Over at Ann Althouse’s blog, her commenters are working overtime to attack the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), as noted by Jesse Taylor of Wonkette.
Here’s what Althouse commenter “CommonHandle” had to say about the SPLC and Wade Michael Page:
I find it a bit creepy that SPLC defines its “intelligence project” as following around anyone who has an association with people or groups that espouse racist beliefs, even if nothing that individual has done or said themselves comes across as overtly racist. Creepiness aside, aren’t there plenty of real racists out there? people who regularly and unambiguously engage in racist speech? That the have a “profile” of this man isn’t only kind of disturbing, but it seems pretty frivolous.
Apparently “CommonHandle” is oblvious to the fact that Wade Michael Page is unambiguously and overtly a racist. After all, how many non-racists do you know that pose in front of flags bearing white supremacist markings (while wearing a shirt bearing the phrase, “White pride world wide,” no less) and have white supremacist tattoos?
I don’t know what’s more stunning – the fact that someone actually thinks Wade Michael Page may not be a “real” racist or the fact that Ann Althouse made a point to highlight that particular comment as being worth her readers seeing.
At any rate, if you’re interested in reading the piece from Althouse that prompted the Wonkette piece, you can read it here.
It seems to me that the REAL problem is how to be a racist without killing people. There must be a lot of Americans, not to say people world-wide, who have figured out how to have racist views, and yet, somehow, manage not to SHOOT people.
I guess if there weren’t so many incidents like this, SPLC would have less to do. I am sure there are persons who, having ZERO tolerance for racism might commit a violent act against a racist gathering, but I have not seem any such attacks in the news, recently, or even not so recently.
What IS creepy is that white supremacy groups, often made up of less-than stellar examples of Supreme White People, have this urge, this need, this drive, this passion, this Obsession, with weapons, explosives, and mayhem.
If there were such a thing as a superior race, which of course is utter nonsense, one of the first traits they might exhibit, in their
superiority, is a disdain for the kind of criminal, lock-and-load, don’t aim, just fire sort of attitude. Has the irony of this escaped us all?
Progressives know that disenfranchised persons might turn to violence if their hope for redress of grievances evaporates. These persons, many of whom are ex-military, with clear grievances about their combat multi-deployments and post-discharge treatment, are doing so, with fixed bayonets. We cannot ever tolerate violence, but we must also find a way to address the social conditions that seem to be spawning ever greater numbers of such persons, just as we want to address the needs of black Americans.
Both groups need help integrating into the economy and society at large. Why the one should attack the other is the most serious symptom of what the income gap is really doing to the fabric of American life. People in need should Unite, not Blast away at each other.
MBB