Claims of "Stochastic Terrorism" Should Not Silence Us
But we should also be making targeted, rational arguments, not smearing an entire segment of the population in order to generate fear
In the wake of the tragic mass shooting in Colorado Springs, there is a renewed discussion about stochastic terrorism and the role that Conservative criticism drives that phenomenon. Many dismiss stochastic terrorism as a fabrication of the left and mainstream media. And it is understandable as to why, as the Colorado Springs atrocity makes clear.
Almost immediately after the shooting took place, the mainstream media and their allies on the left began to place the blame squarely on the likes of Tucker Carlson, Matt Walsh, Libs of TikTok, and other conservative commentators who have been extremely vocal on both transgender and drag issues, often tying them to the process of “grooming” or sexualizing young children.
However, after his arrest, the shooter indicated that “they” are a nonbinary individual and prefers “them/them” pronouns. This is hardly the action of a hardcore right-wing MAGA booster, which only underscores the failures of the media to rush to assign blame to their political and ideological enemies. And, of course, they trumpeted the term “stochastic terrorism” before they even had the barest insight into the shooter’s motivations.
It is yet another case of the left overplaying their hand to generate fear to further their own ends.
While I don’t necessarily buy into the entire concept of stochastic terrorism, I do believe that incendiary words and rhetoric have at least some connection to the terrible acts that some people commit.
The true debate is the degree to which those specific words drive actual violence, when the words themselves don’t explicitly call for it. It’s very important to look at the language that is actually used and the context in which it is put forth. This is because the left has become adept at broadly using the term “stochastic terrorism” to attempt to chill or stop any conservative criticism of their ideas or policies on a large scale.
The problem as I see it from a conservative perspective is that the left has something of a point when it comes to the ways in which transgender and homosexual individuals are characterized. In much of the rhetoric used by popular right wing media figures like Matt Walsh, transgendered individuals are depicted as mentally ill or even fundamentally pedophilic in nature. Events that promote drag performers are seen as hunting grounds for “groomers” who seek to sexualize and exploit children.
There are instances of such events that clearly feature sexualized dances and dress, where children are present and even participating. I can’t and won’t defend these gatherings, or the parents that bring their children to them. I am personally shocked that Child Protective Services has not gotten involved in such cases, as I think that a colorable argument could be made that exposing children to such things is patently harmful to their development.
And yet, there is no comprehensive information as to the true extent of drag events that feature performances of a sexual nature. I would have to imagine most drag events are confined to venues and times that are restricted to adults alone. Conservatives seem to believe that there are crops of little children torn from their beds and force marched to their local pub to be groomed by lecherous pedophiles. While the evidence we have seen of inappropriate drag events involving children is shocking, I do not think we can draw the conclusion that they are even close to widespread.
But popular conservative pundits continue to overstate the threat that these drag events pose. This leads to the criticism that this is an intentional act, done in order to stoke hate and provoke violence against drag performers and the venues that promote them. Here is another example as it relates to puberty blockers, a hot-button issue when it comes to the debate over transgender ideology:
While I personally believe that it’s done more to generate outrage clicks and advertising revenue, it also has another consequence: it makes it more difficult to actually focus on and address the drag shows and other issues that pose a real threat to children.
Reasonable calls to investigate and put a stop to sexualized drag events involving children get drowned out by the left and the media, who claim that anyone who speaks out against them are engaged in a campaign of stochastic terrorism, and that the end goal is to see violence done to drag performers. But the reality is that some of these events expose children to sexually explicit actions, no different than a strip club. The reality is that there should be state intervention to stop that from happening.
These are the events we should be focused on stopping and drawing attention to. But that attention should be rational and proportional. It is essential that the mechanisms we have put in place to oversee the welfare of children be allowed to do their jobs. And if they do not, it is up to us to pressure them to do so via letters, boycotts, running for office, and other grassroots and legal methods.
Smearing all of the LGBTQ community as groomer pedophiles is dangerous and unacceptable. It accomplishes nothing and only further divides us and draws attention away from the real issues we need to focus on. Painting vast swaths of people as deviant and dangerous may generate outrage sufficient to drive up advertising revenue, but it won’t change behavior or lead to the outcome we are seeking. It will only lead to more conflict and anger, and no one in the media or on the left will even listen to our arguments because they are overshadowed by the constant fear-mongering rhetoric put forth by popular conservative television and Internet personalities.
These hyperbolic arguments play right into the left’s hands because of the volume and frequency with which they are delivered. More rational and focused opposition to sexualized events for children simply get drowned out and lumped in with the arguments made by Carlson and Walsh that what we are seeing is the downfall of American morality that will lead to a nation of abused children.
If we want change we need to be focused on just what the problem is, to be clear on the scope of that problem, and very specific about the ways in which we want to address it. Simply telling people that an amorphous, great unknown evil is being perpetrated against the children of this country, and absolutely nothing is being done about it, is simply not true. What’s more it fosters the perception that since the government won’t act, that private citizens must.
Conservatives must push back on the sexualization of children not just in spaces that we don’t frequent, like drag bars and events. We must do so when we see these issues come to the forefront on television, in movies and magazines, and even in our everyday lives. Drag events of a sexual nature, with children present, are rare. But it is far more common to see children watching programs that push the boundaries of sex and morality, which occurs every day in the view of millions of children. We need to focus not on the actions and decisions of parents in states far away from our own, but on our own actions and decisions, and to teach compassion and understanding to help our children to see the reason why certain things are immoral or questionable. Dismissing those we disagree with as “groomers” or deviants accomplishes nothing and is exactly what the media wants and expects us to do, so that they can dismiss us as stochastic terrorists, whose arguments are unworthy of engaging with.
But we must remove that arrow from their quiver by showing them that we can be focused on real issues that cause real harm to children, using documentary evidence and rational arguments. Only then can we really make a difference. It might not be flashy, but it is the best way to really make our voices heard.