The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) will be releasing later today its annual investigative report that exposes hate and extremist groups operating in the United States. For the first time ever, there are over 1,000 known hate groups in the country – 1,002 to be exact. The number of armed anti-government militias also grew at a rapid pace, for the second time in as many years.
The Sarah Palins, Rush Limbaughs and Glenn Becks of this country seem to helping to pour fuel on an already blazing fire with their conspiracy theories and demonizing propaganda about those who disagree with them, including the first African-American president.
There has been a recent uptick in hate crimes that includes the following:
- A bomb planted along the MLK Day parade route in Spokane, Washington, a hotbed for neo-Nazi groups
- A man arrested with explosives outside a mosque in Michigan
- A neo-Nazi caught heading for the Mexican border with a dozen homemade grenades
- The mentally ill man allegedly absorbed radical-right ideas prior to killing 6 people & wounding 13 others in his attempt to Rep. Gabriella Giffords in Arizona
According to Morris Dees, founder of the SPLC, this violence is likely just the “tip of the icebergâ€. He believes there could be a looming major attack, such as the Oklahoma City bombing.
Dees said, “It seems certain that President Obama will continue to serve as a lightning rod for the radical right’s rage. He’s the face of the federal government that militias and other antigovernment extremists see as their enemy. And he’s symbolic of the country’s changing racial and ethnic makeup. It’s likely that the climate that breeds hate and extremism will get worse before it gets better.â€
The SPLC continues its fight against prejudice in an attempt to keep our communities safe. To learn more, please visit www.splc.org.
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