Update (10/16/23): The Illinois man who fatally stabbed a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy had reportedly been worried about the “day of jihad” and had “been listening to conservative talk radio about the Israel-Hamas war and became increasingly concerned about his Muslim tenants.”
Right-wing media spent days fearmongering about potential mass violence happening on Friday after a former Hamas political leader was reportedly mistranslated as advocating for a “day of jihad.” Despite a lack of evidence of a related threat to the United States, some called for increased surveillance and others gave advice on how to best avoid an attack.
Sure, random gun owners probably believe it, the same way many of them also believe “climate change isn’t real”.
But do the politicians? I’m not sure if they’ve even bothered to consider if it’s true or not.
It’s profitable to a lobby group that in turn “donates” $16 million a year and it creates a single-issue voting bloc that will tolerate literally anything – including things they claim their guns are to prevent – as long as you don’t take away their hero fantasies.