Stochastic Terrorism is a calculated tactic.
If you haven’t heard of Stochastic Terrorism, it could help you conceptualize all the antitrans and LGBTQ rhetoric from the Republican Party and their white evangelical Christian nationalist backers. Who uses the word “Christian” to hide behind but doesn’t reflect Christianity or the teaching of Jesus Christ whatsoever.
Stochastic Terrorism:
It’s the public demonization and dehumanization of a person or group, resulting in the incitement of violent acts. The acts are statistically probable based on the demonization, but the specifics cannot be predicted.
Trump was a known user of the tactic. And it’s been used in every major genocide, including the Jewish Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsi people.
And all the Republican rhetoric around queer people calling them “groomers” and “perverts” was directly responsible for the Club’s Q shootings.
So all of these antitrans bills attacks on our rights and the rhetoric that goes with it doesn’t just have the goal of passing legislation. The goal is to incite violence and terrorize our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, and fellow citizens, out of public life.
And according to the most recent FBI data, LGBTQ people saw some of the highest increases in hate crimes, up 70% in one year, 15% for trans people alone, second only to Asian hate crimes. And in case you’re wondering why that number is so high, it’s because Republicans did the same thing surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and it clearly worked.
Because the majority of these bills like parents’ rights, medical abuse, and lack of medical research, none of which are valid, could be passed on other foundational arguments. There’s a reason they demonize and dehumanize us repeatedly.
Stochastic terrorism. It is a calculated tactic.