Friday, March 9, 2012

New SPLC Report: ‘Patriot’ Movement Explodes | Hatewatch | Southern Poverty Law Center

New SPLC Report: ‘Patriot’ Movement Explodes | Hatewatch | Southern Poverty Law Center


New SPLC Report: ‘Patriot’ Movement Explodes

Posted in 'Patriot' GroupsHate GroupsIntelligence ReportYear-End by Mark Potok on March 8, 2012

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The number of antigovernment “Patriot” groups grew at an astounding pace last year, as it has in all three years of the Obama presidency, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) annual count of extremist groups, released today. The number of these groups rose from 824 in 2010 to 1,274 last year.
This dramatic expansion of the radical right was driven by fears related to economic dislocation, the country’s changing racial makeup, and the prospect of four more years under our first black president. The campaign season, with its vitriolic rhetoric, has also contributed to the overheated atmosphere that is fostering these groups. In addition, many politicians and other public figures increasingly have been pushing conspiracy theories and demonizing rhetoric into the political mainstream.
The report on SPLC’s annual count and review of the last year in American extremism may be found here. The table of contents for the entire new issue of the SPLC’s Intelligence Report is here. What follows are synopses of the major stories found in the new edition.
  • Last year, little noticed by the mass media, a Massachusetts man burned himself to death to protest treatment of men by family courts. The death opened a window into a dark world, sometimes called the “manosphere,” of woman-hating “men’s rights” activists.
  • The National Association for Research Therapy of Homosexuality, which promotes therapies that supposedly “cure” gay people, is seen by many as the preeminent source of “junk science” that demonizes homosexuality.
  • The little-known Church at Kaweah in California boasts of a “militant Christian separatist worldview” and is training its congregants for armed combat against the “New World Order.”
  • Four members of a Georgia militia were in their late 60s and 70s, but officials say that didn’t stop them from planning assassinations, bombings and biological attacks.
  • Floridian Camille Marino is the newest star on the radical animal rights scene, and she’s frightening. “If I have my way,”she says, “you’ll be praying to us for mercy.”
  • Breaking a long silence, the son of the neo-Nazi who murdered a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum describes how his father ruined his life. Now, Erik von Brunn is just trying to survive.
  • The United Nation’s Agenda 21 accord is a voluntary global sustainability initiative. But to hear antigovernment hardliners tell it, it’s the leading edge of one-world totalitarianism.
  • Bad press, internecine quarrels and co-optation of their issue by state legislatures have almost halved the number of hard-line anti-immigration groups in America.
The New York Times ran a story this morning reprising the findings of the new SPLC Report. Another, longer story was prepared by MSNBC. CNN also weighed in.

14 Responses to
'New SPLC Report: ‘Patriot’ Movement Explodes'
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  1. Gregory said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 9:40 AM
    It has been my experience that anyone who describes themselves as a “Patriot” (upper case P) are usually anything but, if we rely on a dictionary to describe the meaning of the word.
  2. Reynardine said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 9:48 AM
    I have seen some of the “manosphere” posts you have alluded to, and we have all seen legislatures pushing misogynist legislation and heard Rush Limbaugh’s inflammatory rhetoric towards a female law student who dared to want to testify, as spokeswoman for an advocacy group, about insurance coverage for contraception and post-rape medical care. The implication of such a site as “RegisterHer”, which outs the identities and locations of rape and abuse victims, is ugly in the extreme. Even before the rise of an internet “manosphere” such victims have been subjected to terrible levels of fear through stalking. So have their lawyers, and even judges have been at risk if they ruled in favor of these women. One locally had his dog poisoned after ruling in favor of a woman I later represented. I found this out later, after my own dog was poisoned. Misogynist hate groups running sites like RegisterHer are going to make this situation many times worse.
  3. Ruslan Amirkhanov said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 11:19 AM
    This is really weird because I used to live in a town called Tomball in Texas. Also, I hate misogyny to the core, but I was impressed by the term “ass harpies.”
  4. Shadow Wolf said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 11:49 AM
    The despicable Tea Pottier and “Patriot Movement” has also crept it’s slimy hands into our U.S. military branches. A Marine has gone as far as to disobey any orders from our current Commander-in-Chief, via his Facebook page. He founded the “Armed Forces Tea Party”. His military code of conduct is questionable. And I believe that Sgt. has no business serving this country, serving the American people. And certainly no business protecting America’s interests. The unAmerican movement is surely a cause for alarm.
  5. Reynardine said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 12:59 PM
    Tomball? Both my toms have balls; male cats without them are called “gibs”. I guess Tom was a stud and Gilbert was a dud, but that is back in linguistic history.
    Wolf, by allowing Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and the like to broadcast continually to our armed forces, our command is encouraging mutiny against the Commander in Chief, in violation of 18 USC 2387 et seq. and is liable to prosecution for it. Senator Durbin has expressed concern over it, but feels it is “not his place to legislate”. In the first place, the foregoing legislation already exists; in the second place, it is exactly the business of legislators to legislate. If you can document this, copy one file to him and one to the USAG and say exactly what you said here. The last thing we need in this country is “Traitor Battalions”, let alone another Civil War.
  6. Reynardine said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 2:00 PM
    I was mistaken, Wolf; that was Sen Carl Levin. The blog where I got the info was taken down a number of times by hackers, so I couldn’t check that till now.
  7. Shadow Wolf said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 2:09 PM
    Rey,
    I agree. There has to be line drawn somewhere. I also believed this Marine Sgt. may have stepped into TREASONOUS waters. It’s gone too far.
    Whatever happened to “Semper Fi”?
  8. Concerned Citizen said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 2:39 PM
    This does not surprise me about the hate groups. My husband and I have bee living in Wisconsin and I mean to tell you that I have seen some real hate out this way. But what’s disturbing is that these people stalk and believe that they have a right to push their beliefs on others.
    It appears that they are simply organized bigots and it’s very sad to see so much ignorance concentrated in these small areas of Wisconsin. I hope that it’s not like this all over. But you can tell just by looking at whose employed in many of the local business’s it’s a hard pressing matter to find minorities at any of the counters taking orders.
    And the attitude is underline hostile by the local Nazi wannabes.
  9. Concerned Citizen said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 2:42 PM
    It also appears that the so called “Patriot” groups not all of them mind you but as I read about the ones calling themselves Patriots who are really just hate groups, there’s nothing more unpatriotic.
  10. Reynardine said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 2:45 PM
    He has surely committed sedition. Apparently there are some people think “Semper Fi” applies only when the President is white, or only whe he’s Republican, or only when he’s a white Republican.
  11. Concerned Citizen said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 2:45 PM
    We need to be aware of covert racist activity as well. The ones who literally stalk their victims commit trespassing and property damage in the name of their sick and twisted cause.
    There is nothing patriotic about people who act in this way. It is the furthest away you can get from “American”. These people live in a world of their own bent on twisted ideals and it’s unfortunate that they are living here in America.
  12. Ian said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 5:47 PM
    Looking at the updated hate group list, I can’t help but wonder what took so long for You Can Run But You Cannot Hide to make the list of anti-gay groups.
    For those that haven’t heard of the group:
    And I am very, VERY glad to see that some Islamic groups other than the Nation of Islam are finally listed as hate groups. I was disapointed to see that many other groups such as Revolution Muslim and the Islamic Thinkers Society did not make the list, but still a terrific start. Kudos, Intelligence Project.
  13. Ian said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 6:02 PM
    Addendum:
    Two questions about the list of anti-Muslim groups. First, do websites count as hate groups. I vaugly remember someone at the Intelligence Project differentiating between hate sites and hate groups, namely by saying a site only counts as a hate group if it has activities outside the Internet. I’m not sure many of the groups listed as anti-Muslim qualify.
    Second, Faith Freedom International is a well-respected group for ex-Muslims fleeing persecution. Its creator, Ali Sina, has been targeted for death threats many times. The site, while critical of Islam as many sites are critical of many religions, does not advocate discrimination against Muslims as far as I know. If a site that offers support for those leaving a religion or simply criticizing a religion is a hate group, then many groups such as American Atheists, the Richard Dawkins Foundation, Internet Infidels, or the Freedom From Religion Foundation are all hate groups. That I find hard to believe.
  14. Robin said,

    ON MARCH 8TH, 2012 AT 6:41 PM
    The same thing has been happening in Alexandria, MN., douglas co. as the woman mentions what is happening in the small towns of Wisconsin.
    The same same thing……EXACTLY. Homegrown terrorism is more rampant than ppl think.
    yes, stalking, trespassing, and property damage…….they use the tactics listed on covert organized gang stalking, to terrorize common ppl. there is law enforcement envolvement as well. To run single, or divorced women with children, blacks, gays out of this region.
    This is what I have uncovered by connecting the sickening dots after I have received no help from Law enforcement here. The rest of L.E. look the other way.

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