Hate Crimes Linked to Immigration Debate

[flashl]

Source: NY Times

NEW YORK (AP) -- Anti-immigrant sentiment is fueling nationwide increases in the number of hate groups and the number of hate crimes targeting Latinos, a watchdog group said Monday.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, in a report titled ''The Year in Hate,'' said it counted 888 hate groups in its latest tally, up from 844 in 2006 and 602 in 2000.

The most prominent of the organizations newly added to the list, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, vehemently rejected the ''hate group'' label, and questioned the law center's motives. FAIR said the center was using smear tactics to boost donations and stifle legitimate debate on immigration.

''Their banner may be 'Stop the hate' but it's really 'Stop the debate,''' said FAIR's president, Dan Stein. ''Apparently you can't even articulate an argument for immigration reform without being smeared.''

NY Times

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Immigration-Hate-Groups.html

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No surprise and under-reported.

[Ordr]

1. The SPLC is now being used as a source for the NY Times?

Heh.
No bias there.

[flashl]

2. Would you prefer data from the erroneous FBI database? nt

[Ordr]

3. "Would you prefer data from the erroneous FBI database? nt"

No, probably not. I'd prefer something scientific and unbiased but I know that's almost impossible to find nowadays. I don't even necessarily doubt the SPLC's statistics on this particular issue but I'd much rather it be from a "better" source.

[flashl]

4. Seriously, where is the "better" source? nt

[Ordr]

5. "Seriously, where is the "better" source? nt"

I'd venture to guess that an average from a combination of numerous sources would yield a semi-accurate representation.

[flashl]

9. That's what the FBI database suppose to be and we know its 'average' is incorrect. nt

[Ordr]

10. "That's what the FBI database suppose to be and we know its 'average' is incorrect"

I wasn't aware of how the FBI gathered their statistical information.
I'm very willing to admit when I don't know what the hell is going on :).

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ordr]

8. What?

n/t

[murielm99]

11. Just what is wrong with the SPLC as a source?

They keep better tabs on hate groups and hate crimes than anyone else.

What do you mean "better?" What reasons do you have to dislike the SPLC?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. Not the good FAIR, this is the bad FAIR..

Questions About Source in Immigration Debate
Group Has Links to Racist Fund

1/1/93


Recent media coverage of immigration has been dominated by anti-immigrant voices; immigrant and refugee rights advocates have been slighted. In this often one-sided discussion, no group has enjoyed more exposure than the anti-immigrant Federation for American Immigration Retorm (also abbreviated as "FAIR," not to be confused with the media watch group FAIR). Media outlets have an obligation to balance this important debate and take a closer look at the motives and money behind the anti-immigration movement.

The Federation, led by spokesman Dan Stein, often appears in national media unopposed or paired with centrist politicians (NBC Today Show, 6/29/1993; CNN Inside Politics, 7/13/1993; CBS 60 Minutes, 3/14/1993). A database search shows that the Federation has been cited hundreds of times in mainstream media since 1993.

While presenting itself as an organization that simply advocates for immigration reform in the public interest, the Federation receives significant funding-- rarely noted in press accounts-- from a foundation that is explicitly motivated by a racist, eugenicist ideology.

For years, the Federation has been supported by the Pioneer Fund, a trust founded in 1937 by Wycliffe P. Draper, a textile millionaire who promoted sending blacks back to Africa. The Pioneer Fund has been described in the London Sunday Telegraph (3/12/89) as a "neo-Nazi organization closely integrated with the far right in American politics."

more - http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2501