New Wave of Hate Against Indians

What is different about the current wave of Indian Hate

The prior social media "hate wave" for Indians was defined by disgust, disdain, and mockery for the perception of a faraway hellhole of a country that has issues with hygiene, sexual violence, and poverty. However, I believe that people are largely self-interested and aren't as worried about problems that don't affect them. Now, I feel like attitudes towards Indians have changed from one of mockery and disdain to actual hatred, as Indians seem to be a "threat" domestically. The hatred comes from the belief that the American educated class will be increasingly "replaced" by Indians and that they are powerless to stop it.

Elon Musk has openly supported removing the H1B visa cap for countries. He said he would "go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend" and has even demonetized several prominent white nationalist X accounts. Donald Trump has seemed to co-opt Elon Musk's rhetoric. People who thought they finally won are now feeling betrayed by the very people they elected. A portion of white nationalists also believe that the tech elites are going to restructure America in a way that promotes skilled foreign immigration, which would be antithetical to their interests.

Mass Shootings Committed against Racial Groups

When we look at Mass Shootings targeted at ethnic minorities, they happen because the shooter largely believes that these ethnic groups are threatening their country's way of life and to exact vengeance on these ethnic groups. The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting happened because the perpetrator believed that Jews were actively destroying the West by promoting mass immigration. The El Paso Walmart Shooting (where 23 Hispanics were killed) was caused because the perpetrator wanted to stop a "Hispanic invasion." Similarly, mass shootings like the Christchurch Mosque Shooting and Buffalo Shooting were ideologically motivated by ideas of white supremacy and white genocide. This is worrying because the new wave of hate characterizes Indians as a threat to America and fits into the alt-right ideology of "The Great Replacement." Note that these shootings happened in areas with a high concentration of a targeted ethnic minority or, in the case of shootings motivated against religious minorities, at places of worship.

Current Social Media Ecosystem

In the past, multiple radicalized shooters have been radicalized by niche far-right websites such as gab or 4chan. After Elon Musk acquired Twitter, the far-right radicalism is now reaching a more mainstream audience (106 million users come from America). Many far-right posts demonizing Indian immigrants in the past few days have gone into the 10,000s and views into the millions. This media ecosystem has largely been pandering to a certain demographic, telling them that their problems are always because of ethnic minorities while they can never do anything wrong. It only takes a single person to become radicalized into a mass shooting.

Considering the current media ecosystem and hate, I believe that Indian Americans should seriously consider the possibility of a mass shooting in the near future.