{"id":1479131,"date":"2022-05-18T08:15:21","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T12:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1479131"},"modified":"2022-05-18T08:15:23","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T12:15:23","slug":"john-r-lott-jr-media-falsely-claim-mass-public-shooters-are-right-wingers-when-theyre-environmental-extremists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/john-r-lott-jr-media-falsely-claim-mass-public-shooters-are-right-wingers-when-theyre-environmental-extremists\/","title":{"rendered":"John R. Lott, Jr.: Media Falsely Claim Mass Public Shooters Are \u201cRight-Wingers\u201d When They\u2019re Environmental Extremists"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjohn-r-lott-jr-media-falsely-claim-mass-public-shooters-are-right-wingers-when-theyre-environmental-extremists%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1479131&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div id=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12\">\n<div class=\"contributor-img pull-left\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/columnists\/johnrlottjr\/\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"John R. Lott, Jr.\" class=\"img-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/media.townhall.com\/townhall\/reu\/contributor-sm\/authorimages\/7c26ecd3-4dc1-4cba-afe3-9d3b21f82cf8.jpeg\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p>|<\/p>\n<p>Posted: May 17, 2022 9:23 AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<p><em>The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<aside id=\"aside1\" class=\"left aside-wrapper aside-wrapper-950\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>If you believe the Los Angeles Times, the Buffalo shooter who left 10 dead emerged from \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/opinion\/story\/2022-05-15\/buffalo-shooting-gunman-white-supremacist-great-replacement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a far-right ecosystem<\/a>.\u201d A Rolling Stone headline echoed the claim: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/political-commentary\/buffalo-shooter-white-supremacist-great-replacement-donald-trump-1353509\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Buffalo Shooter Isn\u2019t a \u2018Lone Wolf.\u2019 He\u2019s a Mainstream Republican<\/a>.\u201d The New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/05\/15\/us\/replacement-theory-shooting-tucker-carlson.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">links the mass murderer to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik<\/a>. Not to be left out, Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) blames Republicans for the attack, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Liz_Cheney\/status\/1526159124840558592\">claiming<\/a>: \u201cThe House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This latest attack is one in a series of mass public shootings motivated by environmentalism. But you won\u2019t hear that on the news.<\/p>\n<p>In his manifesto, the gunman self-identifies as an \u201ceco-fascist national socialist\u201d and a member of the \u201cmild-moderate authoritarian left.\u201d He expresses concern that minority immigrants have too many children and will damage the environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Capitalists, who the shooter argues are destroying the environment, are at the root of much of the problem. \u201cThe trade of goods is to be discouraged at all costs,\u201d he demands.<\/p>\n<p>Overpopulation and the environment are hardly signature conservative issues. It\u2019s certainly not something you\u2019ll hear Donald Trump talk about at his rallies. And while some Republicans believe in limiting international trade, it\u2019s certainly not for environmental reasons.<\/p>\n<p>We usually think of Democrats, not Republicans, as the environmentalists.<\/p>\n<p>The Buffalo murderer\u2019s views are almost word-for-word similar to those of the shooters in 2019 at a New Zealand mosque and an El Paso Walmart.<\/p>\n<p>But the Washington Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/main-suspect-in-new-zealand-shootings-that-killed-49-appears-in-court\/2019\/03\/15\/2d00b7a4-476c-11e9-8aab-95b8d80a1e4f_story.html\">called<\/a> the New Zealand mosque shooting, \u201cOne of the worst cases of right-wing terrorism in years.\u201d Right-wingers <a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/2019\/03\/new-zealand-killers-manifesto-says-that-he-did-attack-to-get-more-gun-control-gun-bans-in-new-zealand-and-the-us-killer-was-a-socialist-environmentalist-who-hated-capitalists-and-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">don\u2019t usually declare<\/a> that \u201cconservatism is dead\u201d and that \u201cglobal capitalist markets are the enemy of racial autonomists.\u201d Or call themselves an \u201cEco-fascist.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives don\u2019t believe: \u201cThe invaders are the ones over populating the world. Kill the invaders, kill the overpopulation and by doing so save the environment.\u201d Nor do they write: \u201cThe nation with the closest political and social values to my own is the People\u2019s Republic of China.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The El Paso murderer had the <a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/2019\/08\/what-does-the-el-paso-walmart-manifesto-show\/\">same sentiments<\/a>. \u201cThe decimation of the environment is creating a massive burden for future generations. . . . \u00a0The next logical step is to decrease the number of people in America using resources. If we can get rid of enough people, then our way of life can become more sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All three of these deranged mass murderers made minorities their principal target. But they\u2019ve done so out of a crazy environmentalist determination to reduce the human population by whatever means necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The news media and politicians who are constantly warning about the world\u2019s imminent end just can\u2019t bring themselves to acknowledge the environmentalist connection. Indeed, climate activists agree that overpopulation is part of the problem. \u201cIt does lead, I think, young people to have a legitimate question: Is it okay to still have children?\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/young-adults-worry-its-morally-wrong-to-have-children-earth-day-study-finds-11619110785\">said<\/a> Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in 2019. She also <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/energy-environment\/426353-ocasio-cortez-the-world-will-end-in-12-years-if-we-dont-address\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">warned<\/a> that the \u201c\u2018world will end in 12 years if we don&#8217;t address climate change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>President Biden keeps fanning the flames of alarmism, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Bgil84mt8_I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">claiming<\/a> that \u201cclimate change poses an existential threat to our lives . . . \u00a0this is code red.\u201d US Climate Envoy John Kerry said that the threat of climate change goes \u201cbeyond existential\u201d for some, whatever that means.<\/p>\n<p>If some people actually believe that the world is about to end because of overpopulation, we shouldn\u2019t be surprised that they feel murder is justified for saving the planet. The media unfairly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/new-york-times-corrects-column-gabby-giffords-2017-6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blamed<\/a> Sarah Palin for the 2011 shooting of Gabby Giffords because Palin released a map displaying crosshairs over some congressional seats, including Giffords\u2019. But the media is completely failing to see the clear connection between environmental extremist rhetoric and these attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Of the 82 mass public shootings from January 1998 to May 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/2021\/05\/what-percent-of-mass-public-shooters-are-white-supremacists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">9 percent<\/a> have known or alleged ties to white supremacists, neo-Nazis, or anti-immigrant views, and many of those, such as the Buffalo murderer, hold decidedly socialist, left-wing views. Another nine percent are carried out by people of middle eastern origin, making Middle Easterners, who make up only 0.4% of the country, by far the most likely ethnic\/racial group to carry out mass public shootings. Non-Middle Eastern Whites and Hispanics who engage in these attacks are underrepresented as a share of the population. Blacks, Asians, and American Indians commit these attacks at a slightly higher rate than their share of the population.<\/p>\n<p>Seventy-one percent of mass public shooters have <a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/2021\/03\/the-false-narrative-of-white-supremacists-doing-mass-public-shootings-racial-gender-religious-and-political-views-of-these-killers-from-1998-through-january-2021\/\">no identifiable political views<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But you would never know this from Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2021\/04\/28\/biden-calls-white-supremacy-terrorism-speech-congress\/4884034001\/\">constant<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/national-security\/553161-biden-officials-testify-that-white-supremacists-are-greatest\/\">claim<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UXHESnblzZY\">white supremacists pose the biggest threat of domestic terrorism<\/a> or all the <a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/tag\/white-supremacist\/\">entertainment television shows<\/a> that push this theme.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the media is intent on construing any attack by a white shooter as an act of \u201cwhite supremacy.\u201d A tragic event such as a mass shooting should be a time for renewed solidarity. We shouldn\u2019t let the media divide us by making these tragedies about race and politics.<\/p>\n<p><em>Lott is the president of the\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/\"><em>Crime Prevention Research Center<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em> <em>Until January 2021, he was the senior adviser for research and statistics at the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Legal Policy.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>| Posted: May 17, 2022 9:23 AM  The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1479131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1479131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1479131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1479131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1479131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}