6 replies to this topic

[Zimbochick]

http://www.splcenter...emist-groups-at

The American radical right grew explosively in 2011, a third consecutive year of extraordinary growth that has swelled the ranks of extremist groups to record levels, according to a report issued today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The rise was led by a stunning expansion of the antigovernment “Patriot” movement.

“The dramatic expansion of the radical right is the result of our country's changing racial demographics, the increased pace of globalization, and our economic woes,” said Mark Potok, senior fellow at the SPLC and editor of the new report.

“For many extremists, President Obama is the new symbol of all that's wrong with the country - the Kenyan president, the secret Muslim who is causing our country's decline,” Potok said. “The election season's overheated political rhetoric is adding fuel to the fire. The more polarized the political scene, the more people at the extremes.”

Many Americans are enraged by what they see as America's decline, and opportunistic politicians have done their best to stoke those fears and demonize President Obama in the process. For some, the prospect of four more years under the country's first black president also is an infuriating reminder that non-Hispanic whites will lose their majority in this country by 2050.

The SPLC report details the growth of hate groups to a record 1,018 in 2011, up from 1,002 the year before and the latest in a series of increases going back more than a decade. But the dramatic growth came in the Patriot Movement, which is composed of armed militias and other conspiracy-minded organizations that see the federal government as their primary enemy. These groups saw their numbers skyrocket for the third straight year in 2011, this time by 55 percent - from 824 in 2010 to 1,274 groups last year. In 2008, just before the Patriot movement took off, there were 149 Patriot groups, a number that metastasized to 512 in 2009.

In all, Patriot groups have increased by 755 percent during the first three years of the Obama administration. Their number has now surpassed - by more than 400 groups - the previous all-time high set in 1996, when the first wave of the militia movement peaked shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 people dead.

The report is contained in the Spring 2012 issue of the SPLC's quarterly investigative journal Intelligence Report. Readers will also find an interactive map showing where hate groups are located and comprehensive, state-by-state lists.

With the recent growth of the radical right has come what most experts agree is a rash of domestic terrorism, much of it aimed at President Obama and other authorities. In the last year, several examples have cropped up. In Michigan, members of the Hutaree Militia are currently on trial for planning to murder a police officer and then attack the funeral with homemade bombs in an effort to spark a war against the government. In Georgia, four militia members are facing charges of conspiring to bomb federal buildings and attack cities with the deadly ricin toxin. And four members of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia are accused of planning to murder judges and law enforcement officials as part of a plan to overthrow the federal government.

The continuing tough economy appears to offer the best single explanation for the expansion of a major subset of the larger Patriot movement - antigovernment “sovereign citizens.” Sovereign citizens generally believe they are not obliged to follow most laws or comply with requirements for driver's licenses and vehicle registrations. They also typically believe that they don't have to pay taxes, that they can stop foreclosures with ease, and that with the right procedure they can extract millions from the government - all of which makes the movement especially attractive at a time of general economic hardship.

The FBI considers the sovereign movement dangerous enough that it issued a special bulletin to law enforcement officials last September describing it as “domestic terrorist,” and reported that six officers have been murdered by sovereigns since 2000. Most recently, a father-son team of sovereigns shot to death two West Memphis, Ark., police officers during a routine traffic stop in 2010, a killing that drew international attention to the movement.

The hate groups listed in this report include neo-Nazis, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, Klansmen and black separatists. Other hate groups on the list target LGBT people, Muslims or immigrants, and some specialize in producing racist music or propaganda denying the Holocaust.

http://www.rawstory....dviNwo.facebook

[Whistlers Momma]

I'm so glad the Southern Poverty Law Center tracks these groups!

[Jill]

I'm so glad the Southern Poverty Law Center tracks these groups!

Tracking them does little good when our elected representatives encourage them.

BTW, have you seen this fucktool?
US Marine Being Investigated For Posting "Obama Is The Domestic Enemy Our Oath Speaks About"

[artcinco]

Phony “Civil Rights” Group Dishes Out Hate for “Hate Groups”

[Zimbochick]

Phony “Civil Rights” Group Dishes Out Hate for “Hate Groups”

Yeah, it sucks to be labelled a "hate group", of course people are going to try and pick them apart. Do they go overboard? Probably, but who else tracks these groups?

[artcinco]

^ I think the problem is that for the most part it seems that "hate group" just means "people who disagree with me politically."

I think the SPLC initially was on target combatting racism. Racism is nowhere near the issue in this country as it was 60 years ago. So they need to stay in business and continue to function but they need "scary groups want to do scary things" going on to stay relevant and in the news.

I am all for combatting racism. I'm not for using it as a club against people who see things differently.

[freedom78]

^ I think the problem is that for the most part it seems that "hate group" just means "people who disagree with me politically."

I think the SPLC initially was on target combatting racism. Racism is nowhere near the issue in this country as it was 60 years ago. So they need to stay in business and continue to function but they need "scary groups want to do scary things" going on to stay relevant and in the news.

I am all for combatting racism. I'm not for using it as a club against people who see things differently.

A fair number of the individuals/groups mentioned in the article, presumably as wrongly called out by the SPLC, have done pretty hateful things and have used a big public platform to spread such messages. I don't equate Rush Limbaugh with the Klan, also tracked by this "phony" civil rights org, but monitoring hate speech and intolerance and considering the ramifications of such things seems worthwhile to me.

The article also points out truths as if they're somehow propaganda. Say what you will about Bill Ayres, but he IS highly respected in the field of education FOR HIS THEORIES OF EDUCATION and NOT for bombing stuff.

I also enjoyed the part where liberals and Ayers combined forces to win the Vietnam war for the communist North Vietnamese...what an amazingly simplistic and skewed vision of history the author must have.