Bill Sawa
2012-08-17 15:30:42 UTC
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) of Montgomery, Alabama
was first established decades ago to combat the Ku Klux Klan and
racism in general through its work in helping impoverished
blacks fight discrimination. In recent years, however, SPLC has
exhibited a tendency to label anyone or any group that disagrees
with them as "racist" or a "hate group," says a Cornell Law
School professor.
William A. Jacobson, an associate clinical professor at Cornell
Law School, stated Wednesday in a piece written for Legal
Insurrection that SPLC attempts to cut off debate and quell the
free expression of ideas by labeling its political opponents as
"hate groups."
And it so happens that conservatives and conservative
organizations are the ones SPLC targets on a regular basis.
For example, the Family Research Council has been at the
forefront of the news this week due to a shooting that occurred
at its headquarters in Washington. The alleged shooter stated
that the reason he opened fire is that he hates the political
views of the Council.
SPLC had added the Family Research Council to its "hate watch"
list of what it claims are known "hate groups." The reason? The
Council supports the traditional understanding of the term
"marriage."
Although marriage has been understood for at least 3,500 years
as a sacred covenant between a man and a woman, SPLC now claims
that anyone who expresses that point of view is engaging in hate
speech.
Once the SPLC labels an organization as a hate group, the
minions of the left wing fall into lockstep by staging protests,
boycotts, and bans. Chick-fil-A is a case in point. Some
universities have banned the company from their campuses, not
due to any discrimination against anyone but due to the company
president's support for the traditional definition of marriage.
No one anywhere has been able to document a single case of
discrimination against gays at Chick-fil-A.
Further, SPLC has targeted the tea party in a similar manner,
claiming that the group is part of the "Patriot Movement," which
it routinely smears by falsely including in its ranks white
supremacists and mass murderers such as Timothy McVeigh.
However, there is no evidence linking the tea party to either
white supremacists or McVeigh. But this did not prevent SPLC
from labeling Tucson shooter Jared Loughner as a right wing
extremist long after it had been established that Loughner had
no such ties.
SPLC also has a history of targeting individuals who express a
fundamental disagreement with what most conservatives believe is
its extremist liberal mindset. SPLC once claimed that this
reporter is actually an anonymous blogger by the name of
"Ulsterman," an allegation that not only is false but for which
there is not a shred of credible evidence. Pamela Geller of the
blog Atlas Shrugs was referred to by SPLC as a hate mongering
"loon." And former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's speech at the 2010
National Tea Party Convention was labeled as an example of hate
speech because she stated that "America is ready for another
revolution," in reference to the Founding Fathers and the need
to return to the founding principles of the nation.
Jacobson maintains that these examples show that SPLC is
spiraling out of control, using the very hate speech it decries
to falsely label others and essentially silence all dissent.
(Hat tip to Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs for contributing to
this article).
ALERT!
A new entry in my regular series Musings After Midnight is now
posted at my blog, The Liberty Sphere. It's titled "With All of
THIS Going On, It's Enough to Make a Normal Person Become a
Conspiracy Theorist." Don't miss it!
Visit my ministry site at Martin Christian Ministries.
http://martinchristianministries.blogspot.com/
http://www.examiner.com/article/cornell-law-professor-blasts-
southern-poverty-law-center-for-stirring-hate
was first established decades ago to combat the Ku Klux Klan and
racism in general through its work in helping impoverished
blacks fight discrimination. In recent years, however, SPLC has
exhibited a tendency to label anyone or any group that disagrees
with them as "racist" or a "hate group," says a Cornell Law
School professor.
William A. Jacobson, an associate clinical professor at Cornell
Law School, stated Wednesday in a piece written for Legal
Insurrection that SPLC attempts to cut off debate and quell the
free expression of ideas by labeling its political opponents as
"hate groups."
And it so happens that conservatives and conservative
organizations are the ones SPLC targets on a regular basis.
For example, the Family Research Council has been at the
forefront of the news this week due to a shooting that occurred
at its headquarters in Washington. The alleged shooter stated
that the reason he opened fire is that he hates the political
views of the Council.
SPLC had added the Family Research Council to its "hate watch"
list of what it claims are known "hate groups." The reason? The
Council supports the traditional understanding of the term
"marriage."
Although marriage has been understood for at least 3,500 years
as a sacred covenant between a man and a woman, SPLC now claims
that anyone who expresses that point of view is engaging in hate
speech.
Once the SPLC labels an organization as a hate group, the
minions of the left wing fall into lockstep by staging protests,
boycotts, and bans. Chick-fil-A is a case in point. Some
universities have banned the company from their campuses, not
due to any discrimination against anyone but due to the company
president's support for the traditional definition of marriage.
No one anywhere has been able to document a single case of
discrimination against gays at Chick-fil-A.
Further, SPLC has targeted the tea party in a similar manner,
claiming that the group is part of the "Patriot Movement," which
it routinely smears by falsely including in its ranks white
supremacists and mass murderers such as Timothy McVeigh.
However, there is no evidence linking the tea party to either
white supremacists or McVeigh. But this did not prevent SPLC
from labeling Tucson shooter Jared Loughner as a right wing
extremist long after it had been established that Loughner had
no such ties.
SPLC also has a history of targeting individuals who express a
fundamental disagreement with what most conservatives believe is
its extremist liberal mindset. SPLC once claimed that this
reporter is actually an anonymous blogger by the name of
"Ulsterman," an allegation that not only is false but for which
there is not a shred of credible evidence. Pamela Geller of the
blog Atlas Shrugs was referred to by SPLC as a hate mongering
"loon." And former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's speech at the 2010
National Tea Party Convention was labeled as an example of hate
speech because she stated that "America is ready for another
revolution," in reference to the Founding Fathers and the need
to return to the founding principles of the nation.
Jacobson maintains that these examples show that SPLC is
spiraling out of control, using the very hate speech it decries
to falsely label others and essentially silence all dissent.
(Hat tip to Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs for contributing to
this article).
ALERT!
A new entry in my regular series Musings After Midnight is now
posted at my blog, The Liberty Sphere. It's titled "With All of
THIS Going On, It's Enough to Make a Normal Person Become a
Conspiracy Theorist." Don't miss it!
Visit my ministry site at Martin Christian Ministries.
http://martinchristianministries.blogspot.com/
http://www.examiner.com/article/cornell-law-professor-blasts-
southern-poverty-law-center-for-stirring-hate