Paranoid Politics and the Murder of Ahmaud Arbery

In 1964, historian Richard Hofstadter published an essay called “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” where he defined the cyclical way in which humans attack their political opponents using illogical propaganda.

I call it the paranoid style simply because no other word adequately evokes the sense of heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy that I have in mind. In using the expression “paranoid style” I am not speaking in a clinical sense, but borrowing a clinical term for other purposes. I have neither the competence nor the desire to classify any figures of the past or present as certifiable lunatics. In fact, the idea of the paranoid style as a force in politics would have little contemporary relevance or historical value if it were applied only to men with profoundly disturbed minds. It is the use of paranoid modes of expression by more or less normal people that makes the phenomenon significant…. Style has more to do with the way in which ideas are believed than with the truth or falsity of their content. I am interested here in getting at our political psychology through our political rhetoric. The paranoid style is an old and recurrent phenomenon in our public life which has been frequently linked with movements of suspicious discontent.

Pulling from several examples throughout history, Hofstadter picked out the universalities of groups who adhere to the paranoid style. Regardless of political leaning or time period, each group believed themselves victims of a large-scale conspiracy aimed at dismantling their way of life. This victimhood is not only seen on a personal level, but on a systemic level. It is not the individual whose rights are being taken, but their group’s rights being taken. Therefore, to be a loyal member of that group, they must fight to maintain or reclaim their way of life. America’s collective fear of Communism after WWII is an example of this. Even before Senator Joseph McCarthy accused State Department employees of being members of the CPUSA, many Americans feared their government was a secret cesspool of Communists. Every supposed encroachment on the American way of life was a direct result of the underground network of Communists that infiltrated all levels of government, business, and education. There was no real evidence that this secret network existed. McCarthy never produced names, and he went down in flames after he finally accused the Army of being “soft on Communism” and had to attend a Congressional hearing live on television. But the damage was already done. Americans were terrified of Communism, and they were going to do whatever they could to prevent it from stealing their souls. McCarthy’s argument was delusional. He took information based in fact (some people in America are Communists) and jumped to a conclusion that did not follow logic.

Some Americans are Communists → I think Communism is bad for the country → Communists have invaded our government and are actively working to destroy the country → this is not a logical thought train, but it led to the imprisonment of some 2,000 Americans.

I see the use of paranoid style politics in increasingly scary numbers and ways. If it was blatant enough for Hofstadter to write an article about it in the pre-internet years, just imagine how much worse it is now, where we have 4Chan and Twitter just waiting to be the home of the next conspiracy theory. It’s something I’ve been thinking about more and more lately, since we’re seeing an uptick in anti- and pro-government conspiracy theories, the formation of the alt-right and return of the kkk [sic]. People are huddling in groups and failing to logic-test their own thinking. So much of what we do is irrational. Humans are really dumb. To properly explain this concept, I would have to get a little more highbrow than I want to or think is relatable, so I’m just going to use some relevant examples:

Gorfery and Tauntaun McMichaels, murderers of Ahmaud Arbery. This father-son pair of fried pork rinds come to life are currently in jail for Arbery’s death after the release of the shooting led to nationwide outrage. Video footage shows Gorfery and Tauntaun stopped in the middle of a road as Arbery tries to jog around them. Gorfery does not let Arbery run past and prods him with a long-barrel gun, while Tauntaun shoots from the back of their pickup. Several shots are fired and Arbery struggles to run a few feet before collapsing.

For the first couple of days, I saw nothing but disgust for the McMichaels online. Even the ultra-conservative thought the two had committed murder and most were shocked they had not yet been arrested. Slowly, a profile evolved in the media for all the men involved. The McMichaels both had ties to law enforcement, and the elder was photographed at a kkk [sic] rally just a couple years ago. Of course. Then the next video. A man dressed like Arbery walking onto a nearby construction site, looking around, and walking away.

As soon as the video made the rounds, McMichaels sympathizers came out of the woodwork. Suddenly, they were patriots, protecting their property from a robber. Oh, it wasn’t their property? They were doing their neighbors a favor! What do you mean, they didn’t see him at the construction site? There had been a lot of robberies in the area! There hadn’t been a robbery in seven weeks? If he hadn’t reached for the gun, he wouldn’t have gotten shot.

The paranoid style of politics has been taken up by white supremacy, and we’re seeing it unfold in real time. Their delusion of choice is rooted in a heritage of hatred for people of color and a propensity to assign stereotypes to those individuals. The people who employ this political style, once they decide on their conspiracy, will reach conclusions before they hear any evidence. We are seeing this with those who defend the McMichaels. Their defenders have decided the McMichaels are innocent and that they had to shoot Arbery. Why? Because Arbery was Black. Why is that relevant? Because Black people are taking away the rights of the white man in America. White supremacists see any enfranchisement of African Americans as a direct affront to their own rights. Thus, Arbery was their enemy before he was ever a supposed criminal. But then the McMichaels landed in hot water, so it would be pertinent to say that Arbery was, in fact, a criminal. This was self-defense. Well, no, he didn’t have a gun. But he grabbed for Gorfery’s, and as we all know, when a man points a loaded gun at you, you do not try to defend yourself. All you really have to do (I saw this in a TikTok) is stop, use a calm voice, ask if they are police officers, and when they say not, calmly walk away. If only Ahmaud had tried to reason with the two screaming, armed men who were shooting at him. Why was he running instead of calmly walking through his neighborhood, anyway? The conclusion is prepared before any evidence came out. But it was so blatant, and so bad, they just waited a couple of days before they started openly defending white supremacy on Facebook, where we can all see and know never to hire or date them.

But paranoid style politics isn’t just the way we interact online, it’s the McMichaels themselves. It’s their preconception that Black people are their enemies, are destroying America, are the cause of the country’s problem. It’s the conclusion they reached that told them Ahmaud Arbery was guilty because he was Black and running, and when you see a Black man running, you kill him, because he’s running the scene of the crime he committed against a white. They reached the conclusion and then they had to build a story to suit it. There is a reason Hofstadter says this is significant. The paranoid style isn’t new; the power-hungry have used it to dehumanize and denigrate all over the globe. But here, in 2020, white supremacists are using it to kill people. They are using this rhetoric to justify murder, openly, like they did at the lynchings in the Jim Crow South. The end conclusion is still the same. They’re just using different steps to support their delusions. And, since the alt-right are largely responsible for Trump’s election in 2016, they feel especially entitled. Trump is their president, someone who will help restore the rights that were stolen by people of color. This is the reality of the American political landscape. This is the New Jim Crow.