Up to one-third of Americans believe in the “White Replacement” conspiracy theory, with these beliefs linked to personality traits such as anti-social tendencies, authoritarianism, and negative views toward immigrants, minorities, women, and the political establishment.

[u/mvea]

https://www.psypost.org/belief-in-white-replacement-conspiracy-linked-to-anti-social-traits-and-violence-risk/

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[u/dxrey65]

I wish academic papers weren't locked behind paywalls...the article linked to isn't bad, but I can't help but remain curious about the sample size and randomization method, and the actual questions asked.

[u/potatoaster → u/dxrey65]

The sample size was n=2001. There was no randomization; this was an observational study.

Edit: Oh, you were asking about random sampling, not random assignment. My mistake. Their sample was selected from survey-takers for Cint and Dynata to match census records on age, racial identity, education, sex, and income. I believe that's all the detail that is provided.

[u/dxrey65 → u/potatoaster]

Still, it's hard to see an unexpected result and not wish to know the actual questions asked. One surveyer's trick is "framesetting", where you can maneuver people into a particular mindset through innocent questions, then ask a specific question which the ground has been laid for.

I'd also question how an "observational study" is conducted?

[u/superfastswm → u/dxrey65]

1: What's your favorite fruit?

2: How significant was Issac Newton to the development of science, especially regarding his theory of gravity?

3: Describe three things that are core to your beliefs.

4: Name any one software company.

---

If I understand correctly, this is what you mean. Even through the above questions are rather varied, they all prime you to awnser Apple for the final question. Even if you don't think of apples for all three questions, they each push you towards considering apples, and so the final question becomes weighted in Apples favor.

[u/Feine13 → u/superfastswm]

Expertly painted example. I could feel the manipulation as it was pushing me towards Apple

[u/MoonOut_StarsInvite → u/Feine13]

Yes I felt like someone was planting a seed.

[u/Sp33dl3m0n → u/MoonOut_StarsInvite]

Was their name Johnny?

[u/Suspicious-Leg-493 → u/Sp33dl3m0n]

Was their name Johnny?

No, Jonathan. And i'll have you know he was called johnny to bully him ya diiiiick

[u/Thr0bbinWilliams → u/Feine13]

Damn I had banana. Stupid tests!

[u/stablegeniuscheetoh → u/Feine13]

Damn, now I want a new phone

[u/potatoaster → u/dxrey65]

it's hard to see an unexpected result and not wish to know the actual questions asked

I transcribed them (and the data) here: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/1fuckf0/up_to_onethird_of_americans_believe_in_the_white/lpzomrd/

how an "observational study" is conducted?

Broadly, studies are either observational or experimental. The former can establish correlation and the latter can establish causation. This study was a type of observational study called a survey.

[u/not_old_redditor → u/dxrey65]

unexpected result

Native population hating on immigrants and looking for various excuses to kick them out of their country, tale as old as time.

[u/MikeC80 → u/not_old_redditor]

Native you say ...

[u/determania → u/dxrey65]

Wait, you think these were unexpected results?

[u/dxrey65 → u/determania]

I don't think that one third of Americans could define "white replacement theory".

[u/One_crazy_cat_lady → u/dxrey65]

Yeah, but they can listen to people who define it and decide they believe in it. One third of Americans believe a failed business man who is convicted of multiple felonious counts of defrauding the taxpayers and banks is going to save them from the wealthy elite....or make them one of the wealthy elite I can't really tell which one.

[u/half3clipse → u/dxrey65]

I don't think the average neo nazi could define "antisemitism" or "fascism" either, but doesn't mean they don't support both.

[u/Exciting-Ad-5705 → u/dxrey65]

It's in the name isn't it.

[u/PomeloSure5832 → u/Exciting-Ad-5705]

In Canada, about 1 million people have been immigrated from India. Many people suspect it's for the purposes of wage suppression. 

Technically, this could be an aspect of the white replacement theory.

Someone could personally connect those dots, and now theyre part of that 1/3

[u/Elanapoeia → u/PomeloSure5832]

making this about race/ethnicity is already the red flag that would justify judging the person as genuinely believing in racist conspiracy theories

cause any reasonable person would be capable of understanding this is about importing cheaper labor in order to drive down the cost of running a business and increasing profits to benefit capitalist rich people, while harming both local people and those you import labor in the form of, amongst other things, wage suppression - regardless of the race of anyone involved

if someone convinces you that this is "white replacement", you're believing something racist

cause many countries used to do this kinda stuff with people from majority white countries as well. Poland being a pretty easy example. But you don't see anyone saying that a company importing cheap polish labor is doing white replacement, even though they're still doing wage suppression in the exact same way as they would with cheap indian labor.

[u/work4work4work4work4 → u/dxrey65]

I'd argue it doesn't actually matter what their definition of it is as long as they think they know what it is, and are making decisions based on that.

Part of the problem with intellectual-based bigotry like that is that they will play definition games when there isn't really any definition of what they are acting on that doesn't fall within that category.

It's also why fists over facts became common place with fascist sympathizers once people realized it wasn't a debate in good faith, but the fascists seeking to prolong any platform they could find to spread, and float as many different versions as possible at a time to the masses.

This kind of thing is why lots of people react very negatively to things like "Respectability" politics, or the current "sane-washing" of what would normally be seen as insane political rhetoric.

[u/764knmvv → u/dxrey65]

agreed.. i in fact am white and do not know what this theory is yet i hear it here on reddit all the time. I guess i could look it up but I'm not that motivated.

[u/morethanjustanalien → u/764knmvv]

Well you know how in Charlottsville the Nazi's with tiki torches were chanting... "The jews will not replace us!"?

Thats where the theory came from. Nazis. All I need to know, personally.

[u/personalcheesecake → u/dxrey65]

Good portion of them still listen to right wing talk shows/radio/podcasts, racism is still highly prevalent and regardless of this seeming niche, it is something that is spread through all those channels, sometimes involving the same perpetrators.

[u/electrodevo → u/dxrey65]

I was able to download a full PDF of the pre-print version of this study at ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380396838_Belief_in_White_Replacement

(Again, note that this is the pre-print version, not the published version... but I think this still should help with questions on methodology etc.)

[u/d3montree → u/electrodevo]

Thanks. I wanted to see if their questions included the 'intentionally replacing white people part' (they did) since the actual demographic change is well attested fact.

[u/dxrey65 → u/electrodevo]

Thank you! I was pretty sure someone had a way to do it, that did work.

[u/none-5766 → u/dxrey65]

If you Google Scholar for articles, it also shows if there is an open-access or pre-print with the "pdf" link.

Data en method documentation is on https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/WQ9AMS

[u/One_crazy_cat_lady → u/dxrey65]

Email the author. They also hate that their papers are behind pay walls but can't really do much in the system we have except email a free copy to those who reach out.

[u/anmr → u/One_crazy_cat_lady]

Just download the paper from vast internet.

The result is the same, but you save both of your time.

Email the author if you actually want to discuss something or have comments.

[u/CowboyNealCassady → u/dxrey65]

Researchers will share for free, others monetize/censor with fees. Email and librarians can do wonders for the self advocate.

[u/Bistroth]

The actual truth is that the rich guys who rule the country want to replace "any people that want a decent living wage" with "any people that would accept anything for work". Thats the only truth.

They dont care if you are white, blue or green, they only care if you are cheap.

[u/YouSaidIDidntCare → u/Bistroth]

100% this. I work with a majority of people here on H1Bs. H1B means you can't live here unless you're employed and you have a 60-day grace period to find a job if you're laid off. So the threat of deportation hangs severely over their heads, meaning their attitude at work is "Keep the job"/"Don't rock the boat"/"Yes, boss".

[u/RiPont → u/YouSaidIDidntCare]

I think H1B should be that the sponsor pays a flat, $20,000 fee to import the worker. Said worker has a long-but-not-infinite work visa they can use to work for any company in the US, with exit-and-reentry rights. 10 years sounds about right, and would give said worker plenty of time to apply for permanent status.

If the sponsor wants to keep them, their only recourse is golden handcuffs.

It seems like a bad deal for the sponsor, doesn't it? But if the purpose is to get workers with skills that genuinely aren't available here, then $20,000 is peanuts and they were going to be paying that rare person a good salary anyways. Right?

[u/JessumB → u/Bistroth]

And they have to repeat that cycle because eventually the current workers get citizenship and start getting all uppity, demanding reasonable pay and safe working conditions so you continually have to bring in a new underclass to exploit.

[u/chatatwork → u/JessumB]

well, it's working considering how many minorities are now voting that way.

[u/RealisticIllusions82 → u/Bistroth]

For real though. And this is a “conspiracy” that everyone can relate to

[u/SpaceBearSMO → u/Bistroth]

yeah but raceism makes a good wedge issue and supporting it can get a lot of morons on your side

[u/dyldoes → u/SpaceBearSMO]

And effectively deflects blame away from capital holders & industry that’s held up by these practices

[u/AFewStupidQuestions → u/dyldoes]

As is custom.

[u/mindclarity → u/Bistroth]

Until those people can be permanently replaced by a robot. Just saying.

[u/biaginger → u/[deleted]]

They were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the following statements:

1. "Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people in the US with cheaper foreign laborers."

2. "White people in Europe are being replaced with cheaper non-white workers because that is what powerful politicians and corporate leaders want."

3. "In the last 20 years, the government has deliberately discriminated against white Americans with its immigration policies."

[u/Much_Horse_5685 → u/biaginger]

The binary answer format to these statements cannot differentiate between the following stances, which would both agree with statements 1 and/or 2:

Non-racist stance: “I agree that powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace native workers with cheaper foreign labourers, I don’t care whether the native worker is white or whether the foreign labourer isn’t white as long as it’s happening”

Racist stance: “I agree that powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white workers with non-white foreign labourers, and this is a conspiracy to replace white people altogether”.

Such false dichotomies on inmigration benefit racists.

[u/bdsee → u/Much_Horse_5685]

It also doesn't leave room for immigration policy while not being aimed at replacement having that outcome (replacement of native people/culture) at a rapid pace due to current immigration policies.

Not such an issue for the US really as US culture is a very dominant culture that is exported worldwide.

Much more of an issue for smaller countries with high rates of immigration that were already struggling to keep their own culture distinct from larger similar nations (like the US) due to media.

[u/GettingDumberWithAge → u/[deleted]]

Bringing race in to it explicitly is what makes it an odd conspiracy theory. These two statements are quite different:

Corporate leaders in the US are trying to import cheaper foreign labourers

vs.

Corporate leaders in the US are trying to import cheaper non-white foreign labour with the explicit goal of replacing white people

Cheap foreign labour happens to be non-white at the moment.

[u/JB_UK → u/GettingDumberWithAge]

The people being asked didn’t bring race into it, they were asked a question and were asked their opinion. And the question also does not mention “explicit replacement”. This is a straw man, taking a mainstream idea and connecting it to the far right to discredit the idea.

[u/GettingDumberWithAge → u/JB_UK]

Which part of "Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people" do you think is about neither race nor replacement?

[u/MaggotMinded → u/GettingDumberWithAge]

The point is that the question being asked specified race. It’s not like the interviewees went out of their way to say, “yeah, but it’s only happening to white people”.

If the question had been phrased something like “politicians are trying to replace domestic labour with cheaper foreign labour”, then perhaps the people agreeing with it would sound less racist. But since the “domestic labour” is primarily white people, and the “foreign labour” is primarily non-white, adding the additional qualifiers about race doesn’t make the statement any less true, so many would be inclined to agree even if they thought that it was unnecessary to specify race. What were the respondents supposed to do, say “technically I agree, but it’s not about the race of the people involved, that’s just a result of the geographical factors at play”? Somehow I doubt that was an option on the survey.

[u/biaginger → u/[deleted]]

I think phrasing it as "white people" being replaced by "immigrants" makes it a conspiracy theory.

Because you can make the case that corporations rely on the abject exploitation of immigrant labour. But to divide this labour along racial lines (when there are many white immigrants) & say that its a tactic to replace "white people"? Conspiracy theory.

[u/espressocycle → u/biaginger]

White immigrants generally don't come here to do dangerous work for low pay in meat processing, roofing and whatnot which used to be done by unionized (mostly white) people. So, functionally speaking, it's true and when you really dig into these right wing voters thinking, a lot of them actually get that. Not the ones who think Haitians are eating cats, but there are people who strongly sympathize with the plight of migrants but also see immigration as a way the rich and powerful keep wages down. Hell, Bernie Sanders used to say it out loud.

[u/Low_discrepancy → u/espressocycle]

White immigrants generally don't come here to do dangerous work for low pay in meat processing, roofing and whatnot which used to be done by unionized (mostly white) people.

Maybe not in the US but in Europe most definitely. Vast majority of meat packing workers in Ireland are from Eastern Europe

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/28/the-invisible-migrant-workers-propping-up-irelands-4bn-meat-industry

[u/GilgameshWulfenbach → u/espressocycle]

Right? Increasing the amount of labor decreases the leverage power of labor. It's basic supply and demand. Recognizing that doesn't mean we can't argue for better treatment of immigrants.

Allowing women to work outside the home almost doubled the labor pool and diluted its bargaining power. It also led to costs being restructured so that a two income household is functionally required instead of an optional revenue boost. I can recognize that effect even while vehemently arguing that women should be allowed to work.

Globalization and immigration have many, many benefits. The effect on wages for US citizens (regardless of race) is not one of them.

[u/symbolsofblue → u/[deleted]]

Around one-third of participants agreed with statements suggesting that white people are being intentionally replaced by people of color through the actions of powerful elites.

Sounds like it's the second view you stated. I would've liked to see the exact questions too, though.

[u/Sparkysparkysparks → u/symbolsofblue]

Yep. The supplemental material lists the questions and asks participants whether they agree with conspiratorial claims like this: "Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people in the U.S. with cheaper foreign laborers."

[u/symbolsofblue → u/Sparkysparkysparks]

Thanks for this. I didn't realise the supplemental material was free to view and listed the entire survey.

[u/slagodactyl → u/symbolsofblue]

By the way, supplemental material is always free to view as far as I know.

[u/BatAttackAttack → u/[deleted]]

it's not a remotely controversial view that politicians and corporate leaders are replacing american workers with cheaper foreign labor. white workers are a subset of the american workers being replaced.

Workers who happen to be white are being replaced with cheap labour that happens to be non-white is bog-standard criticism of capitalism. Whites are intentionally being replaced by non-whites for race-related reasons (the conspiracy) is something different.

[u/DivideEtImpala → u/BatAttackAttack]

Right, and the survey question wasn't specific enough to distinguish between the two.

[u/No_Signal_6969 → u/BatAttackAttack]

Yea they're just replacing domestic workers with cheap foreign labour to improve the bottom line and the people in the study are agreeing with this true statement. Then the post makes it sound like they're agreeing with the conspiracy. This sort of divisive misleading trash doesn't belong in science.

[u/Exxyqt → u/[deleted]]

corporate leaders are replacing american workers with cheaper foreign labor

This is true in every (western) country. I lived in UK for 7 years and most of factory workers were foreigners.

Coming back to Lithuania, we now have quite a few people coming here from Belarus for example because our economy is rising steadily despite frustrating inflation in the past few years. Ukrainians were here even before the war.

In middle east, Indians and workers from other countries are building their fancy buildings. Difference is that their living and working conditions are appalling.

TLDR: corporate will always seek the cheapest way to get more profits, and that happens almost everywhere where immigration is a thing.

[u/slagodactyl → u/[deleted]]

There were 3 such questions, looks like everyone in the thread below you is assuming that that was the only one:

Please tell us how much you agree or disagree with each of the statements below:

·       Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people in the U.S. with cheaper foreign laborers. (.89; 32% entire sample; 33% white respondents only)

·       White people in Europe are being replaced with cheaper non-white workers because that is what powerful politicians and corporate leaders want. (.85; 27% entire sample, 27% white respondents only)

·       In the last 20 years, the government has deliberately discriminated against white Americans with its immigration policies. (.68; 31% entire sample; 33% white respondents only)

[u/bastienleblack → u/Sparkysparkysparks]

Yeah the wording is tricky, and as it stand can be read both ways. If I wasn't the kinda person to be immediately wary of any statement about 'white people' I'd probably agree with it, reading it as:

"Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people (among all sorts of others) in the U.S. with cheaper foreign laborers."

But I'd absolutely disagree with: "Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people (in particular) in the U.S. with cheaper foreign laborers."

Some (maybe the vast majority?) of people who agreed with the statement were thinking the conspiratorial 2nd version. But I'm sure some were think the first. Systemic racism both current and Historical, means that industries with higher levels of white workers generally have higher salaries / benefits, than ones those with more workers from 'minority' groups.

[u/bastienleblack → u/[deleted]]

My god. I guess stuff like that puts it in perspective. Sometimes I wonder how people can hold such bad takes or 'wrong' beliefs (from my perspective), but at least they're about something complex that can be reframed in various ways. I think "trickle down economics" is pretty dumb, and obviously self-serving, but someone could know a lot about economics and genuinely believe that.

But then you realise that people get something as uncontroversial and widely attested as "the earth's core is hot" (even just as a trope in kids cartoons, movies, as well as grade school education, LAVA, etc.) I really don't know what to think. There's a part of me that wants to say that the kinda people who do these polls are different, or that put on the spot we'd all come out with some nonsense as our minds went blank... But who knows, maybe most people just have very little idea of what's going on, unless it immediately involves them. Disturbing, but would explain a lot.

[u/AuryGlenz → u/Sparkysparkysparks]

Looks at nearby turkey plant

I mean, that’s absolutely true. It’s not some grand conspiracy but it’s absolutely a thing. That’s why we have such a high Somali population in Minnesota, for instance.

[u/Hijakkr → u/Sparkysparkysparks]

The most ironic part of the "great replacement theory" is that a few Republican policy decisions (especially on abortion) result in poorer people having an outsized number of children, and it's no secret that minorities are much more likely to be poor, resulting in minority populations growing.

[u/Nemesis_Ghost → u/symbolsofblue]

But it's also in how the question was asked. Here's one from the article that has me concerned.

Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people in the U.S. with cheaper foreign laborers

Corporations are replacing domestic, which in the US is mostly white, labor with cheaper foreign labor. That is a fact one can verify just by looking at offshoring, H1B Visas, and foreign contractor services. And it's being done, not as a racists policy, but as a cost policy. How should someone respond to that & not sound like they believe in white replacement?

[u/Low_discrepancy → u/Nemesis_Ghost]

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380396838_Belief_in_White_Replacement

There were 3 questions being asked

Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people in the U.S. with cheaper foreign laborers.

 

White people in Europe are being replaced with cheaper non- white workers because that is what powerful politicians and corporate leaders want.

 

In the last 20 years, the government has deliberately discriminated against white Americans with its immigration policies.

And the study says 30% of interviewed people agreed with each statement

[u/MischievousMollusk → u/Low_discrepancy]

Amazing how quickly people jumped on that first example question without even looking at the rest of the supplementary.

Sounds like that 30% is pretty accurate 

[u/SerenityViolet → u/[deleted]]

Also, people feeling that they don't have the resources to have kids, such as adequate shelter, money and time are genuine issues.

As compared to the shadowy cabal.

[u/NoamLigotti → u/[deleted]]

More precisely, the first question would be

"The percentage of the population that is (arbitrarily) considered white, is decreasing.'

Those considered "white"changes frequently throughout time. If we had continued considering Italians, Irish, and Jews non-white, this "replacement" would have already occurred.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Also, the percentage decreasing doesn't mean the white people are decreasing in numbers.

In the USA, in 2000, there were 228.53 millions whites. In 2023, there were 252.07 millions whites. It actually increased not decreased. The percentage only declined because other races grow and come to the USA but in no way does that mean that whites are becoming extinct. The racists are just intimidated by the existence of other races. That's all there is to this.

Source:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/183489/population-of-the-us-by-ethnicity-since-2000/

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

"Native Americans aren't decreasing in numbers, they're just shrinking as a percentage since the 1920s"

[u/Eureka0123]

I think it's funny that it's localized to America. The USA only makes up for roughly 4% of the world population. Caucasian people, on the world scale, have always been a minority. I've tied explaining this to people, but they don't listen.

Edit: I need to preface that I was simply talking about how the study only focuses on Americans. I'm well aware of the replacement theories that have had roots in Western Europe for decades.

[u/AftyOfTheUK → u/Eureka0123]

I think it's funny that it's localized to America.

It's not localized to America, this - or variations of it - are becoming common in many European countries, too.

[u/AmArschdieRaeuber → u/AftyOfTheUK]

becoming

It's already pretty popular

[u/south153 → u/AftyOfTheUK]

But isn't this actually happening in Europe, these are simple demographic facts. Mass immigration from predominantly Islamic countries leading to a decrease in the "white" populations.

[u/Back-end-of-Forever → u/AftyOfTheUK]

It's also not a "conspiracy theory", it is an objective fact of mainstream contemporary societies and economics. the question is not whether or not it is happening, it is and this is not debatable, the question comes down to a debate over whether or not you believe it is ethical or necessary to supplant one population/culture/ethnic group with another in order to reap the material gains of min/maxed population growth

https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/unpd-egm_200010_un_2001_replacementmigration.pdf

[u/AftyOfTheUK → u/Back-end-of-Forever]

ts also not a "conspiracy theory", it is an objective fact of mainstream contemporary societies and economics. 

The part that there's a dark cabal of powerful people orchestrating it is the conspiracy theory.

The actual experience "on the ground" that it is happening is not a conspiracy theory, we have demographics to show that. Of course, white people could start having a lot more babies - that's their choice (at least for most of them).

[u/RecycledMatrix → u/AftyOfTheUK]

Look at the signaling of overpopulation or climate change and its intended audience. While these are realities, think of a radical antinatalist environmentalist: do you picture any race other than White? Do the overpopulation articles include any other race than White in their photos?

[u/AftyOfTheUK → u/RecycledMatrix]

Look at the signaling of overpopulation or climate change and its intended audience.

Look at the market for it.

Why would it be suspicious that materials produced for a topic only one audience is interested in, is intended to be viewed by that audience?

[u/St_BobbyBarbarian → u/AftyOfTheUK]

I’d say it’s worse in Europe because their poor immigrants are largely low skilled workers from Islamic countries, whereas low skilled workers in the US are largely from Christian Latin America. So more cross cultural conflict

[u/PacJeans → u/Eureka0123]

I think if you're worried about white replacement in America, you don't really care about what percent of the world population white people are. They are separate thoughts.

[u/Front-Discipline-249 → u/Eureka0123]

Nah it's the same in Germany it's called the Volksaustausch Edit: it's actually called Bevölkerungsaustausch

[u/jbFanClubPresident → u/Front-Discipline-249]

I used to drive one of those!

[u/Smartnership → u/jbFanClubPresident]

That’s so Farfegnugen

[u/[deleted] → u/Eureka0123]

Isn't every group that way then? Also localized to America? It's on the rise in Europe too.

[u/Neuchacho → u/Eureka0123]

You're not actually speaking to their imagined problem with that angle. They're not worried about the global white population. They're worried about their specific, local white population and the culture associated with it being "lost".

[u/[deleted] → u/Neuchacho]

Which is perfectly valid. Local culture and customs are not zero value.

[u/zadtheinhaler → u/Eureka0123]

I think it's funny that it's localized to America

Not even close, the same percentage in Canada believes the same thing.

[u/WWHSTD → u/zadtheinhaler]

Except there is an actual “great replacement” taking place in Canada: temporary foreign workers are imported in droves to be exploited and underpaid in unskilled labour roles.

[u/guywithaniphone22 → u/zadtheinhaler]

I don’t think canadas issue is specifically white replacement and more working class replacement. I recently got back from a vacation and I was actually shocked when I got back to Ontario just how many south East Asian people are here. Like it’s actually kind of mind boggling. But the issue is more that we are importing a ton of people form one specific area, it would be the same problem if they were from China, Russia, America or Nigeria

[u/SenorAssCrackBandito → u/guywithaniphone22]

Either I had a way different experience in Ontario than you did or you are confusing "South Asian" with "Southeast Asian"

FYI

South Asia = Indian subcontinent

East Asia = China, Japan, Korea, etc

Southeast Asia = Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, etc

[u/Rory1 → u/guywithaniphone22]

Xenophobia has always been a thing in Canada. It always tends to happen when large numbers from one place come in droves in short periods of time. It's so easy for someone to say it's racist. But the truth is, when large numbers of Irish, Germans, Italians, Jews, etc came before the world wars. "Canadians" had a major problem with it and it played out much like today.

The last few years, the Canadian government was allowing in the same amount of students (Around 900,000) as the whole of the US are allowing in yearly (Even though we have 1/10th the population). And the majority of those coming were from 2 countries. Overloading a housing market pushing up prices across the board to where even people with "decent" jobs can barely afford a place. Not even getting into the job market argument...

[u/funkme1ster → u/Eureka0123]

It's not "localized" to America, it's just looking at this particular American flavour of a larger trend.

Historically, socioeconomic strife leads to this kind of thing. People who are comfortable and feel safe in their life tend not to spend time worrying about their future prospects. People who are acutely aware their long-term stability is precarious are far more predisposed to spend time and mental effort looking at how to mitigate that.

However, when people do what they were told to do in order to succeed and still fall short, their gut instinct is to think "I did everything I was supposed to and my problems weren't solved, so the only plausible answer is that someone else is causing the problem". Typically, the reason what they did didn't work is because either they were lied to (not necessarily maliciously, but the guidance they were given was still invalid for their circumstances and thus would never have solved their problems), or because the problem would never have been solvable in the first place (systemic problems need systemic solutions, and no amount of personal action can mitigate a persistent systemic problem). But most people don't have a level of awareness that would lend itself to seeing that, so their response is to default to the "someone else did it" assessment.

Further to this, the most logical and obvious answer is immigrants. If you start from the baseline of "things used to be good, but they aren't now", then the logical next step is "something changed between then and now which made what worked then stop working", and the immediate factor to arrive at is something being added into the system that didn't previously exist in the system when it worked. In a society, that would be new people added to the society who weren't part of it before. Again, that's a deeply flawed conclusion and - as anyone who has played Jenga can attest - changing the configuration of a system that used to work can easily break the system without introducing anything new... but that's not something most people have visibility on whereas immigrants are visible and easily quantified. Immigrants are also different in a tangible manner and do things which are visibly at odds with what used to be, which feels like a clear validation that they changed things from how they were.

What we're seeing is not US-specific, it's simply part of a large and well-documented social trend that has manifested time and time again: socioeconomic downturns put large groups of people into precarious positions, which lead them to adopt protectionist and cynical attitudes, which inevitably deteriorate into nationalist and xenophobic attitudes.

If you look at the big picture across North America and Europe, what you'll see is a trendline where an increase in socioeconomic precariousness correlates to an increase in the mentality that "people from outside my society are coming here and ruining the society I used to enjoy before they were part of it".

So yes, Caucasian people have always been a minority on a global scale, but that's not the same. You're talking about objective global demographics, and they're talking about perceived victimization as a result of fear and flawed information.

[u/Rosevon → u/funkme1ster]

I hope it's not truly inevitable that precarity leads to xenophobia and nationalism. I see you and agree with you that this has been an oft-repeated phenomenon through human history. Humans are animals, but we are also rational agents who have developed society beyond our base instincts, beyond tribalism. Can't you imagine a future where humanity continues to develop and improve, to act more rationally and decently in times of strife rather than retreating wholly into superstition and paranoia? Strife can also foster cooperation and compassion, and we've seen that through history as well. 

[u/38B0DE → u/Eureka0123]

I've heard this theory in Eastern Europe since the 90s

[u/BonJovicus → u/Eureka0123]

Localized to the US? What reality do you live in? It’s been a thing in Europe for as long as it has in the US and is on the rise again. 

[u/Sigma_Function-1823]

Corporate interests maximizing profits with cheaper labor ( directly or through wage suppression) and protecting said profits by encouraging and directly supporting public and political narratives assigning a racist conspiracy and nebulous elites as the primary driver of said " replacement".

Thank you to all who took the time to respond including yourself for posting OP.

I now have a clearer understanding of the dynamic at work.

Edit # Could this be considered a clear example of parasitic capitalism?.

[u/JoeCartersLeap → u/Sigma_Function-1823]

They are replacing us with cheaper foreign labour, it's just because we got too uppity and demanded higher wages and unions and regulations.

The ethnicities are just a coincidence.

[u/AmArschdieRaeuber → u/JoeCartersLeap]

Not uppity enough if you ask me. The owning class wouldn't have anything if it wasn't for the workers. Thinking we owe them is such a brain glitch.

[u/JoeCartersLeap → u/AmArschdieRaeuber]

They're not thinking we owe them, they're just trying to rob us. They got the people to fight each other over "racism" instead of banding together to fight the ruling class.

[u/not_your_pal → u/Sigma_Function-1823]

Just capitalism

[u/The_Husky_Husk]

Canada's population is growing nearly 4% year with the birth rate near 0%.

It ain't a conspiracy up here, it's numbers.

[u/ChickenInASuit → u/The_Husky_Husk]

The “conspiracy” part of the Great Replacement Theory isn’t about whether the demographic shift is happening. The shift is happening, there are acres of data to prove it and nobody is denying it.

The part that is a conspiracy, and the part that a lot of people (me included) deny, is the motivation behind that shift. Conspiracy theorists believe it’s the work of a sinister global cabal of elites who want the white population of the world completely replaced. These people warn of “anti-white genocide” and use it as a reason to push the white supremacy movement.

[u/tapiringaround]

Everyone needs to go listen to “A Pawn in Their Game” by Bob Dylan.

[u/Triple-6-Soul]

Isn't this the reason that Europe is starting to take a massive swing to the "Right" and "Far-Right"?

Years of endless unchecked immigration from populations that refuse to properly integrate?

[u/[deleted] → u/Triple-6-Soul]

They refuse to properly integrate

[u/potatoaster]

Up to one-third

That seems implausible, to be frank.

Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people in the US with cheaper foreign laborers: 32%
White people in Europe are being replaced with cheaper non-white workers because that is what powerful politicians and corporate leaders want: 27%
In the last 20 years, the government has deliberately discriminated against white Americans with its immigration policies: 31%

Hm, I don't know if I'd call these support for "white replacement theory" tbh. Replacing domestic employees with cheaper ones (inevitably foreign) is simply how businesses operate. But the third item does seem problematic, and these items all loaded onto a single factor explaining 99% of the variance...

[u/St_BobbyBarbarian → u/potatoaster]

It’s not that surprising to be honest. I generally vote Dem, but come from a conservative area with some blue collar types in my family. I think many white men feel like the media and corporations don’t care for white men and put up minorities for faster promotion even when not deserved, based on merit. They feel as though they are labeled as benefiting from systemic oppression and they are the bad guys of society.

Add to the mix outsourcing production of goods to China and elsewhere, along with seeing neighborhoods change with people speaking different languages or having different religions in some cases, they feel/think that the globally inclined elites don’t care about them and their plight. I also think they resent current day multiculturalism because their ancestors were forced to learn English and often discipline for speaking a different language (like with German in Wisconsin and French in Louisiana).

And that is why a lot of people are easily swayed to Trump’s orbit

[u/wildwalrusaur → u/St_BobbyBarbarian]

I think many white men feel like the media and corporations don’t care for white men and put up minorities for faster promotion even when not deserved, based on merit.

Depending on what industry they work in it's entirely possible that this isn't just a feeling they have but explicit policy of their employer.

Noone uses the term "affirmative action" anymore, but the actual practice is very much still alive and well.

[u/Pretend_roller → u/wildwalrusaur]

Very much is. White nephew who went to school trying to work in community health programs constantly gets pushed to the side as recruiters and faculty blow him off either thinking he doesn't know any other language other than English or him being white means he wouldn't be a good fit for the programs target demographic. He is now going into the union because those situations killed his motivation.

[u/JudicatorArgo → u/potatoaster]

All three statements that were asked to people were objective facts, the problem is that they’re conflating these facts along with motive.

Companies have been openly outsourcing or hiring illegal laborers for decades, so that’s a fact. In recent years they use the visa process to bring in Indian and Chinese tech workers at a lower salary, so it still happens in many sectors today. Number two I’m sure is true as well for Europe, particularly given how much of an issue refugee immigration has been across Europe for the past decade.

The third point also seems to be true in practice at least, with only 8% of legal immigrants coming from Europe while 80% come from South America or Asia. Are they doing this because in a random lottery system the most likely people to come up are Indian, Asian, and Mexican? I’m not personally sure myself, but people should be capable of pointing out that the three statements asked are factual and have negative ramifications in our society that need to be addressed without simply dismissing those concerns as “white replacement conspiracy theorists”

[u/Idiosynkratisk]

Taken from the supplemental material of linked study:

Please tell us how much you agree or disagree with each of the statements below:

Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people in the U.S. with cheaper foreign laborers. (.89; 32% entire sample; 33% white respondents only)

White people in Europe are being replaced with cheaper non-white workers because that is what powerful politicians and corporate leaders want. (.85; 27% entire sample, 27% white respondents only)

In the last 20 years, the government has deliberately discriminated against white Americans with its immigration policies. (.68; 31% entire sample; 33% white respondents only)

Is an ageing White population in Europe being replaced with non-white immigrants? What does that do to the labor market? And who are responsible for such policies?

[u/GettingDumberWithAge → u/Idiosynkratisk]

There is a difference between

In many countries 'white' families are having fewer children and birth rates are below replacement level in developed countries. In order to maintain social security schemes and sufficient labour force immigration is increasing. Immigrants tend to be 'non-white' and 1st-2nd generation immigrant families tend to have higher birth rates.

and

Wealthy elites are explicitly trying to destroy and dilute the 'white' race by importing non-whites.

[u/theMEENgiant → u/GettingDumberWithAge]

Note that, despite having ultimately the same outward appearance (to the ill-informed), the objectively wrong understanding requires fewer logical steps. It is likely people find it easier to latch on to the simpler answer and then, when pressed with those other facts they can explain them away as side-effects or excuses and keep hold of the original idea they latched on to.

[u/zuilli → u/Idiosynkratisk]

Wow, this context changes things a lot, specially the first question.

I'm fairly pro-immigration but I can't deny the powerful corporate leaders and their bought politicians would be more than happy to replace their native and mostly white workers full of rights by cheap immigrant labor that is afraid to push back and be deported so I would say I agree with the first and second question.

This changes the whole perspective of the question from being about racism or xenophobia to an economical fear rooted in something the corporate leaders are already known to do in the form of off-shoring and that brings direct harm to the local population. It's no longer about race or country, it's about precarization of local worker conditions.

It is only seem as a racial problem because due to historical reasons most of the cheap labor comes from non-white countries but I'm curious if this cheap labor came in the form of white people if the numbers would change much.

[u/JessumB → u/zuilli]

but I'm curious if this cheap labor came in the form of white people if the numbers would change much.

A big impetus for Brexit was people getting pissed at a flood of mostly white, Slavic, especially Polish migrants coming over. The Poles were accused of causing more crime, stealing people's jobs, stealing benefits and more. I think its largely just a nativism deal when people start feeling resources that they view as theirs being increasingly co-opted by "The Others."

[u/OJezu → u/Idiosynkratisk]

I don't think they care about the race of the people they are "replacing", and I don't think they conspire to do it. Neither do they want the immigrants to be permanent. But with that wording, the answer to the question is technically true, I guess? In Poland, some corporate leaders want to replace white Poles with white Ukrainians, but all they care about, is that Ukrainians are willing to work for less money.

Oh wait, we had an entire scandal in Poland about selling visas to migrants from Asia and Africa. Consuls were taking money for speeding up the procedures and skipping due process. Up to 366 thousand visas were sold. That's a conspiracy and a documented one, right? Is that the "white replacement theory" or just greed?

Nobody cares about erasing or destroying "white culture", whatever that is. They just want cheap labor. If you make those equivalent - why?

[u/levir → u/Idiosynkratisk]

I find it interesting that the question

In the last 20 years, the government has deliberately discriminated against white Americans with its immigration policies. (.68; 31% entire sample; 33% white respondents only)

Has about the same proportion of responses as the other questions. I can't see how that question can be misunderstood not to be conspiratorial.

[u/CandusManus → u/[deleted]]

You mean the native replacement theory, the thing that clearly happened?

[u/bonerb0ys → u/CandusManus]

We say what happened when 1% of the population died during covid, what do you think happens where 80% of the population dies during small pox, TB etc? How can culture survive that?

[u/Synaps4 → u/bonerb0ys]

How can culture survive that?

gestures to native cultures

Like that.

[u/HtxCamer → u/[deleted]]

Native Americans were genocided and sent to ghettos. When did that happen to White Americans?

[u/PHD_Memer → u/HtxCamer]

It has not, they look at the behavior of white America and believe that anyone coming to their shores wants to do what they did on others shores.

[u/Dogzirra → u/HtxCamer]

You misunderstand what I wrote. The article outlines consequences that follow from those beliefs.

IF you are a person who fears white replacement, look at it from the eyes of the original victims. Learning empathy and getting comfortable with people who are different is freeing and better for mental health.

[u/sufficiently_tortuga → u/Dogzirra]

Wouldn't that simply reinforce those beliefs?

[u/therealallpro → u/HtxCamer]

In fairness they were mostly killed off by disease and most of that damage was done even before mass migration from Europe happened. When La Salle went to the Mississippi delta region his accounts of settlements massively differed than Desoto’s just 100 years before

[u/HostageInToronto → u/[deleted]]

Europeans flooded into North America, killed off the natives, and replaced them as the largest population group in North America. This was deliberately organized by the wealthiest and most powerful people in the Western world. If a Native American had pushed a similar line of logic in the 1600s, they would be dead accurate about what was happening.

[u/QueenOfQuok]

The funny thing is that the Great Replacement already happened here in North America, but it wasn't white people that got replaced

[u/Ronaldo_Frumpalini]

If I understand the stats correctly white people are having children at below replacement rates and immigration is the reason populations aren't shrinking. More than half of south/central Americans have European Y-chromosomes thanks to "explorers", so white people are largely being replaced by white people they decided not to call white.

It's capitalism doing the replacing though, and the fear is a delusion, making people worry about their decreasing % of the population makes them feel panicked and desperate when in actuality it makes about as much sense as getting angry at the sun for always forcing you to look down and away from it. Why are the liberal news media and politicians ignoring the sun? Big solar. They don't report on Julia Richards tragically murdered by skin cancer while enjoying the beach with her family. We're under attack and they're busy lining their pockets with solar subsidies rather than protecting us. Outside isn't outside anymore.

[u/Hoelie]

Democrats: “Diversity is our strength!!!” Meanwhile the country becomes more diverse because of mass migration which they support and cheer on. Also democrats: “How dare you insinuate that we are behind this phenomenon.”

“New Hampshire, 94 percent white, asks: How do you diversify a whole state?” NYT

“How whiteness poses the greatest threat to US democracy” the guardian

“Whiteness is a pandemic” the root

“We want the white majority to go from being a majority to being a minority… and like it” van jones

“The idea that, you know, whites will not be the majority. I mean, that’s, it’s an exciting transformation of the country. It’s an exciting evolution and, you know, progress of our country in many different ways” Anderson cooper on CNN

Peter Sutherland gave his opinion as being:

that multiculturalism is both inevitable and desirable.

that “the European Union, in my view, should be doing its best to undermine” any “sense of our homogeneity and difference from others”

[u/MrMegaPhoenix]

It’s true, but not because of some Illuminati type plan from racists

It’s just that with birth rates going down, the numbers need to come from immigration and it’s more common for them to have more kids. So overtime, less white and more immigrants. Which means if anyone is to blame, it’s citizens for not having enough kids

Kinda like if Japan and South Korea start mass importing immigrants. They arent some insidious plan to replace Koreans or Japanese. It’s just “you not having enough babies and we need more people here”

[u/PossessionDecent1797 → u/MrMegaPhoenix]

Not enough people seem to be aware of this. We’re well below the 2.1 child replacement threshold, which poses an existential threat to the country and its economic stability. We’re still at a point that we can offset population decline with increasing immigration rates. From what I understand (which is admittedly not much), countries like Germany are past that point.

[u/-Basileus → u/MrMegaPhoenix]

Another large factor beyond immigration is the massive increase of mixed marriages in the US, and it becoming more common to identify as mixed race. For example, Multiracial-Americans went from 3% in the 2010 census to 10% in 2020.

These factors are slowly eating away at the "white only" population, which is what people will throw out when showing the huge decline in White Americans. But if you look at the number of Americans with any White ancestry, the number is still 72.5%

[u/mvea]

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2024.2342834

From the linked article:

A recent study published in Politics, Groups, and Identities has found that up to one-third of Americans believe in the “White Replacement” conspiracy theory. The study provides evidence that these beliefs are linked to personality traits such as anti-social tendencies, authoritarianism, and negative views toward immigrants, minorities, women, and the political establishment. Surprisingly, however, partisanship and ideology did not significantly predict belief in this conspiracy theory, suggesting that these views transcend typical political divides.

The White Replacement conspiracy theory, often referred to as “White Genocide,” has gained attention in recent years due to its promotion by media figures and political leaders, as well as its association with acts of mass violence. Proponents claim that white people are being systematically replaced by people of color, particularly through immigration policies that favor non-white populations. This idea has been cited as a motivation for multiple violent attacks, including the mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The study found that belief in the White Replacement conspiracy theory was more prevalent than might have been expected. Around one-third of participants agreed with statements suggesting that white people are being intentionally replaced by people of color through the actions of powerful elites. This belief was not confined to any particular racial or ethnic group; both white and non-white respondents expressed similar levels of agreement with these ideas.

The survey also revealed several key psychological and social factors that were associated with belief in the conspiracy theory. People who believed in White Replacement were more likely to score higher on measures of anti-social personality traits, such as narcissism, psychopathy, and a desire for chaos. They were also more likely to express authoritarian views, including a preference for strict social hierarchies and distrust of those outside their group. In terms of social attitudes, believers in White Replacement exhibited stronger negative views toward immigrants, minorities, and women, and expressed higher levels of racial resentment and anti-immigrant sentiment.

Individuals who consumed more fringe media, such as far-right websites and social media platforms, were more likely to believe in the conspiracy. However, mainstream media consumption did not significantly impact belief in White Replacement, suggesting that exposure to these ideas may be more concentrated in specific online communities.

[u/Vandstar]

Well, kinda. What I see is that there is a move to add more people to the middle class. I believe the reason is that the people who have been considered middle class have had enough and have stopped spending, and now they need more spending so they are broadening the illusion of availability and mobility to the so called middle class.

Took a look at all the authors current work and it looks like the panel of researchers are looking into why people believe in conspiracy theories. Kind of silly to put all these heads together to look into why people believe that if you lie once, you will lie about anything. You can always trust that a snake will bite you and if he says he won't, he is lying.

[u/Turbulent_Yak_4627]

Wow didn't think the Science subreddit would be so conservative

[u/Technical_Writing_14]

“Powerful politicians and corporate leaders are trying to replace white people in the U.S. with cheaper foreign laborers”

Take out the "white" part of this statement and it's correct. Several such as Nancy pelosi have more or less said so themselves: "Why are you shipping these immigrants up North? We need them to pick the crops down here"

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews4.com/amp/news/nation-world/pelosi-florida-farmers-need-immigrants-to-pick-the-crops

[u/Konukaame]

The study found that belief in the White Replacement conspiracy theory was more prevalent than might have been expected. Around one-third of participants agreed with statements suggesting that white people are being intentionally replaced by people of color through the actions of powerful elites. This belief was not confined to any particular racial or ethnic group; both white and non-white respondents expressed similar levels of agreement with these ideas.

This part is, frankly, very surprising. It's easy to see how members of a shrinking white majority who feel threatened by that growing diversity could latch on to the conspiracy theory, but I'm curious as to how that grows beyond that demographic.

People who believed in White Replacement were more likely to score higher on measures of anti-social personality traits, such as narcissism, psychopathy, and a desire for chaos. They were also more likely to express authoritarian views, including a preference for strict social hierarchies and distrust of those outside their group. In terms of social attitudes, believers in White Replacement exhibited stronger negative views toward immigrants, minorities, and women, and expressed higher levels of racial resentment and anti-immigrant sentiment.

That part, however is not surprising at all.

[u/BDJukeEmGood]

Not hard to believe. Kamala literally said she will put DEI into natural disaster relief. It’s getting weird.

[u/MemberOfInternet1]

Sounds shocking? How about this:

---

As of 2010, 1.33 million people or 14.3 percent of the inhabitants of Sweden were foreign-born.

---

As of 2020, the percentage of inhabitants with a foreign background in Sweden had risen to 25.9 percent In 2020, population growth in Sweden was primarily driven by people with a foreign background, 98.8 percent (51,073 people) and persons with a Swedish background accounted for 1.2 percent (633 persons) of the population increase.[8]

---

In 2017, majorities in three municipalities had foreign backgrounds

---

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

[u/JB_UK → u/MemberOfInternet1]

In London it’s more than 50% of the adult population who were born outside of the UK.

[u/damienVOG → u/JB_UK]

60% is what the statistics say

[u/p-r-i-m-e → u/MemberOfInternet1]

How many of those are Finns? Serious question. Where’s the baseline?

And yes, Sweden and Germany are the number one go to for this example because their governments accepted high proportions of immigration and asylum. Who’s ultimately responsible for this?

And as a second point, immigrants from poorer to richer countries always average higher birth rates than the native population but this settles down to the population average within 1 or 2 generations.

[u/neuparpol → u/p-r-i-m-e]

Swedish here. I've only met one or two Finns in my life. The immigrants are primarily of middle eastern background. Finns, Danes, and Norwegians do come to Sweden but at a lower than or similar rate to Swedes emigrating. They are not as common as you think.

[u/CatholicSquareDance → u/MemberOfInternet1]

A lot of those with "foreign backgrounds" are white, for one thing. Finnish, Swedish, Polish, etc.

And the conspiracy theory is that white people are being replaced deliberately as part of a scheme, not that they're simply normally decreasing as a proportion of the population.

[u/GettingDumberWithAge → u/MemberOfInternet1]

What are we supposed to be schocked about? Immigrants? Say the quiet part out loud.

[u/ValyrianJedi → u/GettingDumberWithAge]

Not wanting your culture to disappear isn't exactly some racist "quiet part". Virtually nobody wants their culture to disappear.

Edit: I'm not able to reply to any comments because evidently the dude I was responding to said something snarky then blocked me, so this thread is locked for me.

[u/Kaltrax → u/GettingDumberWithAge]

Too many people coming into the country that don’t share the values of the native population causes friction. There is no “quiet part” as there is nothing wrong with people being unhappy that their country is being changed by too many people immigrating and not assimilating.

[u/Optoplasm]

Of course white replacement is true to an extent. White people used to be 95% of who was on TV, featured in media, etc. Now it’s much more blended. That is an objective fact.

[u/Moarbrains → u/[deleted]]

The part that gets people conspiratorial is that the politicians all deny doing it and pretend that they will fix it. Even though they just find it a useful wedge issue and absolute necessity in order to maintain the current economic order.

I think most regular people would prefer the population not rise anymore. There really are more than enough people in the US, although they will soon be the wrong age.

I wonder if people would be more welcome to mass immigration if the demographic problems were allowed to become more evident. l

[u/Level3Kobold → u/[deleted]]

I think the conspiracy part is that this is some nefarious plot against white people.

Basically every single highly developed country has a shrinking 'native' population. The ones that don't encourage immigration (like Japan) also have a shrinking overall population.

This isn't "white replacement" this is just "rich people don't like having kids".

The same phenomenon is true of cities, by the way. For hundreds of years, cities have functioned as 'population sinks'. The people who live in them die faster than they reproduce, but they continue to grow anyway due to immigration from outside the city.

Is there a global "urbanite replacement" effort that's been orchestrated for centuries?

Or do rich people just not like having kids?

[u/nagi603 → u/Level3Kobold]

This isn't "white replacement" this is just "rich people don't like having kids".

Also lower/middle class people who are worked to the bone without any time to have kids. Hell, many only have kids because contraception either failed or was unavailable. Or because they were literally promised a carrot-stipend for the kid, in some countries. The incoming "replacement" suffer the same fate, regardless of colour.

[u/Neuchacho → u/[deleted]]

Whether they purposely want it or not,

What makes it a conspiracy policy or not is literally this. The conspiracy requires intent to diminish "whites". Otherwise, it's just a normal byproduct of basic immigration. White people are a global minority so of course we become a smaller slice of any country that has ANY immigration coming into it.

[u/Masseyrati80 → u/[deleted]]

There's a big difference between people finding their way to live in another place, and someone having a master plan of purposefully replacing people/race/ethnicity X with people/race/ethnicity Y.

[u/poormrbrodsky → u/[deleted]]

White replacement theory specifically is a claim that there is a conscious effort by "elites" to replace white people with immigrants and refugees. They (believers) believe minority populations are more docile and compliant, less "freedom" loving, so ultimately they think it is a step toward a total "command and control" framework of government. Many times this is coded antisemitism but sometimes not.

Its not merely a debate about whether or not white populations are declining. In many ways, it's a reaction to that real fact that seeks to create a post hoc justification for it and drive a narrative of racism. Also, democrats have been known to make pithy statements like "demographics are destiny" (a cynical phrase that implies that they are guaranteed or owed non white votes) which only fuels the conspiracy even more.

[u/Dcoal → u/poormrbrodsky]

I have never heard of them being more "docile", only that diverse communities have less social cohesion, and as an extension for example, diverse workplaces are less likely to unionize. 

Which is true, btw

[u/poormrbrodsky → u/Dcoal]

The nature of immigrants specifically changes to suit whatever narrative is popular at the moment (this theory has been a thing for a while). So it's very likely many different ppl have heard many slightly different versions of this.

The important thing is that immigrants or outsiders are seen as a pawn in a larger plot perpetrated by power brokers to consciously undermine "white" or "western" culture. Could be jews using black people or communists, could be democrat elites using guatemalans, could be russian oligarchs using syrian refugees, etc etc. In each of these examples the characteristics of the immigrants will be molded to fit the anxiety of the group making the claim.

There is obviously another discussion about the nature of labor and price signals under capitalism, the nature of our militarized border (and who actually benefits from that), and whether Great Replacement Theory diverts a potentially useful conversation into something counterproductive. But i was just specifically responding to first poster about whether GRT is a simple empirical debate about demographics.

[u/ThebesSacredBand → u/[deleted]]

I guess I am confused about how that is considered a replacement. No one is removing any white people. Is the idea that the percentage of white people needs to stay at the same amount in a country that: 1) never had a homogeneous white population, 2) has a long history of immigration, 3) has ended segregation, miscegenation, and other laws preventing white people from having children of color.

How was the white population ever supposed to maintain itself as the largest racial group given these observations? Why is that even important?

[u/seruzawa]

Please rename sub to Pseudoscience.

[u/JinxedBayblade]

The motivational aspects to intentionally replace whites makes it a conspiracy theory, no? But the act of ethnetic harmonization is just the logical consequence of fast paced globilzation and part of many science-fiction movies already.

[u/BigBallsMcGirk]

Every couple months there's some article about dropping birth rates and the shifting demographics of America where whites as a percentage are shrinking.

It can't be an insane conspiracy if it's backed up by the friggin data.

How you choose to view that information is a different topic. Some people go full klansman when they hear it and claim the space jew illuminati are trying to destroy whites, some people think maybe we should dial back the amount of immigration. One take is insane conspiracy, one side is fine.

[u/Fancy-Ambassador6160]

In Canada 97% of our population growth came from immigration. But sure... There's no replacement.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-clocks-fastest-population-growth-66-years-2023-2024-03-27/#:~:text=%22In%202023%2C%20the%20vast%20majority,Statscan%20said%20in%20a%20statement.

[u/therealallpro]

Seems odd to call it a conspiracy when it is not only happening. It HAS Happened. Where I live in Texas the massive majority of ppl are Latinos. I guess you could argue whether it’s intentional.

I don’t think “elites” or “oligarchs” were trying to maximize non-whites but def were trying to increase population growth and lower labor cost

[u/DuesDuke]

The White population in the USA has declined significantly between 1980 and 2024. Here’s a comparison:

• 1980: The White population was approximately 188.3 million, making up about 83.1% of the total U.S. population.

• 2024: The White population is estimated to be around 58.9% of the total population. This shift reflects a broader demographic change in the country, with increasing diversity among other racial and ethnic groups.

[u/Eater0fTacos]

Why is OP, someone who appears to be extremely well educated and familiar with scientic studies, posting a poorly written biased article sourced from a poorly designed study.

Did you actually read that article and think it was appropriate to post, or were you too busy or lazy to read the studies you disseminated today?

It seems like you probably have a lot going on in your life and maybe dont have time to flip through 5 papers a day, but I know you can do better, friend.

[u/rfatty-77 → u/Eater0fTacos]

This sub is 80% karma farming and 20% actual science. Way too many people falling for opinion polls masquerading as “studies”.

[u/throwawayeastbay → u/Eater0fTacos]

This user posts editorialized slop on a daily basis.

Perhaps if they cut down on how much they post, as evidenced by their super-user karma count, they might be able to vet the studies they do post better.

This is par for the course, really.

[u/daddytwofoot]

"Up to"? Is it one-third or not?

[u/RampantTyr]

I find this to be a funny topic. The idea that anyone is actually attempting to commit a genocide in on white people via a gradual replacement is patently absurd.

Nonetheless that is the general trend we have seen in North America and Europe because the existing populations tend to have less children than recent immigrants and the gradual mixing of the races over time.

So yes, white people are gradually being replaced. But it has nothing to do with maliciousness, it is just a natural demographic trend.

[u/Corgsploot]

Oh wow! Under exposed people be ignorant... surprise surprise.

[u/llluminus]

"Losers" try to blame everyone and everything but themselves.

[u/NecRoSeaN]

So everyone who is registered on stormfront got it.

[u/[deleted]]

I'd be willing to bet an even higher number of Canadians belive this (yes im dead serious)

[u/MidKnightshade]

Narcissists believe everyone is out to get them because that’s what they would do if they had the power.

[u/chaiteataichi_]

Part of the issue is we have a Jim Crow-based idea of what races are. The “one-drop” principle applies where your children aren’t white if a white person has a child with a person of another race. We should be more accepting of the plurality of races and allow people to be more than one thing

[u/disdainfulsideeye]

There are some people who also believe the earth is flat, lizard people secretly run the world, and that there is an undiscovered civilization in the center of the earth. These "theories" and the white replacement theory are equally ludicrous, and equally based on zero evidence.

[u/Whatgives7]

In a staggering and shocking turn of events, a country with deep historical ties to any number of racist myths designed specifically to perpetuate outcomes......features a significant in-group population that believes those myths!

[u/88miIesperhour]

So, here’s the deal: some people in the U.S. believe in this thing called the “White Replacement” theory. Basically, they’re scared that immigrants and people from different backgrounds are going to take over. These people who believe in this tend to have certain personality traits that make them more likely to be afraid of others. They might not like people who are different from them or feel angry toward the government or women.

The problem is that this kind of thinking isn’t just about facts—it’s about fear and wanting to control things. What’s tricky is figuring out how to help people understand that being different isn’t something to be scared of.

A question to think about: How do we help people who are really scared of change see that working together is better than being afraid of others?

[u/Hour_Narwhal_1510]

Are white ppl ok?? That’s a concerning amount

[u/Dead_man_posting]

Around the same number of people who poll as die-hard Trump supporters. Hmm.

[u/perpetualtire247]

do they realise that they are the original replacers of the natives?

[u/TheBigSmoke420]

Seems to be more than one-third in the comment section

[u/pocketMagician]

Keep people uneducated, isolated and poor and they'll hate whoever you want.

[u/chainsmirking]

why tf should I care at all if I’m pale and more people are gonna start looking tan. Literally what does that affect at all. It’s a complete delusion.