Who's Calling Whom A "Hate Group"?!
Do you find this picture as offensive as I do? Can you imagine an image more insulting to the people who serve in our military than this one? Let me tell you where it comes from: the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Let me tell you why I mention it: in today's Daily News, a reporter named Rachel Uranga stated over and over again that the Southern Poverty Law Center had declared various anti-ILLEGAL-immigration groups as "hate groups." (Here's the article: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_4174699.)
Uranga, however, never defines the term "hate group," nor states how the Southern Poverty Law Center had decided which groups to label hate groups. For all that appears in the article, any organization that supports enforcement of the immigration laws duly enacted by Congress is, by virtue of that circumstance, a "hate group." What a convenient way to smear one's opponent!
So I went to the Southern Poverty Law Center's website, and the image above lept off the page at me. Yikes!
Rachel, Rachel, Rachel! What in God's name are you trying to pull on us? You want to talk about "hate groups?" How about a group that depicts America's soldiers, during a time of war, as Nazis? That sounds like hate to me.
Before giving too much weight to any organization's findings or labels or opinions, it's a good idea to "know thy source."
And, judging from Uranga's article, the tactic of trying to intimidate people into silence by calling them "racist" if they oppose ILLEGAL immigration isn't working: she reports that groups advocating enforcement of immigration laws are apparently growing by leaps and bounds.
Here's an idea: let's all lay off the name-calling. Let's discuss public policy issues calmly, focus on facts and evidence, costs and benefits -- that sort of thing. And if we wind up unable to agree on something, let's agree to disagree, rather than calling one another terrible names (except for "City Clowncil," because that's just too darn funny). Would that be so hard?
Posted by Walter Moore @ 8/13/2006 11:03:00 AM
14 Comments:
Walter Moore is a hate group.
Another good post Walter, and I agree that the image is insulting.
Based on their substantively weak arguments for open borders and further amnesties, the pro-illegal alien advocacy groups continually resort to name calling (see above) and try to erase the very important distinction between "immigration" and "illegal immigration" -- two entirely different terms. Every country has the right to enforce its borders to ensure an orderly process of legal immigration and assimilation. Unfortunately, Bush, the Dems, and their corporate masters care less about this for their own short-sighted political and economic purposes.
Prof. DeSipio states that anti-illegal immigration groups manipulate data to make their case stronger; of course the same argument can be made about pro illegal-immigration groups and university ethnic studies departments.
Bear Stearns reports about 18-20 million illegals by analyzing things such as "US border crossings, foreign remittances, housing permits, school enrollments, demand for language proficiency programs" etc. Even if the number of illegal entrants is half or 3/4 of this figure, these huge numbers are significantly impacting the country's future. To oppose or question this does not make one a "cracker," as Sen. Perata likes to say.
Walter, perhaps you missed the news that military recruiters, who once made gang membership and membership in neo-nazi or other hate groups a disqualification, have relaxed their standards to allow these people in. This is a very real problem for unit cohesion, and is leading to both increased fighting among our troops and decreased sensitivity to local conditions in Iraq. Basically, a disaster.
And just because you might have a set of concerns about illegal immigration that aren't specifically racist (I'm sure you object just as vocally to Irish and Polish immigrants as you do to Mexican ones), you don't get to play dumb and pretend that this racial sentiment isn't a major part of the equation for many aboard the anti-immigration movement. Feigning ignorance discredits your entire premise.
Plus, the SPLC has a very well-defined methodology for determining that an organization is a "hate group." Read up before you spout, Walter.
2:30,
What's that well-defined methodology?
Southern Poverty Law Center is the antetheis of its name. Its nothing more than a ultraleftist front group masquerading as a non-profit. A Southern fried version of Ralph Nader's so called public interest group - a front for wealthy left wing attorney's to parry their trade at the public's expense.
We're still waiting for the well-defined methodology.
Plus, I looked for a definition at their website before I posted this, and found none. I found lists of so-called hate groups, but no explanation as to how the determination was supposedly made.
As for "playing dumb," there are racists on both sides of this issue. That doesn't mean the rest of us must sink to their level.
Plus, though I don't find it compelling, one can make a good case for illegal immigration or, better yet, for changing the laws to legalize same. One can make that case, moreover, without insulting those who favor leaving the current laws the way they are.
Rather than presenting the case to loosen existing laws, however, I find the people who could and should make that case instead sink to trying to muddle issues by labeling their opponents "racist," and by lumping together legal and illegal immigration, which, to me, only undercuts their credibility.
They should acknowledge that illegal immigration is, in fact, illegal, but then argue that, just as we have changed all sorts of other laws, we should change the immigration laws. They could then argue that, although many illegal immigrants do indeed take advantage of free government services, one must offset against that the reduced costs to business of cheaper labor, fewer (or no) Workers Comp claims or insurance, fewer lawsuits, etc.
Instead, they sink to the lowest form of argument: name-calling. It's just not very good advocacy....
P.S. The Southern Poverty Law Center used to really stand for something. I myself arranged, in 1981, for its director, Millard Farmer, to receive an award from Princeton University's Whig-Cliosophic Society for public service. They used to defend people on Death Row in the South. As I pointed out then, even if you disagreed with their position, you had to respect that the people doing this work did so from the noblest of motives.
Now, by contrast, they've sunk to labeling anyone who disagrees with their views on immigration "racist," apparently. But by all means, if you find their methodology, let the rest of us know. I couldn't find it.
Not sure if this helps, but here goes:
From Answers.com:
A continuing source of controversy is the identification and monitoring of organizations that the SPLC labels hate groups. The SPLC describes their definition of hate group as:
All hate groups have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.
From a cached CSUSB website:
SPLC changed methodology in 1997. Increase of 1997 over 1996 is 20% when adjusted for change. In 2000 SPLC added approx 90 neo-Confederate groups who practice racial intolerance and promote historical misinformation
SPLC has been questioned most notably by Harpers Magazine in 2000. Maybe they don't stand for anything other then themselves right now.
See "The Church of Morris Dees."
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a3e5cb925c4.htm
"TYPICALLY for immutable characteristics," but not ALWAYS for immutable characteristics.
That's the problem with their definition: it's a loophole through which you can drive a truck. Complying the law -- whether it's the law against murder or the law against immigrating without permission -- is NOT an "immutable characteristic." If your group "maligns" murderers for committing murder, then, by this definition, it is a hate group.
Thank you for finding the definition and sharing it with us.
It also provides a clue about what would constitute a legitimate definition, namely, discriminating against people based on immutable characteristics (e.g., race, national origin).
By SPLC standards these people would be consider "Hate Mongers";
George Putlum
Ray Breim
Bill Handel
John and Ken
John Zeigler
Doug McIntyer
Bill O'Reilly
Al Rantel
Rush Limbaugh
walter Moore
Tammy Bruce
John Mack
Ted Hayes
Terry Anderson
plus millions of Americans of all races that ask our goverment simply to uphold the law. I wonder if SPLC would be willing to run the Re-Education Camps to foster their Ultraleftist Beliefs.
Doug McIntyer is a proven racist.
Marco,
You still have to account for the majority of AMERICANS who want the laws on Illegal Entry upheld. By the way, I deleted Larry Elder from the prior mention list.
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