01/07/2026
On May 14th, 2022, Peyton Gendron murdered 10 people in a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. He was motivated to do so by the great replacement “theory”, which is a racist idea perpetuated by white supremacists that white people are under threat of existence from non-white people. In practical terms, it is an extension of continued refusal to take personal responsibility for one's own insecurities in a world that has finally started to expect personal responsibility and no longer molds itself around catering to and enabling those who lack the courage to look within themselves.
At the time of the mass murder, two prominent proponents of this fear of personal responsibility draped in racism were then Senator JD Vance and then Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Both of them stopped promoting the idea after the shooting. There was no announcement of regret, no accountability for willingly promoting what they knew was a lie and they knew would lead to violence, just going silent on the topic. Given that they are of the ilk that fears introspection and self-reflection, opting to aim to make all of society responsible for enabling their insecurities instead of themselves, this was not surprising.
As of late this fear of personal responsibility draped in racism has started to re-emerge. It is not a coincidence that it has re-emerged within a year of Trump returning to the presidency. It is also not a coincidence that it is being promoted by some of the same bad actors who promoted it before, who knew the consequences back then and know them even more now because of Peyton Gendron's actions. The other day, when JD Vance said, “You don't have to apologize for being white anymore,” he might as well have been speaking into a mirror. What he said, even though he might not have been consciously aware of it, because he fears self-reflection, was, “You don't have to take personal responsibility for your own insecurities anymore, the rest of society will enable you, and you don't have to feel bad about that.”
This is not an “all white people” kind of thing, nor is it necessarily exclusive to white people. It is embraced and promoted by those whose deepest fear is having to take personal responsibility for their own fears and insecurities, which of course includes people like Vance, Carlson, and Trump. Given these fears and their outsized role in how people like them approach life, they are going to lean more into people who are like them, which often means people who look like them. It's not all white people, it's not exclusively white people, but it is predominately so.
Anyone promoting this fear of personal responsibility draped in racism today knows it will lead to violence, because it has already. This means that for such people, the fear of personal responsibility runs so deep, that they would knowingly and willingly promote violence over it. The deaths of innocent people is a preferable alternative to finding the courage to look inward. Such people are not the kind to be looked up to or emulated. They should not be leaders, regardless of what title they might hold.
I'm not willing to discuss any of the points raised here. If you are reading this and your mind goes to anything like “both sides…” or “hear the full context…” or “what about…?” this is your own insecurities being triggered. While I do not know what that feels like, as I have only experienced my own, I will not take any responsibility for managing them for you. While not your fault you struggle with insecurities and fears and triggers, and with full recognition of the unfairness of it, the responsibility for managing and ultimately addressing them is yours and yours alone. Engaging me on any of the points raised here from a triggered position would be asking me to take some of that responsibility from you, whether you consciously realize that or not, and I will not take responsibility for what is yours. While I can have compassion for the discomfort or pain you may be feeling as you digest this information, compassion does not mean enabling, catering to, or taking responsibility for, and so I will not engage.
If you attempt to engage in a way that emphasizes fear of personal responsibility, I will simply block you. Your fear of introspection means promoting, or at least enabling, this fear of personal responsibility draped in racism that will lead to violence against families that look like mine. It already has, so there is no room to entertain known lies. The only reason to do so would be to try and make others responsible for enabling your insecurities because you lack the courage to do so yourself, at the cost of violence.
If you wish to engage from a place of curiosity, like you want to understand better, that's different. We can talk, we can discuss. The minute it becomes an effort to offload responsibility for your insecurities onto me because you're afraid of where they are taking you, I will disengage and block you. Such is not an intellectual exchange of ideas, it is choosing violence and irresponsibility over nonviolence, accountability, and understanding. In this case, being too afraid to take responsibility for your own insecurities is deadly, with families that look like mine being the target.
Please call out this fear of personal responsibility draped in racism where you hear it. Please educate yourself and others. Lastly, please, please, do some introspection and self reflection. Personal responsibility is just a couple of empty words that mean nothing if not applied to your own insecurities and fears, regardless of whatever else you may have done with your life. Instead of fear and racism, choose personal responsibility in the only way it actually matters.
