US hate groups on decline but extremist violence persists, study finds
Source: Reuters
The number of hate groups in the United States declined by 17 percent in 2014 as compared to the year before, though violent acts by domestic extremists have not abated, a report released on Tuesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center found.
Many former members of hate groups, which include neo-Nazis, black separatists and organizations targeting gays, Muslims and immigrants, have left to spread their views anonymously on the Internet, said Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the SPLC.
Domestic terrorists and other extremists with criminal intentions also are increasingly acting alone, choosing to commit lethal attacks without the help of an organized group, Potok said in a statement.
Dozens of incidents identified by the SPLC as acts of domestic terror and resulting in 63 deaths have occurred in the U.S. over the past six years, the vast majority carried out by one or two people rather than by organized groups, the SPLC said.
-snip-
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/us-hate-groups-on-decline-but-extremist-violence-persists-study-finds/
still_one
(92,395 posts)Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)Role of the 'Mainstream'
Another strong sign of persistently high levels of extremism in America is the way that a wide variety of hard-right ideas, racial resentments and demonizing conspiracy theories have deeply penetrated the political mainstream, infecting politicians and pundits alike. That can been seen clearly in the role of right-wing media outlets like Fox News, which regularly propagate racially charged accusations, baseless conspiracy theories, and "facts" that are simply untrue.
A prime example of the public expression of racial resentment came from Fox's Bill O'Reilly, who expressed the feeling of many whites when discussing Obamas looming victory on Election Day 2012. "Its a changing country," he complained on Fox News that night. "The demographics are changing. Its not a traditional America any more. And there are 50% of the voting public who want stuff. They want things...The white establishment is now the minority."
Early this year, another reminder came from Steve Emerson, the Islamophobic founder of the Investigative Project on Terrorism and a self-described "internationally recognized expert on terrorism and national security." Emerson told Foxs Jeanine Pirro that there are "places where the governments, like France, Britain, Sweden, Germany - they dont exercise any sovereignty so you basically have zones where Shariah courts are set up, where Muslim density is very intense, where police dont go in...In Britain, its not just no-go zones. There are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simply dont go in."
http://www.splcenter.org/Year-in-Hate-and-Extremism
Red1
(351 posts)I thought maybe charley forgot to add a few mil to the 'americans for koch prosperity' fund.
Gotta keep limbaugh fat and happy.