendment given the legal threshold for incitement of violence is very high. In the European Eye on Radicalization, Dr. Richard Burchill, an independent researcher based in Brussels, writes with regard to stochastic terrorism: “Unfortunately, inciting violence against politicians has been an integral part of Trump’s rhetoric. Trump’s support for violence, and condoning its use, is well documented. He has invoked violence in order to both show strength, and in response to perceived attacks upon himself or his supporters…Normalizing violence and hostility is a worrying trend in Western politics…Politicians have a specific responsibility in countering the normalization of violence and hatred. Widespread attempts to normalize the events of January 6 by many US politicians, including writing it off as ‘normal tourist visit’, is worrisome. The perpetuation of such falsehoods contributes to the idea that violence is an acceptable part of the political process.” Violent insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump breach the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021 There are countless more examples of stochastic terrorism being used within the right-wing sphere. Stochastic terrorism is likely what led to the attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi. An assailant broke into the Pelosi’s home, looking for Nancy Pelosi with a bag of zip ties. The assailant’s plan was to tie Nancy Pelosi up and break her kneecaps as a warning to other Democrats. The police say the assailant worked alone but offered familiar rhetoric as the reason for the attack. This rhetoric originated from many right-wing talking heads who spread conspiracy theories and lies. Eric K. Ward, senior advisor to the Western States Center, told Insider with regard to this case: “The ‘lone-wolf’ nature of the assault in conjunction with the suspect’s stated motivation suggests the incident could be an example of stochastic terrorism, according to extremism experts. Stochastic terrorism is a specific type of extremist violence that occurs when an environment has ‘othered’ a population or individual to a significant enough extent that results in subsequent violence against them…” Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (R) and husband Paul Pelosi at the 44th Kennedy Center Honors at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on December 5, 2021 An assistant professor at American University’s School of Communication, Kurt Braddock, tells Vox: “I think most of what we call stochastic terrorism has been initiated or has been motivated by deliberately spread disinformation — that demonizes others, that tags other individuals, usually political opponents, as mortal threats…If we just look at the data at the number of attacks that have occurred, the number of people who’ve been arrested for plots, the number of individuals who have actually cited things that have been said by elected leaders, the right wing violence far outpaces left wing violence. That’s not to say that it hasn’t happened on the left. But if we look at raw numbers of how much it occurs, and even scarier, how often it seems that right wing public officials seem to be perfectly happy to use [it] as a persuasive communication strategy, it’s not even close.” It is clear to the experts that stochastic terrorism is more prominent on the right. There are countless examples one could look at when examining Trump’s statements alone. Rhetoric greatly influences the actions of some; these tactics are dangerous and are getting people killed. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/22/2200952/-Expert-Opinions-on-Right-Wing-Stochastic-Terrorism-in-America?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/