What makes the hate list of the Southern Poverty Law Center different from the "burn book" a high school queen bee keeps in the 2004 movie "Mean Girls"? Answer: not much. The burn book was a compilation of insults, gossip, and rumors intended to repel the diva's "enemies," label everybody, and keep herself on top of the heap.
The SPLC uses its list of designated hate groups in much the same way: to manipulate the lives of others, smear reputations, control personal relationships, and reap the spoils. The dynamic is the same, whether played on the adolescent scene or in the political arena. Both lists serve mostly as power-mongering tools.
In civilized societies, we supposedly grow out of that sort of tribalism. But look around and you'll see such behaviors proliferating in every sphere: politics, journalism, education. A recent headline in the Washington Examiner nailed it: "The Bret Stephens Freak Out is a Reminder that the Media Is Basically a Massive High School Clique."
Why do so many folks treat the SPLC with undeserved reverence, the way too many high school kids treat a self-appointed nasty queen bee? Why do they accept the Southern Poverty Law Center as the nation's Grand Inquisitor dictating who may speak and who must shut up? And why are its smears and caricatures so often blindly accepted at face value? What qualifies the SPLC to act as judge, jury, and social executioner of any human being who is not their blind supporter?
Those questions have been hanging in the air for decades. As with all vilification campaigns, the SPLC plays a dangerous and cruel game under the guise of defending victims. So let's take a closer look at some of the SPLC's history and behavior. Let's count some ways it's a con game.
Rest of article: https://thefederalist.com/2017/05/17/12-ways-southern-poverty-law-center-scam-profit-hate-mongering/
The SPLC uses its list of designated hate groups in much the same way: to manipulate the lives of others, smear reputations, control personal relationships, and reap the spoils. The dynamic is the same, whether played on the adolescent scene or in the political arena. Both lists serve mostly as power-mongering tools.
In civilized societies, we supposedly grow out of that sort of tribalism. But look around and you'll see such behaviors proliferating in every sphere: politics, journalism, education. A recent headline in the Washington Examiner nailed it: "The Bret Stephens Freak Out is a Reminder that the Media Is Basically a Massive High School Clique."
Why do so many folks treat the SPLC with undeserved reverence, the way too many high school kids treat a self-appointed nasty queen bee? Why do they accept the Southern Poverty Law Center as the nation's Grand Inquisitor dictating who may speak and who must shut up? And why are its smears and caricatures so often blindly accepted at face value? What qualifies the SPLC to act as judge, jury, and social executioner of any human being who is not their blind supporter?
Those questions have been hanging in the air for decades. As with all vilification campaigns, the SPLC plays a dangerous and cruel game under the guise of defending victims. So let's take a closer look at some of the SPLC's history and behavior. Let's count some ways it's a con game.
Rest of article: https://thefederalist.com/2017/05/17/12-ways-southern-poverty-law-center-scam-profit-hate-mongering/
