Hate groups in the US show explosive growth
 

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informe...roups-top-1000

What was it that happened in 2008...

Obama got elected

Source is decidedly leftist.

What about left-leaning groups like ACLU, NAACP, NOW? They retain just as much of their influence - if they don't have MORE - as they did ten years ago. Are they not a threat to law and order?

I'm not saying the "Patriot" groups are any better - or any worse. What I'm saying is, there's cause/causes to celebrate - and deride - any political group in this country that takes itself way too seriously, and in so doing, screws things up for the rest of us.

Interesting way of counting they got there.

In New York alone The nazis are counted three times as are the klan. :zzz:The Nation of Islam (they're the "Radical Right?" :doh:) is also counted three times as is that other bastion of Radical Rightness, the National Black Foot Soldier Network :dead:. They even count the radical Catholics three times.

Then they count the nazi womens auxillary as a separate group, their hate literature publishers as a separate group. their trust fund providers as a separate group.

Do you see a pattern here?

The Southern Poverty Law Center, bless their little liberal hearts, mongers fear for their funding in much the same way that the NRA does. The more dire the threat the more they collect in donations.

Yea it always worried me that these private special interest groups have a hand in Washington teaching politicians who the real bad guys are as if our own FBI/CIA/Police/ATF cant figure these things out.:nope:

Yeah they count all the local groups as groups even if there is another branch of the group. so 4 locally based neo nazi groups counts as 4 groups even though they are all neo nazis.
The proper way to count is to forget local and state distinctions and go national.
We are pleased to announce there is only 1 neo nazi group in the US.

Yes very radical right, crazy religiously conservative fundamentalist racists with strange patriotism and identity "values".

They was going to count four, but Mel Gibson had decided against the move as he thinks there are too many jews in liberal NY

As Tribesman pointed out, They seem to be counting different branches separately, which I think is fair if you are trying to map how much hate groups are spreading/growing as they are unlikely to give you a member's count. Also they are counting all intolerant groups that spread a message of hate of someone or something. I would also certainly include publishers of hate texts as separate entities, as they often are associated with many different groups.

The only way I would see an issue with their counting scheme is if they have changed the way they do the counting, and did not properly update previous counts so as to inflate the changes.

Another thing that happened in 2008 was the onset of severe economic distress for many people.
This is the kind of environment that spurs on extremism.

Nation of Islam members vote virtually 10% democrat.

Being a religious nut doesn't make a group "right," just "crazy."

Shouldn't they be counting membership, not "groups?"

I would not in any way reduce the credibility of this "measurement" or information if you like, but you should Observe caution in interpreting its results often based on other references.

I didn't read what Tribesman pointed out but you bet that nobody is giving member counts, on either side.

Really it's nothing but an accounting trick played by both the counters and those being counted. No, you don't have one group of 10 people you have 10 groups of undetermined size. Sounds scarier. It helps the SPLC get funding and it makes the hate group seem far larger and therefore more relevant than they really are. Win - win.

I assume everyone has seen Life of Brian...

"We're the National Patriot Militia! The only thing we hate more than minorities is the National Militia of Patriots!" (where both groups have 2 members—it was a 4 member, single group until Obama was elected, then they disagreed on whether to call the President a Muslim, or a monkey, hence the violent split).

Emo Phillips does a comedy routine like that:

Does the list include the SEIU, AFL-CIO, IEBW. They all seem to be pretty active now.:D

Again, the issue boils down to ignorance of the causes of the problems while throwing stupidly large amounts of money at fixing/addressing symptoms.

SPLC spent money to produce that report, money which they will need to replace... so, if they can lean the report more towards a way that makes it look like they're providing a vital national security service, that cash flow'll be a'comin' on in.