This is the way of right-wing populism.
The playbook was written a long time ago, and the thugs all seem to be from the same mold.
The people smashing mosque windows would have been out in 1930s Germany doing the same to synagogues.
This demographic has always existed, and are just a blunt weapon being wielded/manipulated by populist leaders, who incite the violence that they then use to justify/amplify their position.
Social media is a new tool that they are using….. it’s just making it easier to do the above.
In Europe, we need to be better at educating people about what path these politicians/leaders are trying to lead us down, and where it ends. We literally all learned about it at school, but it needs spelling out constantly, and more starkly. I am aware that there has been criticism of Jewish leaders for frequently referencing the Holocaust – but recently I have become more convinced that people do constantly need reminding about it.