New Report Says Hate Groups More Active

[Hissyspit]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HATE_GROUPS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Feb 5, 5:03 PM EST

New Report Says Hate Groups More Active

By ERIN TEXEIRA
AP National Writer

- snip -

Groups linked to the Ku Klux Klan, skinheads and neo-Nazis grew significantly more active, holding more rallies, distributing leaflets and increasing their presence on the Internet - much of it focused on stirring anti-immigrant sentiment, a new report released by the Anti-Defamation League says.

"Extremist groups are good at seizing on whatever the hot button is of the day and twisting the message to get new members," Deborah M. Lauter, ADL Civil Rights director, said Monday. "This one seems to be taking hold with more of mainstream America than we'd like to see."

- snip -

"The Klan is increasingly cooperating with other extremist groups and Neo-Nazi groups," Lauter said. "That's a new phenomenon." Between 2000 and 2005, hate groups mushroomed 33 percent and Klan chapters by 63 percent, according to Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes.

Precise data are difficult to pin down, but Potok's group counts as many as 150 Klan chapters with up to 8,000 members nationwide. More than 800 hate groups exist around the country, Southern Poverty research shows.

In the late 1990s, memberships in such groups was crumbling as they lost leaders and struggled to organize, said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. Many hit bottom around 2000. "Whenever you think the Klan is down and out, they find another way to reinvent themselves," he said of the recent resurgence.

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[Behind the Aegis]

1. No link.

I'd like to read the rest, but there is no link. It is not that I don't doubt this information, because, in all honesty, this comes as NO surprise to me.

[Hissyspit]

3. Hold on...

[Hissyspit]

4. Link there now. n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Thanks!

It is much appreciated!

[Solly Mack]

2. Happens when you have a government that makes it OK for the

haters to come out from under their rocks.

Happened under Reagan as well.

[Hissyspit]

5. Yup. n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

7. But what about the "haters" in every day disguises?

I don't fear hate-mongers that wear it on their sleeve. They are easy to spot. It is the ones that 'pretend' they aren't bigots, but spew it, that scare me.

[Solly Mack]

9. They are emboldened as well during times such as now

and easier to spot their veneer...which is in a way a plus. It draws the covert racists out as well.

Yes, I agree that it's the ones that aren't obvious that are the most dangerous...they ingratiate themselves and then harm more people with their cloak and dagger racism.

[Behind the Aegis]

10. I agree.

They even hide themselves in our "ranks." However, I will disagree that it is not always a plus, because I see them quoted here, usually under the theme of "broken clock," as if it some how excuses their bigotry and hate.

But, like you, I feel the most dangerous ones are the ones that pass themselves off as something else. They don't say "faggot," "kike," "nigger," or "spic," but they do as much, if not more, damage.

[Solly Mack]

12. The plus is, for me, that now I know..if nothing else, I now know

but it's not a plus overall,I agree

[Behind the Aegis]

13. Again, I agree.

The saying is "know thine enemy." But, what happens when the "enemy" is from within? I am not talking about about people that simply disagree with your (general, not you as a poster) assertions/positions/etc. but, those who disagree because they are bigots, whether they know it or not. To me, those will always be the worst enemies because they are the proverbial "wolf in sheep's clothing" and are infinitely more dangerous than the "wolf."

[Solly Mack]

14. I agree..when the shepherd is the enemy, the wolf is nothing

The guy shaking your hand and then running off to wash it is the real problem...the guy that point blank refuses to shake your hand is what he is...and easily to avoid and have others avoid

but the guy who shakes your hand, tells you how horrible the other guy is, and then runs off to wash you off his own hand is the real danger

Hate will smile at you and offer friendship...and then do things that cause more harm than the guy burning a cross in your yard

and Yes...there are shepherds in the "ranks"

[Behind the Aegis]

15. OK, Confucius!

:)

You understand the object of hate. You have given great examples of the true nature of bigotry.

Tonight, I have seen post after post decrying the "Snickers" commercial. Many posters telling gay posters to "get over it," or "grow a thicker skin." The reality of our lives never enters into their minds. It is only a matter of time before we are told, once again, to "wait" on our civil rights. I see it in the anti-Semitism threads where people complain about every other injustice but anti-Semitism. I see it in the threads and posts about "what is and isn't racism" as defined by posters who are not victims of racism. We are all expected to be told what our experience is and isn't.

Like you say, the ones that shake your hand and call you faggot...at least I can respect that they accept their bigotry, as they are willing to expose themselves as one...it is the ones that pretend to be OK shaking your hand, then run home and wash their hand; they are the true enemy!

[Solly Mack]

16. I haven't looked at the Snickers commercials yet

Wee bit of a coward I suppose, though part of it is I'm just not ready to hear and see more bigotry.

Now, I have no doubt it is offensive simply because the target of that bigotry is speaking out against it...Is that a bias on my part? To trust the victims of bigotry over those who wouldn't understand because the hate isn't being directed at them? It's a bias I can live with if it is - I trust the experience of those on the receiving end.

Part, a big part, of creating more anger and distrust is to not respect the experiences/feelings of those who are the targets of bigotry. When you dismiss the victims of hate, you are telling them - "you don't matter" and that says a lot (none of it good) about the person doing the dismissing.

I will view the Snickers commercials now. (after this post)

[Solly Mack]

17. OK. Viewed one...read about the alternative endings

and Oh yeah, that's homophobic. (the chest hair pulling ...do something "manly" one)

It plays into the entire warped thinking that Gay men are somehow not manly or "real" men.

And considering the entire macho mentality of what a man is and isn't that is prevalent in a patriarchal society, that is a lot of stereotyping packed into a few seconds.

[Behind the Aegis]

20. Sorry you had to see it.

I am only glad in that you can understand why some of us are upset by this. It is not the "be all, end all" of homophobia. However, it should not be excused or "brushed under the rug." It will not be in the "top ten things of evil of 2007" but, it just happened as deserved to be discussed, as I am sure you understand.

[Solly Mack]

22. It promotes thinking that harms the GLBT community

and that is bad.

It doesn't do it as blatantly as some actions but then that is why it is so bad...people will laugh along with it, all the while absorbing the message....as laughter is not a bad thing, the message couldn't be that bad, right?

So some people won't stop to think...they'll just remember laughing while the message behind it settles comfortably in their minds..

[Behind the Aegis]

18. See for yourself.

I wish you didn't have to see it. There is no reason to expose yourself to more bigotry. But, perhaps you will find something even we didn't see.

If I may....

There are three different ads. They all have the same start....eating a Snickers like the spaghetti in Lady and the Tramp. The men accidentally kiss. Then comes the twist...

1) they rip their chest hair out to prove they are manly. (I just found that odd. Not funny, not bigoted, just...odd.)
2) they chug motor oil and antifreeze to prove they are manly. (I found that homophobic. Better to die (drinking antifreeze) then be thought to be gay, despite NO ONE seeing the "kiss.")
3) one takes a wrench to the other one. (I am sure I don't have to explain why that is not a "good message.")

The view by some here is that it was a comment on homophobic individuals. However, if that were true, why was there no one to say such a thing? The "kiss" was just between those two people, no one else saw it. The real reaction was their own homophobia and that of those that can relate to such a thing. It was not irony, satire, or anything of the like. The message was: "gay is bad, even if accidental."

I can understand why some here couldn't get that message. They really do believe that it was a comment on homophobia, but it wasn't. Because **they** think there is nothing wrong with homosexuality, they assume that the viewing public will have the same response and that the ad people were thinking that is how it would be received. If those people want a real example of 'making fun of homophobes' then they should watch the "Sonic" commercial about "roughies."

[Solly Mack]

19. I viewed one...the chest pulling. Response above.

Yes, I'm lazy. :)

[Behind the Aegis]

21. You say "lazy" like it is bad thing!

:)

[malaise]

11. Bingo! n/t

[Swamp Rat]

8. That's hard to believe, since there are so many great role models...

:eyes:

[Brewman_Jax]

23. What's rreally sad and scary

is that for NPR's series "Bridging the Gap" last month, 30% of white people surveyed still hold negative stereotypes about people of color. These have no problem standing against the hate groups, but probably agree more with their beliefs than disagree.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

24. Well of course

the Bush Administration fosters hate-look at the rhetoric they use to describe liberals! I've been on message boards where the 101 Chairbourn Division freepers have made lovely statements like "we should let all those ghetto moms starve and let their children die"--note the term "ghetto" being used as a code word for the "N" word so they won't get thrown off the board.Hate is becoming more acceptible, and that is worrisome. How soon before some rw loon will take it upon himself to go kill people he perceives to be liberals, and use Bush's "Liberals are terrorists" comments as justification?

[Orsino]

25. Crumbling economy always means more bigotry...

...as betrayed workers look for someone to blame.