Oy, vey. I thought the Tea Parties were a way to revitalize the Republican Party. Apparently, they’ve opted instead to shoot themselves in the foot by inviting the anti-immigrant organization – Federation for American Immigration Reform(FAIR) that has been declared a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center(SPLC). The SPLC is a civil rights organization that was recently in the news after they correctly identified the Holocaust shooter as a white supremacist.
According to the Tea Party website, Jay O’Brien will be the Master of Ceremonies at the Prince William Tea Party. Excuse me, but wasn’t this guy removed from office by voters during the last election cycle? Also, noticeably absent from the agenda are any local politicians. Will Corey Stewart boycott because of the FAIR connection? What about Tito the Builder, who spoke at the last Tea Party? How can individuals accept the Tea Party movement now that they have decided to join forces with this anti-immigrant organization? And how very disappointing that Bob Marshall would agree to speak at an event with FAIR.
I wonder if FAIR’s speaker will explain their position of wanting to curb legal immigration? or will they just ‘focus’ on illegal immigration? If they speak about halting or severely restricting legal immigration then I predict that future tea parties will become increasingly void of any persons of color. How could this be our plan for regaining control at the state or federal level?
I should clarify what I said above – JDL is not a mainstream Jewish organization, and is extremist and I don’t support what they do, but I don’t know that qualifies it as a hate group – as what exactly does it “hate”? Maybe the definition of hate group is not what I think it to be: a group that hates some other group of people of a certain ethnicity, religion, etc.
Seems any organization that is contrary to the SPLC’s political ideology is a hate group.
Why isn’t CAIR on their list? How about the Black Panthers? Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam?
They’re not because the SPLC is a political tool and thus a joke.
I don’t know. What do we call organizations that target specific groups?
I didn’t know that the American Legion had been designated as a hate group. I will say this, I have heard some mighty hateful crap come out of some of their mouths. Now…if the American Legion is handing out a pamphlet with some of that in it, then shame on them.
Back when I heard some of their crap, it wasn’t directed at immigrants. It also wasn’t directed at former enemies of the US, which I can understand.
GR, what is the JDL? I know I have heard of them but am foggy at the moment.
If you notice something about the SPLC, any group that is against illegal immigration is a ‘hate group’.
The JDL or Jewish Defense League – is a rather extremist organization that believes in fighting anti-semitism through use of force against those who are anti-semitic. I would not consider them a “hate group” if the definition is either hating certain groups of people based on ethnicity or race or religion, or promoting hatred of groups. They are an extremist group, and have done violent things, but unless you were to say they promote hatred of anti-semitism, I don’t see exactly how you could qualify them as a “hate group”. On the SPLC website – they classify hate groups by categories of what they hate – and i had to laugh when it said “General Hate” for the JDL! I guess as they couldn’t say hatred of anti-semitism, they stuck them in the General Hate category! I guess that means they hate everything, or hate things in gereral.
If you type in JDL or Jewish Defense League in google, you’ll turn up a zillion links on info about them.
I am not exactly defending them as an organization – I do believe they do rather extreme things, and their former leader Rabbi Meir Kahane who was their founder, was kind of an extremist nut – then again he was assassinated in NYC after some speech he gave calling for American Jews to emigrate to Israel to help the cause there. The assassin was connected with Al Queda by the way – as I remember it, and was Arabic. I forget the exact details, this is all from memory – and it was sometime in the 90’s the assassination occurred, I don’t know when. I believe Kahane was buried in Israel at his request.
Anyway, since Kahane’s time, the JDL hasn’t been as much in the forefront. If I remember right no clear successor to him emerged, and I think it may have even split into two groups or some such thing.
Well, I’m sure there’s a lot of info on it on the web, I just haven’t looked, but may do so if I get some time.
I personally haven’t heard much about the JDL in recent years, and kind of forgot about them until I blundered into the reference to them on SPLC’s site under General Hate groups! Most hate groups they have in a category – not too many are “General Hate”!
Actually, by the definition of having a leader who spouts hatred towards certain races or ethnic groups – if you follow that definition I would say Obama’s former church qualifies, or at least did as long as Reverend Wright was head minister of it. If you can suggest politicians who speak at a one day event at the same time as a “hate group” speaks at that event, are somewhat complicit in hatred, then I think it is fair to label Obama’s former church as a hate group during the time Wright was its active head minister. I’m sure there were plenty there that nodded their heads in agreement with his weekly sermons, so those people by connection would be members of a hate group. I just don’t think it can be had both ways. I somewhat doubt Obama’s former church was ever on the list of hate groups as defined by the SPLC. Maybe that is taking it to an extreme, but I think some of this business about the Tea Party is also taking things to extreme.
I do wonder though how the JDL can be classified as a hate group, but the Black Panthers, of the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan are not, as Mando pointed out. If those two groups aren’t examples of hate groups, I don’t know what is. It comes down to, unless you are going to apply the term hate group equitably and fairly, I don’t have to trust your designation of what a hate group is.
Moon, “I didn’t know that the American Legion had been designated as a hate group”… I’ve told you that on several other occasions which you commented on in the past when someone throws the SPLC out there.
Ill see if I can dig it up but I’ve mentioned that at least 3 or 4 times…
I told you in the “Lone Wolf” thread – June 18,2009 at 23:03 – and you replied on June 19, 2009 at 1:28. – most recent example I could find…
“Estmates are that localities are forced to pay tens of billions
of dollars in health and education cost for noncitizens. They
are a large net financial burden.”
Hillary Clinton
Washington Post
(5-26-2006)
Is Hillary Cinton a “hate monger”?
“Advocates of a more liberal policy toward illegal immigrants
need to take seriously the discontent that the anti-immigration
movement has tapped into. Immigration has been a blessing to the
United States, but it has not been an unmixed blessing and the cost
of our immigration policies are borne more heavily by some parts
of our society than others …supporters of immigrant rights
need to deal with the legitimate gripes of their opponents …
the most basic is that immigrants cost local governments money.”
E.J. Dionne, Jr.
Washington Post -op/ed
(5-26-2006)
Hello, I do remember our conversation. I should have said before recently on this blog. Sorry, I will try to be more precise in the future.
GR, I think those groups you mentions should be included in the list of people with ugly objectives for sure. I would also sling Rev Wright on the pile. After what I heard the other day come out of Jamie Foxx’s mouth, he might have to go on the heap also.
Hillary hates the right wing conspiracy group. I don’t blame her. 😉
——————————————————————–
So let me try to understand everyone…Are you saying no one should be classified as a hate group or that FAIR should not be classified as a hate group?
GR,
Where exactly does the SPLC state the American Legion is a “hate group”? I do not see that anywhere. What I do see is a detailed response to a report the American Legion published on illegal immigration and the errouneous “facts”.
http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2008/10/31/american-legion-attacks-report-and-splc-responds/
Is there a hate group list?
Somewhere else on SPLC’s website – which is a bit confusing to navigate, it does list them as a hate group. Try as I might though, I can’t seem to get back to where I saw that. It was somewhere around where I saw the JDL listed, but I blundered into that accidentally randomly clicking around. Now I can’t retrace the path that took me to where they listed American Legion as a hate group. If I find it I’ll post the link.
I think if you do a search of their site, you will find it.
I would just as soon try to navigate around a rat maze!
Actually, I take it back – it appears it was some comment by a contributor to the “comments” section of one page they had on the American Legion, where one of the commentors said it was a hate group. So I have yet to find where the SPLC says they are a hate group, however all I did was the Google search. You might ask whoever it was on here that originally made that statement, as it wasn’t me. I just followed up on it by trying to research it via google search, and it appears my research was a bit flawed.
MH – they do have a link that says “Hate Group Map” that shows hate groups by states. That is where I blundered into the JDL listed, under New York, although since have found them listed in a bunch of states, in some places I think where maybe not so many Jewish people even live. That puzzles me a bit, but it doesn’t matter what state they stick it in, or if they stick it in multiple states, as long as it is somewhere on their list in some state, and classified as a hate group – that means they call it a hate group wherever it is!
Actually, a direct link to their “Hate Group Map” (one of the more unusually named maps I’ve ever seen) is http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp
MH – I agree – their site is a mess – frequently links take you around in circles – that is take you back to where you started from when they imply you are going deeper. I hate websites like that. Does that make me a member of the “Pooly Designed Website Hate Group”??
I perused the websites for SPLC and for FAIR this evening to try to get some clarity on the issue. SPLC seems to label any organization that seeks to control illegal immigration as a “hate group.” FAIR is clearly opposed to illegal immigration. FAIR also wants to limit legal immigration to some extent. Would any sovereign nation wanting to curb immigration at times in order to help its own citizens be categorized as a “hate group,” then? Aside from the association issues pointed out early in this thread, if you say that no one here is for illegal immigration, but that groups that are against illegal immigration or for some limits on legal immigration are “hate groups,” then what are we left with? Open borders?
Typo – obviously meant Poorly in my above post.
GR, I see the Nation of Islam and the black panthers on the Virginia map. That’s fair.
I don’t see United Daughters of the Confederacy listed or the American Legion (as a hate group)
American Legion is actually congressionally chartered. I didn’t realize that either. They are based out of Indiana and are not listed as a hate group under the state of Indiana or DC.
The only website any more of a maze is the PW Co govt website. It is horrible.
OK, good find MH – you are right, they do define Nation of Islam, as well as several black panther groups, as hate groups. That makes me feel better about their labeling things as hate groups. At least be an “equal oppportunity hate group labeler”!! Although, I still contend, that Obama’s former church at least used to qualify as a hate group. Maybe it doesn’t now, assuming whatever minister is in charge has abandoned that angry racist rhetoric that Reverend Wright used to spout.
I think PWC’s website and SPLC’s website must be designed by the same web site design company. Both need to be fired and replaced. PWC’s website is a disgrace as to how difficult it is to navigate the thing or find out any useful information you are searching for.
Then again I suppose PWC’s website might have been designed in-house, rather than using the services of a website design company, as I suspect SPLC did (most organizations just hire some company or person to design their website for them, unless they have an in-house software development group).
As to country’s wanting to limit immigration to specific quotas – there are good reasons at times to do so. There are those like Bill Gates, that want to raise the quotas for technical workers for example, as if we have some shortage of technical people here in the USA! That’s ridiculous, particularly in economic times like these.
So, there are some very valid reasons for some immigration quotas. I’m not saying all quotas are valid and correct where there are, but there are definitely some that shouldn’t be expanded, the one for technical workers is definitely at the top of that list. Bill Gates just knows he can bring these people in and pay them lower wages and they’ll be perfectly happy, compared to their American citizen counterparts.
Anyway, as Emma says, by that logic most countries are hate groups, as I would think many countries do have some kind of immigration quotas. We can on longer just open the floodgates and let everyone in.
GR, Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas is listed as an anti gay hate group. Also, JDL and Nation of Islam is all over the place as are the black seperatists. As for Rev Wright, I think if that kind of rhetoric was listed as a hate group, there would be lots of churches listed. Not that unusual, I hate to say.
I don’t think that it is being opposed to immigration as much as it is HOW one opposes it.
The original Boston Tea Party had numerous causes, not the least
of which was the huge East India Trading Company almost going
bankrupt and the English government forced to come to the resue
(sound familiar?) Discovering the one thing the Company had
in large amounts was tea, the harried and cash strapped Parliament
decided to have it shipped to the Colonies and sold at a deep
discount which would (1)recover a few pounds (2) please the
colonials with soom inexpensive quality tea. Must have seemed like
a good idea at the time. But that, as it turned out, would also destroy
many Boston businessmen and those who worked for them in the tea trade,
by undercutting their product. Something had to be done to save
their commercial viability and that was to dress up as Indians
and dump the new competitive product in Boston Harbor PDQ with a
“fighting for liberty” cover story. Pass the war paint!
I didn’t even know the part about them dressing up as Indians for the Boston Tea Party! Thanks for the history lesson.
Another good find there MH about that church in Kansas. OK, I’m obviously being proven wrong about some of the things I assumed about the SPLC’s labeling of hate groups. I am glad to see them list the Nation of Islam and the Black Panthers – those two definitely qualify.
from ADL : http://www.adl.org/civil_rights/anti_immigrant/fair.asp
Immigration remains a deeply polarizing issue in American politics and public life. Serious policy questions remain about the best way to reform America’s immigration system but the debate has also been framed, at times, by vitriolic anti-immigrant – and particularly anti-Latino – rhetoric and propaganda. Purveyors of this extremist rhetoric use stereotypes and outright bigotry to target immigrants and hold them responsible for numerous societal ills.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which previously has documented how extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis have exploited the immigration issue to advance their own agenda, has 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.
In 2008, these anti-immigrant advocates have attempted to reinvigorate the immigration debate by forming new coalitions. At a press conference announcing its formation, one coalition openly joined together local citizen groups located far from the Mexican/United States border with virulently anti-Latino border vigilante groups that send armed volunteers to patrol the border. Another coalition has run mainstream newspaper ads that exploit the American public’s concerns about the environment by blaming immigrants for traffic congestion, damage to the public infrastructure, and high fuel prices. These coalitions are attempting to broaden their base and legitimize their views through media outreach.
In addition, local citizen groups continue to hold rallies and events where speakers routinely blame undocumented immigrants and their children for a wide range of problems from “dumbing down” American schools to depleting community resources, to being the main cause of crime and disease in this country. 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.
Unlike the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, who make no attempt to hide their racism and bigotry, these anti-immigrant groups and coalitions often use more subtle language to demonize immigrants and foreigners. They are frequently quoted in the media, have been called to testify before Congress, and often hold meetings with lawmakers and other public figures. However, under the guise of warning people about the impact of illegal immigration, anti-immigrant advocates often invoke the same dehumanizing, racist stereotypes as hate groups. And increasingly, they do not make a distinction between illegal and legal immigrants.
A closer look at the public record reveals that some of these supposedly mainstream organizations have disturbing links to, or relationships with, extremists in the anti-immigration movement. Often identified in the media or their mission statements as “anti-illegal immigration advocacy groups,” they attempt to distort the debate over immigration by fomenting fear and spreading unfounded propaganda through the use of several key tactics:
Describing immigrants as “third world invaders,” who come to America to destroy our heritage, “colonize” the country and attack our “way of life.” This charge is used against Latinos, Asians and other people of color.
Using terminology that describes immigrants as part of “hordes” that “swarm” over the border. This dehumanizing language has become common.
Portraying immigrants as carriers of diseases like leprosy, tuberculosis, Chagas disease (a potentially fatal parasitic disease), dengue fever, polio, malaria.
Depicting immigrants as criminals, murderers, rapists, terrorists, and a danger to children and families.
Propagating conspiracy theories about an alleged secret “reconquista” plot by Mexican immigrants to create a “greater Mexico” by seizing seven states in the American Southwest that once belonged to Mexico.
Blaming immigrants for eroding American culture, institutions and quality of life and impacting our environment and natural resources.
This anti-immigrant propaganda and rhetoric, once the domain of hate groups, is now part of the lexicon used by anti-immigration advocacy organizations, politicians and media figures considered mainstream.
In this report, part of a series of reports on immigration and extremism, ADL exposes those individuals and groups who are playing a key a role in mainstreaming extremist rhetoric in the immigration debate in various aspects of American life.
To both broaden the demographic of its movement and cultivate a grassroots following, the Washington D.C.-based Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has created front groups that work together, often in concert with border vigilante groups, to broadcast a xenophobic message. At the same time, they use these as a defense against charges of racism.
Thanks for finding that Elena. I also saw one of those aztlan groups listed under general hate.
I also did not see the UDC listed. Just because a group is mentioned doesn’t mean that it is listed as a hate group, from what I can gather.
one of my most favorite all time posts on Anti
via Poor Richard, March 3, 2008:
“…a large majority of them can neither read or write, do not
understand our language and have natural tendencies to live
crowded among their own race and to continue their customs brought
with them. Some of the philanthropists and educated fools are
worrying how to deal with this problem when the only sensible
way to deal with this problem is to pass an immigration law that
will keep them out of the country entirely, for we have no use
for them, and they are a menace to America and American institutions
… over a million have arrived in the past year and still
comes the miserable horde, and the politician sells not only
his own birthright but the peace and health of his countrymen
for a few ballots … the nature of this filth is too low and
vile to exploit in print … American for Americans …
The time has come when the American people must call a halt
to the ….. Italians.”
Baltimore News (Nov. 7, 1906)
I know it’s long M-H, thanks for reading it, some things you just cant condense, and this issue cannot be contained within a quick simple summary.
I have been visiting the blogosphere. Apparently Alanna has stirred up a hornet’s nest. You go girl.
Interesting that people think that the NCLR is the same organization as the defunct political group Raza Unidad Party. It just makes damn good press and helps stir the pot.
Indeed, I’ve come to the conclusion that not every group SPLC mentions on their site is labeled as a “hate group”. Unfortunately they do not make it easy to find out who it is they do label a hate group! If they had one central list of all hate groups in the USA, sorted by alphabetical order (or searchable by name or something) it wouldn’t have led to all this back and forth about whether or not a specific group was defined by them as a hate group or not. I was definitely erroneous in thinking they defined American Legion that way – just by the fact they were highlighted in a few articles on their website. The way you have to go about searching by state, and then the list is in some random non-alphabetical order, just makes the task that much more difficult. Why don’t they make it easy to confirm/deny that a group is a hate group, on their website? Even an idiot website programmer knows enough to do a database sort in alphabetical order, or make it sortable by column headers.
As you can tell, I don’t hold in very high esteem the programmer(s) that did their website for them.
I stand corrected. I guess their hypocrisy knows bounds. Looks like more of a “we have to do this” given their caveat:
“Although the Southern Poverty Law Center recognizes that much black racism in America is, at least in part, a response to centuries of white racism”
Because we all know whites are inherently racist…
Doesn’t change my mind that they’re a political tool. What percentage of their resources go to harass The Nation of Islam vs. FAIR?
Mando, I don’t see them as harassing anyone.
You know I am a little touchy about whites being inherently racist. I am the one who thinks it is the human condition for all races to be a little bit in favor of their own. It is how they handle that natural tendency that we have to watch out for.
Just an observation over the years….
[…] Director of the anti-immigrant hate group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) was a featured speaker at Virginia’s Prince William County American Freedom Day Tea Party. The Anti-Defamation League […]
[…] Director of the anti-immigrant hate group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) was a featured speaker at Virginia’s Prince William County American Freedom Day Tea Party. The Anti-Defamation League […]
[…] Director of the anti-immigrant hate group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) was a featured speaker at Virginia’s Prince William County American Freedom Day Tea Party. The Anti-Defamation […]
(1) Crimes should not in any way be rewarded. That’s simple enough to understand, isn’t it? So send the illegals home. (2) Any geographical area is only environmentally designed to support a certain number of people before it begins to deteriorate. Also simple. (3) Having already outsourced so many of our jobs we have too many people for the remaining jobs as it is. A wise, compassionate country would train or retrain its people for the remaining jobs and match them up. (4) End all immigration except that which is done to save peoples’ lives. I’m not a race hater of any sort. I have relatives of every color and from many countries.
We need to quickly develop some common sense about where our country is headed or it’s going to crash and burn. As unemployment figures rise and incomes go down, taxes also go down, causing revenues to local, state and federal governments to also fall. Our states are beginning to go bankrupt. More and more people are going to become homeless, hungry and angry. Then what happens? Use your imaginations.