Who is hate group founder Pamela Geller?

[cali]

Before posting this bio, I want to say how frustrated and pained I am by what happened yesterday at Geller's bullshit cartoon contest. Frustrated because this plays into the hands of an appalling hate monger and works toward legitimizing someone who is, simply put, an insane, virulently hateful bigot. I'm pained for the same reason and because I fear that this could attract more nuts in support of Geller's "work". What is that work? Spreading hate and violence under the guise of "educating" people about Islam.


Here's the bio:

The woman at the center of Sunday’s “Draw Muhammad” event, where three people were shot, is controversial blogger and activist Pamela Geller, whom the Southern Poverty Law Center has described as “the anti-Muslim movement’s most visible and flamboyant figurehead.”

Geller, who began her career as a journalist for the New York Daily News and went on to become associate publisher of the New York Observer, first came to the attention of many Americans in 2010, when she helped to derail the Park51 Project near Ground Zero, condemning the proposed Islamic community center as “shrine to the very ideology that inspired the jihadist attacks” of 9/11 and campaigning for protests throughout the country. Geller continued to rail against the spread of Islam through her blog, Atlas Shrugs, where she wrote of her belief that President Obama is a secret Muslim who wants to destroy the United States from within the White House and is the love child of Malcolm X.

The blogger is also a co-founder, along with Robert Spencer, of the New York-based American Freedom Defense Institute, which says it is committed to preventing “specific Islamic supremacist initiatives in American cities.” The organization rose to international fame when a federal court ruled on grounds of free speech that New York City was required to run the anti-Muslim ads Geller had purchased in 2012. “In any war between the civilized man and the savage,” Geller’s ad read, “support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” Critics, among them prominent national Jewish organizations, were quick to condemn the ads as Islamophobic, but Geller continued to push her anti-Muslim rhetoric through a series of transit ads, including a recent bus billboard containing the phrase “Hamas Killing Jews.” In response, the city’s MTA board voted last week to ban all political ads on its subways and buses.

Geller’s rise to stardom as the queen of anti-Muslim activism is amplified by her international influence and well-funded network of Islamophobes around the world. Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian extremist who killed 76 people in a shooting rampage in 2011, cited both Geller and Spencer in his 1,500-page manifesto. The United Kingdom’s home secretary banned both Geller and Spencer ahead of a speaking engagement in 2013, labeling the AFDI a hate group.

<snip>

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/04/up-to-speed-who-is-muhammad-cartoon-contest-organizer-pamela-geller.html

[lovemydog]

1. Thanks cali.

It's apparent from this article that she's a hate-filled anti-Muslim who wants to bring war wherever she goes. I too am pained & saddened by violence of any sort. I also believe one hundred percent in free speech and freedom of the press. I wish the most violent islamaphobes and radical fundamentalists would duke it out amongst themselves and stop dragging everyone else who desires peace into their drama. Of course, murder should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

[LeftishBrit]

9. Fully agree

'I wish the most violent islamaphobes and radical fundamentalists would duke it out amongst themselves and stop dragging everyone else who desires peace into their drama'

Yes. Sometimes I wish they could just be sent off to some desert island together, where they could either learn co-operate in the cause of survival/perish through their refusal to do so/ murder each other, but at least leave others alone!

[7962]

2. The best response to her group's event would've been to ignore it.

Instead, they got exactly the response that will further the message they are trying to put out.

[geek tragedy]

3. And what happened in TX is the single best thing to

ever happen to her movement and career.

Having an ISIS-wannabe shoot at her conference is gold for her

http://az.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20110314_0000473.DAZ.htm/qx

[LeftishBrit]

10. Unfortunately yes

She and the Muslim fundies really have so much in common!

[Emelina]

4. Has she lost relatives in any of the wars in Israel?

I would like to know what propels her in her quest.

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Geller

[Vinca]

5. Probably $$$$$$$$$$.

Hate is a major industry in this country.

[cali]

6. why would that be germane? Would that excuse her disgusting hate and bigotry?

What is your point?

[Emelina]

7. Looking for what got her into her political activities.

There is always something that triggers all people who get into a political cause, whether it is one that is desirable or not.

[cali]

8. evidently it was 9/11 that propelled her into her froth of hate.

[Violet_Crumble]

12. Yep, that's what I've heard too...

I had a friend online back then and Sept 11 turned her instantly from a reasonably normal liberal type to a frothing at the mouth hater of all Muslims. I suspect Pam Geller was always politically stinky, but if that could happen to my friend, I can see how it happened to others...

[LeftishBrit]

11. She is also a big supporter of the EDL in Britain.

I detest insane far-RW hatemongers who devote their lives to inspiring and instigating violence. That applies to the extremist Muslim gunmen, and it also applies to Pamela Geller.

[chalmers]

17. Strange bedfellows

she is also embraced by notoriously anti-semitic groups in the US.

[notadmblnd]

53. Now that's funny, since she is Jewish

[betterdemsonly]

13. What gets to me is that these uber neocons like Geller advocate funding the

worst elements of Islam in order to overthrow regimes like Syria then they demonize all muslims based on the actions of the extremists they bankroll and support. This is a batshit insane country.

I'll bet these guys that shot at her were indoctrinated by one of the mullahs we funded to overthrow some middle eastern regime.

It is also possible she paid some gangbangers to do a hit job on the place just make herself look more a victim. The shooters don't look like devout muslims. She is a manipulative ass.

[pampango]

29. As nasty as Geller is I have never seen a report that she "advocate funding the worst elements

of Islam in order to overthrow regimes like Syria."

I have never heard her say a good word about ISIS or a bad word about Mr. Assad.

[Novara]

14. Thanks

They got exactly what they wanted. They planned for it. They incited this response. They hired a shit-ton of security and they held it in Texas, ferchrissake, full of tea party haters and where they knew there would be a big response to the hate-mongering she does. Lots of gleeful hate there....

Sure, she has the freedom of speech, but she doesn't have the freedom to incite violence, which is pretty much what she did. She has a history of inciting hate. And of course they played right into her little drama, making her case for her. "Oh! They're against free speech!" Come on, nobody's that naive. As if no one knows they react with violence to this sort of thing. They're not attacking speech. They're attacking hate, and it's only too easy to bait them. She knows exactly how. It's like shooting fish in a barrel.

[kracer20]

19. Crossed the Free Speech Line

I agree 100% Novara.

In my mind, they crossed the line. Your freedom of speech should end when you are inciting violence like they did.

Honestly, a "draw Muhammad cartoon contest" I would have honestly thought this was an Onion article...

[closeupready]

23. I'd like to hear from her, under oath, how they planned

this entire bullshit event - why they chose Texas, what the point was.

Get the truth from her under penalty of perjury.

[Lee-Lee]

25. You are going down a dangerous road here

Because if what you say became law of the land all racists have to do is threaten violence and now an NAACP rally is "inciting violence", homophobe have to threaten violence and a gay pride event is "inciting violence".

If all it takes is someone threatening violence against speech they don't like to turn it into "inciting violence" and something you say shouldn't be allowed you are just encouraging violence. You are telling everyone all they have to do is make threats of violent response to have anything they don't like shut down.

As detestable a human being as she is- the blame for the violence is 100% on the persons who committed the violent acts. Anything else gives power and legitimacy to te use of violence to shut down speech and free expression- and that's not tolerable. Tolerating it in a case where we don't like the people attacked just sets the precedent for people who don't like what we say to use the same twisted justification and actions against any cause we support down the roaf.

[stevenleser]

36. It's dangerous in both directions, isn't it? Just ask the families of the slain abortion doctors.

This isn't quite as simple as you are making it out to be.

[Lee-Lee]

39. Indeed- under OP's logic the abortion providers were goading

and inciting violence by committing acts that the anti abortion crowd didn't like.

I can see where your going, blaming those who spoke against abortion for the violence. But that's not a valid analogy here- if it was people would be blaming the violent voices inside Islam for this violence.

But they are not, by blaming the people putting this contest on for the violence they are blaming the equivalent of the clinic owner for the abortion doctors death.

[stevenleser]

45. You're not really seeing where I am going. You're trying to make this black and white and it isn't.

None of the Bill of Rights amendments are absolutes. There are limits and exceptions. You cannot say its OK to kill people because your religion calls for it. You cannot yell fire in a crowded theater if there is no fire. You cannot build and keep nuclear, biological or chemical weapons because the second amendment guarantees a right to bear arms, etc.

There is a real question whether the signs Gellar fought to have put on NYC MTA buses are within 1st amendment rights.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1945172.1411094439!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_970/transitads19n-2-web.jpg

[Lee-Lee]

46. And under no interpretation of the first amendment

Can you ever come up with drawing a cartoon, any cartoon, as not being protected.

And if you do, just because someone threatens violence if someone draws it, you are saying that a threat of violence trumps the First Amendment- and just encouraging more violence against speech anyone doesn't like.

A decidedly unprogressive stance.

[stevenleser]

47. And you create a straw man and then beat it up. You lose. nt

[Lee-Lee]

48. And you keep tacitly defending violent religious nuts

Just because in this case they attacked a voice you despise.

When people do that, our nation loses.

[stevenleser]

49. And you create ANOTHER straw man because you were caught using the last one. Sad. nt

[DustyJoe]

60. is it art ?

If a simple drawing that could be considered an expressionist art form can be labelled as hate speech/art etc simply because it depicts a group in what that group sees as blasphemous depictions, then would the 'cricifix in urine' or 'piss christ' be seen the same even though no catholics/christians went in and shot up the exhibit areas that art was displayed ? First amendment either works for all, or for none.

[Oktober]

30. She has freedom of speech, but...............

Sure seems to be a lot of that going around today.

[marym625]

15. Southern Poverty Law Center

She is a hateful person and her group is listed as a hate group

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/pamela-geller

[betterdemsonly]

18. Her husband ran a dealership servicing organized crime people and was implicated in hit jobs.

Interesting stuff from splcenter.

[marym625]

22. I love splc! n/t

[lapfog_1]

57. for any of those here defending Ms. Gellar

In Her Own Words
"Islam is not a race. This is an ideology. This is an extreme ideology, the most radical and extreme ideology on the face of the earth."
— Pam Geller On Fox Business' "Follow the Money," March 10, 2011

"Obama is a third worlder and a coward. He will do nothing but beat up on our friends to appease his Islamic overlords."
— Pam Geller, AtlasShrugs.com, April 13, 2010

"Hussein (meaning President Obama) is a muhammadan. He's not insane … he wants jihad to win."
— Pam Geller, AtlasShrugs.com, April 11, 2010

"I don't think that many westernized Muslims know when they pray five times a day that they're cursing Christians and Jews five times a day. … I believe in the idea of a moderate Muslim. I do not believe in the idea of a moderate Islam."
— Pam Geller, The New York Times, Oct. 8, 2010

[marym625]

61. She is sick and twisted

I don't think anyone is defending her. They're defending the first amendment

[Gothmog]

16. Pam Geller is a hate monger

[dembotoz]

20. the hate idustry seems to pay well

Duck dynasty
Duggers
Palin net
The whole NRA thing
Fricken money to burn

[Algernon Moncrieff]

21. #MollyNorris #TheoVanGogh #JeSuisCharlie

I may dislike Geller's politics, but I support Draw Muhammad days and Draw Muhammad contests -- no matter who initiates them -- as a means of standing for free speech and free expression. DU is always quick to criticize the attempts of Christians to ban books from libraries that are deemed offensive, and quick to praise those who subvert those efforts. This is no different. You may dislike Geller, and may dislike Geller's motives, but I'll stand with her to the extent that I will not tolerate (and nor should you) those who threaten Molly Norris, thosw who committed the murders at Charlie Hebdo, or those who murdered Theo Van Gogh.

[Violet_Crumble]

26. Geller's 'politics' is nothing but hatred and bigotry...

And I wouldn't stand with her to any extent at all. That goes for other bigots who peddle hate for a living.

[Novara]

27. This is not about free speech

It's about hate and inciting a reaction to it.

How would you feel if there was an extended gun battle and a couple of good old white 'Murkans got caught in the crossfire and died? Maybe by a cop's bullet? She is lucky that the only dead are the people she incited to violence.

It's naive to say this was only about free speech. That's just like Bush saying that al Qaeda hates us for our freedoms. No, they hate us for disrespecting their deepest held beliefs and for our arrogantly-held power in the region.

How would you feel if someone had a "draw Jesus" cartoon contest that essentially mocked everything Christians hold dear about Jesus, and a few of the rednecked faithful came out with guns blazing? Would you defend mocking Jesus as free speech too? Of course they have a right to mock Jesus! Right? Sure they do, but be prepared for the violence that may result.

[Lee-Lee]

37. So using yor logic

If a group of homophobes starts getting more and more violent, would you accuse organizers of a gay pride event of causing the violence?

Your stance here is that if anyone threatens violence because they are offended then whatever they threaten violence about should not be done- you can't just say that applies only when it's something you don't like.

Attitudes like your just excuse and enable those who seek to use violence to control the behavior of others.

[Bluenorthwest]

38. Mocking Jesus, Christianity, and religion as a whole is a regular feature of our culture

South Park, Life of Brian, Mark Twain, it's done all the time. And some Christians have had violent reactions, for example Martin Scorsese' serious but alternative telling of the 'Last Temptation of the Christ' so angered some extremist Christians in France that they firebombed a cinema screening the film, inflicting serious injury to many people with intent to kill. This was 1988. Those 'Christians' were nothing but murderous, violent criminals.

[Johnyawl]

28. Right on, Algernon.

[msanthrope]

50. Excellent post. nt

[ibegurpard]

63. That's fine

And I agree. But Geller is not doing this to promote free speech.

[HassleCat]

24. Of Course!

She idolizes Ayn Rand.

[ananda]

31. Geller and Wilders and such: horrible people.

Truly awful, horrible people with ugly evil agendas.

But free speech is free speech.

There are ways of dealing with hate that do not
involve murder or violence.

[stevenleser]

32. My tweet at her on April 22

https://twitter.com/stevenleser/status/590981147234062336

"@PamelaGeller Gee, thanks for subjecting me and other New Yorkers to that ugly message."

[Violet_Crumble]

33. Was that the hatemongering bus ad thing?

She's overflowing with so many ugly messages

[stevenleser]

35. Yes it was. And thanks to that all political ads on MTA assets may be banned here in NYC.

That's the only way to prevent these ugly messages and respect the first amendment.

[Bluenorthwest]

40. But of course ATLAH Church will be free to continue posting anti gay hate signs. Because religion

insults and degrades others constantly and is never called out for it by those who claim they oppose hate speech. Look at how popular the Pope is on DU. Man says LGBT are defective, our rights come from Satan, we 'disfigure God' and some on DU hold him up as a progressive hero.
Hypocrites are hypocrites. Let me know when there are 24/7 pickets at ATLAH.

[Violet_Crumble]

41. They're not on buses. That's on their private property, plus people have called them out...

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150306/central-harlem/landmark-violations-could-force-atlah-worldwide-church-take-down-sign
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-jackson/harlem-residents-protest-_b_6095110.html

There's no hypocrisy at all.

[stevenleser]

42. I hate that effing Atlah church. We're going at it with them from another angle. Check this out:

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150306/central-harlem/landmark-violations-could-force-atlah-worldwide-church-take-down-sign

Landmark Violations Could Force Atlah Worldwide Church to Take Down Sign

HARLEM — A city-issued violation could force the controversial Atlah Worldwide Church to take down its controversial sign — which often displays homophobic and racist messages — after multiple failed attempts by critics who tried to pressure the church to put a stop to what they called hate speech.

The church on 123rd Street and Lenox Avenue — which is a landmarked building — was hit with five violations Thursday for altering the structure without permits, according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission

Atlah’s infamous sign, which Pastor James David Manning uses to broadcast messages like “Jesus would stone homos,” and “Obama has released the homo demons on the black man,” was installed without the commission's authorization, spokeswoman Damaris Olivo said.

The violations were issued because the sign was erected without approval, not because of the content of the messages it displayed, Olivo said.
.
.
.
(more at above link)
----------------------------------
This horrible church is only a few blocks from my apartment.

While the issue with discriminatory messages is a common theme, the difficulties in addressing Atlah vs the message on the MTA buses are not the same. They each have their own different challenges because Atlah is private property and a church and the MTA buses are public property.

[hrmjustin]

34. She is a bigot of the highest order.

[closeupready]

43. She was also a staff journalist for the New York Post, IIRC.

So, with those credentials, a journalist of the caliber of Elisabeth Hasselbeck or Lara Logan.

Sadly for her, Geller is uglier than sin, inside and out. At least Hasselbeck and Logan have a modest measure of sex appeal.

[sabrina 1]

44. Pamela Geller is a despicable human being. She was followed by Norway's Far Right White Supremicist

Mass Murderer.

After the notoriety of being an inspiration for that mass murderer, she disappeared for a while.

I had hoped we would never hear from her again.

If White Supremacists want to take on their counterpart extremist fundamentalists, let her go to the ME rather than putting the lives of people here in jeopardy.

She led the anti Muslim rallies in NYC to stop the building of the Muslim Community Center.

She is a hate monger.


Nothing more and she got what she wanted.

[cbayer]

51. Sorry cali. Had not seen that you had put this up. Will delete mine.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

52. I don't think people fully realize the lack of character in this woman.

People want to talk about what she did as championing free speech. Technically, free speech protects what she did, but that's not what's motivating her.

She is a vile, vile, vile human being.

[arcane1]

54. Wow, I thought she just hated Muslims. I didn't realize she was an Obama CTer too

Crazy!

[notadmblnd]

55. beyond crazy, she thinks Malcom X is his father

[arcane1]

56. At that point, I start to suspect it's all an act to stir up the idiots

[Eleanors38]

58. As a feral hog-hunter told me: "It's one of the few animals a hunter can smell first."

[HappyMe]

59. kick

[ibegurpard]

62. yep she's vile

I'm sure she would have been disappointed had her event not attracted this incident.