For what it’s worth, I wasn’t actually trying to imply that you felt that ALL Republicans and Christians promote hate. You were quite clear on that. I was just trying to point out that, while those groups do indeed have individuals who are quite hateful, other, non-conservative groups do as well. Maybe it’s just that I get a little uneasy when only right-leaning groups are mentioned in the same paragraph as Hitler.

We seem to agree, for the most part, but I’m not too sure about the hate from the “left” being practically laughed off the stage.

Some on the “right” could probably be correctly identified as packaging hate as patriotism, but the primary hate from the left I see is a widespread hate for the wealthy. The reason their class-warfare hasn’t been laughed off the stage is that they’ve convinced people that it isn’t really hate. That is the type of thing to which I was referring when I mentioned that hate is largely a matter of perspective.

With your personal post-9/11 experiences, however, I certainly take no issue. You may very well be right that Osama accomplished his goal, but the hate from even “moderate” Muslims may not have really increased post-9/11, but rather just became more obvious to us due to the constant coverage.

Point well taken. However, please note that I said “some” not the entire group. I am careful not to engage in intentional swiping of entire groups.

My point is that the hate on the right is reaching a wider audience and becoming more acceptable in the form of patriotism than it would have in the past. The hate from left is practically laughed right off stage.

To digress a little, my wife is Indian. After 9/11, in the USA, we had complete random people stop their cars or whatever their doing just to call her a terrorist or to go back home. As many know, most Indians are Hindu, as is my wife and have been fighting Muslims in Pakistan for years. As a group in the US they are very frustrated by the treatment they are receiving. However, go figure, there is Indian Republican right now who may be Governor of Mississippi. When I was in India after 9/11 I received a very warm welcome but as I approached Kashmir, being a white american, I did not receive such a warm welcome and received some of the same treatment my wife received in the US, except this time it was me. I was called warmonger and other interesting things. My point after all this, Osama’s 9/11 mission accomplished its goal. The West hates the Muslim world and it has become acceptable and the MODERATE Muslim world now hates the USA as well. Osama has masterminded this whole scenario and I feel Bush played into his hands. We now have a “Clash of Civilizations” and for those who are interested I would recommend reading Samuel Huntington’s book with this title. He wrote a few years back, prior to 9/11. I am begining to think Osama read it as well.

“Let’s face it people, the CCC(KKK), some republicans and christians are promoting hate and selling it as patriotism. Hitler did the same thing.”

Be careful not to go too far with this. In my experience, Left, Right, Green, and Libertarian all have fringe individuals that promote hate. The point is, these fringe people really do have the right to have their own beliefs. It doesn’t mean, however, that you or I have to believe it.

True, some Republicans and Christians promote hate. So do some Democrats and Muslims, as well as some Greens and athiests. Pick any group, and you will find some goofball fringe that hates for no legitimate reason.

The CCC, KKK, and Nazis in general are all fringe groups of one kind or another – not necessarily equivalent, but fringe, nonetheless.

Christians, Republicans, and Fox News are not fringe groups. They may be right-of-center, but that doesn’t make them advocates of hate.

I, as a Republican, am (not coincidentally) friends with many other Republicans with a few liberal-types thrown in for balance. None of them are hate-mongers. If they were, they wouldn’t be friends of mine.

Hate is something common to the fringes of ALL political and social ideologies. Whether or not a particular fringe group’s values are actually “hateful” depends entirely on perspective.

This is also interesting:

http://www.wdam.com/Global/story.asp?S=1475356&nav=1Pw1IR0d

Radley has an interesting posting on the Council of Conservative Citizens over at The Agitator. Check it out. I’ve spoken out on this issue in the past – here, here, and here. I share Radley’s disgust at these CCC racists…

A belated thank you for the updates. I was rather confused on Friday, and didn’t have the time to follow up.

Thanks for that. After spending (wasting?) the morning surfing the CCC (KKK?) site I have to say I have not been so entertained and appaled in a very long time.

These are the kind of people whose affinity with the Republican Party and the Conservative movement lead those on the left to suspect those on the right of closet intollerance, hatred, bigotry, and a collection of tin-foil hats…..

And I LOVED the articles over there against women and on the Protocals… nutzoids!

Thanks for posting the updates. Those unfamiliar with the CCC are now better informed, which is the whole point. This is why I love the “comments” feature so much, because it allows us to discuss and ask questions.

“The Black Hawk Barbecue is sponsored by the Council of Conservative Citizens to raise money for private academy school buses”

From what I have seen, “private academy” is usually a euphemism for private white-only schools.

you hypocrite!

If Haley Barbour was on TV making racist comments about black athletes and got fired for it you would be bitching and crying about it on this weblog. Yet, now you are bitching about him going to this red-neck bar BQ/raley and complaining how these are racists that are influencing politics.
I dont get it.

In fact, in reference to him attending this event, I say “SO WHAT?”
He is a white ah…right wing southern politician.
What the fuck would you expect?

and your tolerance for reverse racism is even more telling.

eric

Still, I don’t feel that badily about not being up on all the racist groups out there.

Now it makes sense.

its unfortunate but old white guys hang out with old white guys. doesn’t necessarily mean they are clueless. If there is another picture of these guys burning a cross, or a essay they wrote advocating burning a cross, post that. Otherwise, I’m not going to assume people I’ve never heard of or an organization I’ve never heard of is racist because 6 old white guys got their picture taken together.