Recently, the Anti Defamation League delivered a strong repudiation of the current toxic atmosphere regarding illegal immigration. Here is a link to the full press release written by ADL.
For those who decry, “those anti people, they are the haters”, I wonder, how are we seen as haters, when in fact, seven major civil rights organizations ALL side with our concern over the scapegoating and extreme rhetoric directed at Hispanics. ANY day, I would rather be publicly seen as aligning myself with civil rights organizations than a group led by a man that talks about human beings as dog food.
It is time to start recognizing that a reasonable and humane resolution will come with this administration, and people need to ask themselves, in ten years, how do I want to remember my words and deeds. I believe, this quote by Michael Lieberman, encompasses everything antibvbl stand for, not only as it relates to solutions for immigration, but also our need to remember we are all a part of the human race.
Words have consequences. And we must use our words, our power of persuasion, our political clout, to condemn scapegoating, bias crimes, racism, and anti-Semitism and to press for fair and workable immigration reform.
For those who accuse Alanna and I of infiltrating and influencing ADL, ask yourselves, do you believe we are so powerful that we can also determine the agendas of six other national civil rights organizations?
Here is part of the press release:
Washington, DC, November 24, 2008 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today joined with a coalition of seven national civil rights organizations to denounce the recent wave of hate crimes against Hispanics and other minorities, including the brutal murder of Marcelo Lucero, a Suffolk County, Long Island man of Ecuadoran descent.
“There is a direct connection between the tenor of the political debate and the daily lives of immigrants in our communities. It is no accident that as the immigration debate has demonized immigrants as “invaders” who poison our communities with disease and criminality, haters have taken matters into their own hands and hate crimes against Latinos are on the rise for the fourth consecutive year,” said Michael Lieberman, ADL Washington Counsel.
Michael Lieberman also said in his press release:
Reasonable people can and will disagree about the parameters of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
But make no mistake. There is a direct connection between the tenor of this political debate and the daily lives of immigrants in our communities.
It is no accident that, as some voices in the immigration debate have demonized immigrants as “invaders” who poison our communities with disease and criminality, haters have taken matters into their own hands.
ADL has documented a growing atmosphere of bigotry and xenophobia and a disturbing increase in the number of violent assaults against Hispanics, legal, and undocumented immigrants – and those perceived to be immigrants. Across the nation, the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis have exploited the immigration issue to advance their own agenda.
But we at ADL have also become increasingly concerned about the virulent anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rhetoric employed by a handful of groups and coalitions that have positioned themselves as legitimate, mainstream advocates against illegal immigration in America.
As previously mentioned, the FBI has documented that reported hate crimes against Latinos increased in 2007 for the fourth consecutive year.
The demonization of immigrants has led to an increased sense of fear in communities around the country and created a toxic environment in which hateful rhetoric targeting immigrants has become routine.
Elena, really you don’t have to defend yourself from a Gospel Greg follower or two who think the only problem with hate crime in America is that some people call it for what it is. Just consider the source. Who doesn’t like SPLC? The KKK and FAIR. Who doesn’t like ADL? Neo-nazis, the KKK, and FAIR. Who doesn’t approve of your courage in taking a stand against hate in Prince William County? John Stirrup, and others indulge in and/or capitalize politically on hate.
You don’t have to even mention these clowns. Everyone who reads this blog understands where they are coming from.
“Some voices in the immigation debate have demonized immigrants as invaders”; where have I seen this before? Looks like the ADL got ahold of the HSM handbook, or they saw Duecaster on a 9500 Liberty video.
NGL,
🙂
I feel bad including John Stirrup in with KKK and all them, but he does belong to a hate group and he had that melt down at a town hall meeting going after a constituent because she asked him why is he still a member of said hate group.
It’s the tactic for which I include him in such bad company. Attack the messenger instead of looking inward and doing something about yourself.
Nice job, Elena. NGL is correct. We, as a blog, are a reaction to a small cadre of people who tried to silence us. We wanted more rational discussion that was not charged with racial epithets and 1 line sound bites. We were silenced. But we were not silenced for long.
Some velvets refuse to see that you and Alanna didn’t sic ADL and SPLC on them. There are other people out there in the county who did not like seeing what their county was becoming. Some feared the economic impact. Others just didn’t want to live in an area where people were ‘run out of dodge.’
Don’t you and Alanna both wish you WERE that influential? Thumbs up to ya!
But I do think they were influential in wrestling our local democracy out of the bear hug of Help Save Manassas and Corey Stewart. Just having an alternative blog that was uncensored was enough to let the Supervisors know that the entire county was not an angry mob out to get them (and the immigrants).
Well, I see HSM and BVBL as refusing to take personal responsibility for their actions. The ADL, SPLC is simply stating their opinions based on what HSM/BVBL has offered the public. I would think that this right would be respected by such Patriots as HSM/BVBL.
Didn’t we already discuss their constant cherry picking of the US Constitution?? Would that be a “cafeteria patriot”??
Translation: Seven major ultra-liberal organizations who live and breathe to label everything and anything that doesn’t agree with them as “hate-based haters”. Big surprise! Hate crimes….like beating a little old lady and setting her on fire in Wheaton..that kind of hate crime?
Anti-Defamation League……Good Lord.
Slowpoke, guess you’ve never been a target because of what you are or what religion you follow. Once you’ve been a target, even an itty bitty one, the kalaidascope shifts….. Just make a small shift. No one has to embrace all opinions, just be open to possibilities. It’s healthier. 🙂
So Slow, you think it is ok to defame people or groups of people?
I mean why was the SPLC formed? ADL has been around for almost a century? Do you think they were considered ultra-liberal back in 1913? How about in 1945?
As for the poor little old lady in Wheaton-horrible. There are evil thugs everywhere it seems. I thought her husband was killed also. Bad things happen to good people. There are bad people across the spectrum.
Juturna, you noticed that cafeteria patriotism also? A real smörgåsbord. But some people go straight to the dessert table and forget about the vegetables and meat.
Moon-Howler
No, it’s not OK to defame people or groups of people, but unfortunately, the hand’s been way overplayed. One could literally spend hours a day just trying not to offend someone. Is defaming people going to ever, ever, ever stop? NO. Cavemen defamed the cavemen from the cave on the other side of town. I’m just jealous…I wish I could have a goof-off job like sitting on my fat butt calling groups “hate-groups”. I wonder if the pay is good.
My absolute favorite was the little old lady who got up at the BOCS meeting to get teary-eyed over “kids are picking on other kids because of the resolution”. Yeah, that’s it, lady. No kid ever picked on another kid before the resolution happened. All we have to do to stop bullying the world over is rescind the resolution!
I hardly think that ADL deals with that type of trivial issue. They have been around since 1913. Hardly a reaction to the political correctness fad of the 90’s. Well before WWII or WWI as a matter of fact.
By the way, I looked up KKK and found that the original KKK was disbanded in 1871. The present day KKK was organized in 1915 – two years later than the ADL. Again, hardly a reactionary group.
Hey Slowpoke,
If you knew what it meant to be a real American, you wouldn’t be picking on little old ladies.
Hmm, when black people were being lynched in the South, were these civil rights organizations left wing nuts? Also, since when did the word “liberal” become a dirty word? Is “conservative” then a dirty word too?
Anyway, I digress from the point. The reason these groups were formed was because there was, and still is, a tendency to point to the physical characteristics of someone and form instant opinions as opposed to the “content of your character”. Already there are conspiracy theories that the “jews” are at fault of the economic global crisis by hate mongers. So Slowpoke, what I would advise, is that you delve into some history books and learn about why these groups were formed, for if you “don’t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it “.
You know Elena, I was a supporter of the History themed Disney park proposed a decade ago. The reason for my support was that I believed it would raise many citizens average person’s History IQ many points.
As was just pointed out by a pal, the reason the KKK died in 1871 was that many US citizen found them intolerable and a Force bill was passed to “help” the KKK to cease and desist”. Didn’t know there were that many goof off jobs sitting around finding hate groups in the good old days.
Boy that first paragraph is pretty garbled….. Seriously, with so many Americans frequently choosing 1914-1917 as the dates of the Civil War – even Disney would have been an improvement to many minds.
Well, you know Juturna, people loved to sit around, with nothing better to do, and pick on people who simply want to denegrate, belittle, and dehumanzie certain sects of people, pesky ole do-gooders.
Call me lazy, given many many heinous historical actoricities when people sit on their butts and do nothing, I guess I’d prefer to err on the side of “liberal” and make sure that we all remember we belong to one human race.
It’s pretty sad to think this great country has to rely on theme parks to educate the general public!
I also am proud to be a liberal in PWC considering what conservative stands for in PWC. I would rather feed 5 able bodied men than let a child starve.
As St. Luke said, to whom much is given much is required. It is foolish for us to believe we’ve accomplished so much in our lives or had the luck to be born where we were all on our own. It is a foolish person who believes they are superior to a Supreme Being who has the plan and has allowed them to suceed or be in the right time and place.
That and USA Today. Yikes!!! No wonder there is so much anger. There is too little knowledge and depth.
Ah…. I will move to the shools next and will be shoo’d away…. 🙂
Much has been said about one having the good fortune to be born in the United States of America. Right place, right time and all that. I suppose that makes location location location even more critical.
The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the Obama citizen case on Friday. I hope this isn’t another case of the Supreme Court deciding who the president is. That sounds like the last dying scream of desperation to me.
I am hoping the Supreme Court will explain to me why Hawaii isn’t part of the United States.
MH,
Maybe the people who brought the law suit could have used the theme park as an education to understand that Hawaii is indeed in the U. S. ! Having said that, Obama’s mom is Amercian anyway, how many different ways does the guy need to prove he’s an Amercan!
SPLC Wins $2.5 Million Verdict for Teen in Klan Case
The SPLC sued IKA leader Ron Edwards of Dawson Springs, Ky., contending that members of his Klan group attacked a 16-year-old U.S. citizen of Panamanian descent because they thought he was an “illegal spic.”
http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2008/11/15/trial-day-3-update-splc-wins-25-million-verdict-against-klan-group/
Alanna,
Wow, let’s hope they put the IKA/KKK out out of business forever!
“The verdict is expected to shut down the Imperial Klans of America (IKA), which has 16 chapters in eight states. “We intend to collect every dime we can on the judgment and do everything within our power to put the Imperial Klans out of business,” said Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen at a press conference after the verdict announcement.”
Elena, the Obama case is the longest reach I have ever seen sore losers attempt. I believe they are saying he was born in Kenya. Regardless of where he was born, his mother is still his mother and she was an American citizen. His maternal grandfather served under Patton in WWII. His father could have been anyone. Obama would still be an American. I( am wondering if the Supreme Court would be unscrupulous enough to hear the case. I guess Friday will answer that one. I am thinking back to the 2000 election.
Violence, whether hate crime or otherwise, deserves to be renounced. As to the recent murders of Hispanic/Latino people, I would agree that the rhetoric over “illegal immigration” has played a very sad role.
But renouncing and condemning is one thing. That’s like diagnosing a symptom and saying how harmful it is. What needs to be done is to not merely treat the problem, but go to the cause.
So, while I appreciate the ADL and the seven civil rights groups identifying a symptom and decrying its effects, what needs to be done is to attack the cause.
(P.S., the “immigration debate” isn’t the cause.)
Robb,
You are correct, but how, how do we get people to look within themselves at the root cause of fear and hate that ultimately ends up being so destructive? So many historical moments should enlighten each new generation that is threatened by this human flaw, yet, hate and fear continue to rear its ugly head.
Robb,
I’m not sure what the real root cause is. But as long as there are political gains to encouraging and fomenting hate, there will be skillful and effective politicians and TV/radio personalities to exploit the opportunity.
If you want to gauge the power of propaganda, just imagine that somewhere in Virginia there is a person who calls himself “Slowpoke” and thinks that violence is only bad when his own kind is victimized, and worse, that violence against minorities is a political inconvenience to be trivialized. Needless to say, he is a long way from the boy his mother raised.
Ethnocentrism. People are afraid of change and people see their own race and culture as not only superior but also having a sense of entitlement, generally because of ancestory.
No one wants to be a minority. Look at the Republicans. The Democrats didn’t like it when it was their turn in the barrel. In this case, it is all about control. When you are no longer in the majority, you perceive loosing power.
As long as folks refuse to see that the problem is the ignoring of our immigration laws and not some “inner hatred” fantasy, the root cause will be missed completely.
Bottom line this all boils down to is the inalienable rights of all members of the human family. In 1948 the United Nations adopted and signed the Declaration of Human Rights which recognizes the right to equal, fair and just treatment of all.
December 10 marks the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Human Rights. To honor that day a new organization will be launched called Spirit of Justice,
Spirit of Justice engages in public education, advocacy and direct services to highlight the plight of, and bring justice to, those persons suffering the most egregious human rights violations, with the hope that as each such person’s divinity and rights are honored and defended.
You are invited and encouraged to attend a reception that will be held on Wednesday, December 10 at the Trinity Episcopal Church at 9325 Church St. in Manassas from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Come and celebrate as this new organization is launched in honor of International Human Rights Day marking the 60th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
BTW If anyone is interested in reading the Declaration of Human Rights you can read it at:
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
Dreamers at UCLA–Pass the DREAM Act
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soFkm7srtFw
Elena, you asked:
By first abandoning the fear within ourselves and then living a completely new way of life. And that requires tremendous humility on our part.
And only then can we invite others to do the same. And we have to do so redemptively.
Was it a hate crime when the El Salvadoran Zelaya-Ascencio raped a 10-year old girl in her bed over on Alleghany Court? Or when the prosecutor plea-bargained this down to 10 years of jail, since the guy’s illegal and as such gets different rules to play by than the rest of us?
http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2008/12/02/prosecutors-balk-in-case-of-illegal-alien-child-rapist/#more-2764
Was it a hate crime when the (illegal?) landscaper in Montgomery County did a day labor job for a 83 year old woman, took the check for $75.00, added two zeros to the end of it, then decided with his cousin and wife to bash her head in and set her on fire?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/01/AR2008120102948.html
No? Oh, well. Never mind me, go on talking about what’s really important.
After all
Slowpoke – don’t think anyone here disagrees that our federal immigration laws are a shambles and not enforced. Most here just don’t think its up to locals to take it on or to pay for it. Clearly local elected officials do not have the expertise in dealing with larger issues such as immigration other than on a personal level. That is the problem.
“Most here just don’t think its up to locals to take it on or to pay for it. “Depends on your viewpoint. When your neighborhood becomes overrun with illegal flophouses and you realize that half the people you share a town with are here illegally and not being tracked meaningfully by our crimninal justice system – while the two parties keep failing to enforce the law, so long as our wages stay low – it’s time for locals to take it on and pay for it.
It’s cool. The guy I mentioned above got 10 years time for going into the house he used to stay at with a bandana on his face, and raping a 10 year old girl at 7:30 AM. 10 years. After that he’ll be released back to El Salvador while his “probation” plays out. Maybe he can be confined by ankle bracelet to some chicken coop or cantina.
No need for local officials to get involved. Or for people like Greg L and HSM to get involved. Just invest in lead doors and chastity belts.
It’s not like families of these people are colluding to murder 83 year odl women … oh wait, they are.
and just for clarity “these people” refers to lawless people who are allowed slack on following laws, not to Latinos. The root problem is not Latin blood or culture. It’s rewarding people for breaking laws and giving them a freedom and mobility that average Americans who break laws do not have. It’s this mindset we have of trusting our officials when they refuse to uphold their oaths of office, it’s about the mindset of giving an Amnesty every 20 years and pretending that’s responsible.
The answer to preventing crime cannot possibly be to give anyone an Amnesty or a reward for criminal behavior.
It’s like saying we could stop pedophilia if we legalized child porn.
NotGregLetiecq, you stated:
Answer: fear.
I know that seems over-simplified. But it is the answer.
“Fear of what?”, some may ask. Fear of becoming nothing. And the three major ways it’s felt are: (1) fear of losing identity; (2) fear of losing security; (3) fear of losing life (which is the main root of all fear).
When one ties up their identity so tightly and irrationally in something like their nation, a religion, a cause (such as a political cause), etc., any perceived disruption to that identity can elicit a defensive reaction (verbal or physical). Because that disruption means potential loss of identity. And to many, loss of identity is as good as being dead.
And so they vigorously do what they can to preserve their identity. I witnessed this phenomenon firsthand when I was knee-deep in “anti-illegal immigration” activism, and it was evident on both sides.
It’s humanity’s greatest distraction: the failure to recognize that our core identity is found in our common humanity.
Rick Bentley:
Laws are broad-spectrum treatments which attack the symptoms and effects of social ills (such as crime). And yes, law is necessary. But laws don’t solve the core causes of those ills. And until we attack the causes, all the laws we could possibly write will be ultimately inadequate.
I have to object to the misuse of the word ‘amnesty.’ Amnesty is simply overlooking. A path to legal residency is NOT amnesty. It can have conditions, restrictions, fines and penalties.
Those who truly want to find a solution to illegal immigration will examine paths to legal residency and citizenship and they will stop calling anything that allows someone in this country a way to become legal ‘amnesty.’ The anti immigration crew has attempted to hijack the expression ‘amnesty.’
I will simply not play the game any more.
am·nes·ty (ām’nĭ-stē)
n. pl. am·nes·ties
A general pardon granted by a government, especially for political offenses.
No one is suggesting just plain old forgiveness.
I guess we can add Rick Bentley to the very small list of people who can only see the complete senselessness and tragedy of violence when their own race is the victim.
Rick, let me put it to you this way. If a rape or murder (one that matters to you) was the direct result of media hysteria and politically motivated hate-mongering, wouldn’t you be upset by the media hysteria and politically motivated hate-mongering AS WELL as the rape or murder?
Just to make it perfectly clear, the reason why most human beings are concerned about Hate Crime is that hate spreads. When a particular minority is targeted for a violent crime, there are usually cultural symptoms that created the climate for such a crime. These symptoms can lead to more crimes unless they are addressed. Thus, the purpose of this thread.
One purpose that was NOT intended for this thread: A Victimization Contest in which maladjusted Caucasian men list crimes where Caucasians were the victims as if this is somehow a reason not to pay attention to hate crimes.
Well until you acheive Utopia I’ll fight to keep my family and my neighborhood safe. And I also will fight to make the elitists who run our government make a good faith effort at enforcing the laws they swore to uphold. Also, I’ll fight to stop the ruling class in America from degrading wages by means of encouraging illegal immigration.
You work towards Utopia if you wish. I suspect all you’ll create is Mexico North.
The “core causes” of poverty in South and central America are overpopulation and a culture that is accepting of corruption. How are you – or we – addressing those?
“A path to legal residency is NOT amnesty.”
Anything that provides reward for breaking in here, and/or ensures that the individual won’t be deported in future, is rather clearly Amnesty. Please face that rather obvious truth even if it draws an unpleasant picture to you.
NGL most people understand the inanity of hate crime laws. I’ll spare us that debate.
Civil rights laws in a prejudiced society, good idea. “Hate crime” laws, totally inane.
“If a rape or murder (one that matters to you) was the direct result of media hysteria and politically motivated hate-mongering, wouldn’t you be upset by the media hysteria and politically motivated hate-mongering AS WELL as the rape or murder? ”
I’m not sure what you’re getting at. But what gets me agitated is the way the papers and news media HIDE the fact that illegal aliens are committing crimes. They frequently do not report immigration status, or when the police obscure it, do not follow up on it. They call illegal aliens by misnomers like “A Manassas man” if any address in Manassas is provided as ostensible residence. Worst of all they sometimes hesitate to put out physical descriptions for Latino perpetrators even when they are at large, out of some reflexive political correctness. Am I paranoid or am I speaking the truth? Keep your eyes open and look around you.
The actions of murder, or assault, or harassment, are what needs to be dealt with. Motivation is less important. Arguably, anyone who would murder or assault is out of touch with their humanity and not mentally healthy. Nevertheless I favor punishment.