Warning or Incitement? SPLC Publishes List of Places, Monuments With “Confederate” Names
Says they’re potential “catalysts” to “unleash more turmoil and bloodshed”
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) SPLC has repeatedly listed a great many mainstream, right-leaning, and/or conservative groups and persons as “hate groups.” So indiscriminate are they in their listings that they have been forced to retract “hate group” claims when called upon to provide evidence or to defend its categorization.
The SPLC has been making news lately in relation to its being touted as an “authority” on “hate groups.” SPLC lists are being used not only by unbalanced people who believe the lists and then go on a rampage but as a means of internet censorship and even massive, unscrupulous fundraising in the wake of Charlottesville.
In a 2007 interview, a former SPLC spokesman proudly boasted that the goal of SPLC, its “aim in life,” is to “destroy these groups, completely destroy them.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has gained traction in recent weeks, but contrary to media reports, the group does not exist to “monitor hate groups” but to destroy groups that it targets for “strictly ideological” reasons. In light of large donations from Apple, J.P. Morgan, and George Clooney, and CNN’s favorable coverage of the SPLC, Americans should learn the real motivations behind this far-left organization.
In the words of SPLC former spokesman Mark Potok (who spent 20 years as a senior fellow at the SPLC and only retired this year, according to LinkedIn), the group does not exist to monitor hate groups.
“Sometimes the press will describe us as monitoring hate groups, I want to say plainly that our aim in life is to destroy these groups, completely destroy them,” Potok declared at an event in Michigan in 2007.
Potok reiterated this point at a Vermont school group in 2008. “You are able to destroy these groups sometimes by the things you publish,” he declared. “It’s not so much that they will bring down the police or the federal agents on their head, it’s that you can sometimes so mortally embarrass these groups that they will be destroyed” (emphasis added).
The SPLC “mortally embarrasses” groups by equating mainstream conservative, Christian, and other organizations with the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists. Make no mistake, this is not a “hate group monitoring” organization, it’s a far-Left defamation racket that exists to target any group it disagrees with politically.
Apparently, this new mission of smearing people and groups who are not regressive has been lucrative, but it’s also rather sad to see a once-important law group turn into partisan hacks spreading the hate they claim to oppose. [emphasis added]
The SPLC appears to be purposeful in its inaccurate branding of conservatives, Republicans, Christians, and “fly-over” Americans as members of the KKK or as the more fluid catch-all “white supremacists.” They’re not alone in this, so it’s no surprise that the radical left’s army of black bloc and antifa beat anyone whom they decide, in their frenzied mob attacks, is a “Nazi.”
The SPLC isn’t content simply to “destroy” conservative and non-leftist groups and persons. They’re moving now into the on-going regressive effort to erase American history.
Indeed, perhaps no group is more excited about the eradication of American history than the SPLC. They’ve published a helpful list of places and things bearing Confederate names, presumably hoping that the rabid antifa, black bloc, random leftists, et al. decide to make it their mission to eradicate the memory of the Confederacy.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has now branded hundreds of counties, cities, schools and U.S. military bases as potential catalysts to “unleash more turmoil and bloodshed” – because of their names.
The SPLC website says it has compiled a list of 1,503 place names, monuments and symbols it wants its supporters to demand be eradicated:
“Following the Charleston massacre, the Southern Poverty Law Center launched an effort to catalog and map Confederate place names and other symbols in public spaces, both in the South and across the nation. This study, while far from comprehensive, identified a total of 1,503.”
“More than 1,500 Confederate monuments stand in communities like Charlottesville with the potential to unleash more turmoil and bloodshed.”
These include:
- 718 monuments and statues, nearly 300 of which are in Georgia, Virginia or North Carolina;
- 109 public schools named for Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis or other Confederate icons;
- 80 counties and cities named for Confederates;
- 9 official Confederate holidays in six states; and
- 10 U.S. military bases named for Confederates.
“We will never solve our community’s problems if an entire group of citizens is alienated or feels targeted for discrimination,” SPLC says.
Some of the county names the SPLC says make citizens feel “targeted for discrimination” are:
- Chilton County, Alabama,
- Pasco County, Florida,
- Hendry County, Florida,
- Wheeler County, Georgia,
- Bleckley County, Georgia,
- Benton County, Mississippi,
- Vance County, North Carolina,
- Foard County, Texas,
- Reagan County, Texas,
- Terry County, Texas
“But, it’s not just counties and monuments the SPLC wants to eliminate. In all, the SPLC is targeting:”
- Flags;
- Holidays and other observances;
- School names,
- Highways,
- Parks,
- Bridges,
- Counties,
- Cities,
- Lakes,
- Dams,
- Roads,
- Military bases, and
- Other public works
“The top 10 most hateful states, ranked by SPLC by number of offenses, are:”
Virginia: 223
Texas: 178
Georgia: 174
N. Carolina: 140
Mississippi: 131
S. Carolina: 112
Alabama: 107
Louisiana: 91
Tennessee: 80
Florida: 61
Tucker did a segment on the SPLC’s latest attempt to agitate social unrest:
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Comments
First on the SPLCs list of hate groups should be the SPLC themselves. ‘Nuff said.
To be on that list of hate groups will become a badge of honor.
I remember when I respected SPLC…
Dang…
Is there not one conservative lawyer in the country who can come up with a way to indict these people?
For what? It’s a free country, and they’re free to express their wrong opinions. If they make factual statements about an organization that are both false and defamatory they may be open to civil suits, but not to criminal process; generally, though, they stick to opinion, such as stating true facts and then drawing false conclusions, which is not actionable.
Depending on exactly how the SPLC talking points are used, a creative prosecutor might be able to get them on Conspiracy to incite a riot, if one were to break out at one of these monuments, or if one were to be defaced perhaps on Conspiracy to deface public property.
Basically on a theory of Accessory Before the Fact, in that the SPLC were a part of planning for a criminal enterprise, and then that criminal enterprise (the riot or defamation) was then incited by a person using SPLC talking points. Accessory before the fact is guilty to the same extent as the P1, even though they were not at the scene.
The person inciting the riot would have to have personally conspired with the SPLC leadership to do so, not merely used its web site as a resource. I doubt that ever happens.
Wasn’t there an Outer Limits episode where all the statues in town came alive at the same time and unleashed turmoil and bloodshed on the citizenry.
I love this idiotic idea that statues which have stood for decades, centuries even, without a bit of trouble are now all of a sudden unleashing turmoil and bloodshed simply by being viewed by some alarmingly sensitive people.
If Elizabeth Warren can become an Indian, and Hillary Clinton a pastor, statutes can come alive.
Not sure about Outer Limits….. but there is definitely a Dr Who episode that keeps me awake at nights.
Why do people even give the SPLC any ink?
Because they’re a front for a leftist fascists likely funded by foreign money from entities seeking to destroy our way of life and enslave us, and this group could be responsible for funding sedition.
Other than that, ignore them.
On the contrary, all their funding comes from gullible American donors.
George Clooney, for one. What a fool.
Look up “front men” and reconsider.
SPLC are not front men for anyone. There is no secret about them; they’re a straight business operation, scaring gullible Americans into believing that their freedoms are in jeopardy unless they donate generously. This has made Mo Dees into a very rich man; he has no need of secret foreign sponsors.
The Phelps family, on the other hand, surely does have secret sponsors, though not foreign ones. It would be very interesting to find out who finances them.
The SPLC started off as an organization which was designed to use civil lawsuits to destroy violent right-wing hate groups, such as the KKK. It was always a left wing group though its purpose was defensible, while it limited itself to demonstrably racist hate groups. That has all changed now.
The SPLC found itself in an unenviable position for a group of social warriors. Their avowed enemy, white, racist hate groups were all but extinct. Even minority discrimination was becoming a memory [majority discrimination was alive, well and growing, but that was never part of the SPLC’s mandate]. In order to survive, i.e.; attract donors with deep pockets, the SPLC had to broaden the scope of their attacks. They did this by concocting a greatly expanded “enemies” list. They had to avoid groups who were dear to the hearts of liberals, so they added more conservative groups, or groups which the media could brand as conservative, even if these groups not only were not preaching hate or discrimination, or causing such, but were actually fighting against discrimination and hate mongering. And, as the legitimate targets of lawsuits dried up, the funds generated had to be used somewhere else. Apparently this has proven impossible to do, so enormous amounts of money, belonging to the SPLC, a registered 501(c)(3), are moving into the black hole of off-shore banking. And, there is really only one reason to move funds through off-shore banks in the Caymans. Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands. And it is not for a free toaster.
The current statutes list is simply another fund raising ploy.
“The SPLC started off as an organization which was designed to use civil lawsuits to destroy violent right-wing hate groups, such as the KKK.”
I think that is a very charitable view. My opinion is that the SPLC was founded by a man in sales, and always been interested in making money for the founders. To be sure, they have done legal work against the Klan and others. But my guess is they have always used these as fund raising projects. Run a lawsuit for $100K, but collect $500K to do so. Ever see The Producers? They don’t have to be successful, as in total elimination, just successful on this lawsuit. Rinse and repeat, as you discuss.
As someone who lived in Montgomery for 30+ years, and had a front-row seat on the Dees operation, it’s nothing more than the original model for the Clinton Foundation.
Incitement, as in NYT’s close association narratives. SPLC is targeting left-wing groups mischaracterized as right-wing — in Germany, perhaps, but not in America.
Actually, not in Germany either. The Nazis were advocates for color diversity (e.g. racism) and were enthusiastic supporters to deny lives deemed unworthy, inconvenient, or profitable, under a layer of quasi-legal privacy, no less. The German National Socialists were a left-wing group that carried out social justice adventures inside and outside their borders in elective wars, forced CAIR (catastrophic anthropogenic immigration reform), and redistributive change.
Who wants to tell them that the Admiral who took control of New Amsterdam, the Duke of York, was a massive slave trader?
This is definitely not incitement. I wonder whether it’s even possible to incite in writing. The defining characteristic of incitement is its immediacy, the recipient going into a frenzy and acting on the message immediately upon receiving it, essentially experiencing a temporary loss of free will. Writing, however passionate, is very unlikely to do that. Certainly a dry list isn’t likely to have such an effect, and therefore can’t be incitement even if the author intended it that way. And of course if you can’t prove the author did intend it to have such an effect then it’s not incitement even if it is objectively likely.
Well, gee whiz, it’s not like the SPLC has ever been used a resource for a terrorist to choose his target.
To completely eliminate all historic vestiges of slavery, they’ll need to abolish the Democratic Party.
The SPLC is a big con job. Their biggest mark has been the MSM, who have taken their BS hook, line and sinker.
This is Mafia 101: Nice school you’ve got there. Shame if someone shot it up.
And Milhouse, if we can’t indict the SPLC for extortion based on that, there’s thousands of Mafioso waiting for you to deliver their pardons.
Extortion is the taking of property from another by wrongful use of threats. SPLC is not taking anyone’s property by threatening them. Their money is coming from the gullible people whom they convince that unless they donate the Fourth Reich will descend on us. At best that’s fraud, not extortion; but the elements of fraud aren’t satisfied either, so there can be no prosecution on those grounds.
Right you are Milhouse. The “con” in “conman” and “con game” is a shortening of “confidence”. The perpetrator gains your confidence before relieving you of your valuables. Remember how the American Red Cross took in millions from some disaster, and didn’t spend all of the money on that disaster? The rest went for salaries, advertising, and future disasters. SPLC is doing the same thing. Donors need to do their due diligence. I happily give to the Salvation Army, and Food for the For. Both organizations have dedicated volunteers and employees with single-digit percentage of the donation going to administrative overhead. SPLC just scopes a lot off the top.
Why do MSM and others rely on them? They are lazy, SPLC used to be better, and they agree with the narrative. Clooney and others donate as a way to purchase virtue.
Yes. But the Red Cross was not guilty of fraud for doing that. They never claimed all donations would be used for that purpose, people just assumed it. And the SPLC works the same way. Gullible donors imagine SPLC does some sort of great and difficult work ferreting out dangerous bigots, exposing them, suing them, and protecting the public from them, and that every dollar they give enables this noble work. But SPLC never explicitly tells them so; it just lets them imagine it, and the money keeps rolling in. Legally that’s not fraud.
Yep…. looks like my quiet little archery club made the list…. who knew we were so dangerous. I’d love to see some of the little antifa morons find it in the first place (it’s just a bit out of the way and requires permission to cross private property to access) and see how well they fare, when one of the membership requirements is to be armed at all times. We don’t just have Texas rattlers on that place….. we’ve got some copperheads that will startle a grown man. Did I mention there’s more than a few Black Widows and Brown Recluses on the grounds?
SPPLC = Agent of North Korea
I wonder how many US Navy ships are named in a Wrongthink way.