Progressive Democrat Issue 83: CONTINUE TO FIGHT THE CULTURE OF INTOLERANCE

Glen Beck on national, mainstream television says he "hates" the victims of Katrina and called them "scumbags," and he said he "hates" the 9/11 widows. Ann Coulter on national, mainstream television says she "hates" 9/11 widows, that people should attack liberals with baseball bats and has advocated murder of a Supreme Court Justice and a Congressman. Bill O'Reilly has advocated bombing Coit Tower in San Francisco. And let's not forget Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwell's hate speech in the guise of sermons.

What do all these people have in common? Advocacy of hatred and violence on national television. Advicacy of hatred and violence on mainstream television, paid for by large corporations and in collaboration with Republican politicians. Media, extremist religious leaders, corporations and the ruling Republican party all in collaboration advocating hatred and violence.

People say we should just ignore these right wing extremist hate-mongers lest we "build them up." Maybe if we ignore them they will fade away.

A reminder: Hate Crimes have been on the rise in America since 9/11, and, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, hate groups in America have increased by 33% in the past five years. A peak in attacks on Muslims after 9/11 was rapidly followed by an increase in anti-Semitism in the US and worldwide. There was a slight decline in anti-Semetic incidents in 2005, but incidents are still at disturbingly high levels. As the right wing collaboration of religious extremists, large corporations, media figures and Republican politicians increasingly advocate hatred and violence, incidents of hatred and violence in the United States increase.

The Delaware Pogrom which I covered in the last 2 issues is the perfect example of what happens in such a culture of intolerance. We are in the early stages of what Germany went through in the 1930's. We may not take the same path, but the general road is the same, with violence and intolerance a tool for a party who advocates torture, detention without due process and the suspention of Civil Rights.

We cannot ignore them and hope they go away. That is how 11 million people were exterminated in the Holocaust...people ignoring each step in the process hoping it would all just go away.

It is our moral duty to speak out against the right wing culture of violence and intolerance. It is the moral duty of all religious leaders to speak out against the right wing culture of violence and intolerance. It is the moral duty of all politicians to speak out against the right wing culture of violence and intolerance. Those who do not are accepting the advocacy of hatred and violence that leads to pogroms.

The Republican Party and media in particular has to reject the advocacy of hatred and violence of Glen Beck, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwell, not to mention many others.

Speak out to the media condemning the advocay of hatred and violence of the above extremists. Speak out to your religious leaders if you are religious and discuss the connection between the culture of hatred and violence advocated by the right wing and the Delaware Pogrom. And speak out to your elected politicians, Republican and Democratic, asking them to condemn those right wing extremists who advocate violence and hatred in the mainstream media. Take the initiative. This fight is a fight for our very moral values and our very lives. Spread the word and get people doing what was not done enough during the rise of the Nazi culture of violence and hatred: fight it!