I attended the “Chicago Rally” for the Southern Poverty Law
Center with my husband who’s been a long-time supporter of the group and I came
away with a similar feeling that I had when we went to hear SPLC’s co-founder
Morris Dees speak at a suburban college a couple years ago. It’s that discomfort
with hearing that it’s okay to despise other human beings if we put them in the
category of violent racial bigots. I get that same feeling when I see some
historical movies and docudramas where the white people beating up on the black
people are acting like zombie monsters that deserve to painfully dismembered.
It’s the depiction of racism as something like rabies that makes an animal go
on a rampage and killing them is the only way to stop them.
Of course SPLC doesn’t condone violence against the
perpetrators of hate crimes. Besides wanting to see bullies get sentenced in
criminal court to imprisonment, SPLC has the legal strategy of using the civil
court proceedings to sue white supremacist groups into bankruptcy. In his
PowerPoint presentation at the rally, SPLC’s Richard Cohen said in court he
tries to be cordial towards the men who’ve preached terror against minorities
and conspired to destroy SPLC’s offices and personnel. Yet in the images he
chose to show us and in his description of the hate crime perpetrators, Cohen
wanted to evoke our disgust towards what seemed to be hulking sub-human
creatures.
The Buddhist teachings remind us that it’s an egoistic
indulgence to point out how awful other people are so that we feel justified in
dismissing the worthiness of their lives. In our study class we read some
excerpts from Haya Akegarasu’s Lectures
on the Larger Sutra (an unpublished translation by Rev. Marvin Harada)
which included the following passage:
… the Buddha does not say that
everyone is no good. The Buddha says everyone is wonderful, splendid. There
isn't anyone who is no good. Everyone is noble. Those who break the precepts
are noble. Murderers are noble. Shakyamuni Buddha saw all beings as noble. He
looked up to all beings. This is the shout of "all beings have
Buddha-nature!”
A newcomer in the group said he knows Buddhism teaches
compassion, but how can you respect someone who’s done terrible things such as
murder? But that’s the point the Buddha conveys to us in texts such as the Larger
Sutra – it ain’t really compassion unless it means looking up with respect (not
downwards with pity) at all beings, to not pick and choose only those we think
are worthy. Yes, we take action to stop those who are hurting others, but all
the while we see them as beings of worthy Life, knowing their present actions
are the result of causes and conditions of myriad forces of their personal and society’s
past. The reality is that each life can and will change from one moment to the
next – any of us could end up committing a crime, just as a former criminal can
turn out to be an effective activist in helping young people to overcome the
negative influences in their communities. There is no justification for hating
the haters -- they are exactly the same as us – driven by ego-selfishness yet
at bottom calling out with the innermost aspiration for Life.
Thank you for one of the most eloquent refutations of some of the SPLC's most negative fundraising techniques.
ReplyDeleteMr. Cohen and Mr. Dees use dehumanizing terms like "hate group," "radical right," "nativist extremist" and even the incredulous "neo-Confederate" as marketing tools.
As you note, the point of the exercise is to evoke disgust and hatred through the use of what communications researchers call "devil terms." The purpose is to inflame the donors in hopes that they will send in more money in the belief that they are somehow "fighting hate."
It should be noted that there is NO legal definition of "hate group," which is why even the FBI does not, cannot, designate "hate groups," but somehow the SPLC can?
The use of the deliberately undefined term "hate group" allows the SPLC to denigrate others without actually accusing them of any crimes.
In fact, as much as most of us are offended by the messages of many of these groups, they are, in fact, completely within their most basic civil rights to hold those views and express them to each other.
For a private fundraising organization to call itself a leading civil rights group while denying ANY citizens their basic 1st Amendment rights goes beyond simple irony. It's pure hypocrisy.
According to the SPLC's public relations chief, Mark Potok, has said on numerous occasions that "A hate group has nothing to do with crime or violence. It's all about ideology."
No crime. No violence. Just "wrong thinking."
His Hate Map fundraising tool makes the incredible claim that "Hate group activities can include criminal acts, marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, leafleting or publishing."
http://wp.me/pCLYZ-ce
Seriously, what kind of "civil rights group" deliberately conflates six of the most fundamental civil rights with "criminal acts" and "hate group activities"?
By setting themselves up as the arbiters of who "thinks correctly" and who does not, the SPLC are no different from any other group of vigilantes. If no laws are being broken, no matter how unpalatable the communication may be, everyone has a right to their own beliefs.
I don't want to just be down on SPLC - I support their legal strategy of going after the assets of violent organizations and using the proceeds to help the victims. SPLC also has the "Teaching Tolerance" program of educational materials to help schools foster open-mindedness in young people. All of us are part of a "hate group" when we choose to see some other person or persons as unworthy of our respect. Buddhism reminds us of the hope that even the most entrenched haters can have their minds and hearts changed.
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