Thread: Extremists at border

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413 ... 23,00.html

Article Published: Sunday, May 15, 2005 - 7:06:33 AM PST

Extremists at border

Minuteman Project about more than enforcing policy

By Amanda Susskind and Joanna Mendelson

Recent news accounts of the Minuteman Project to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border miss the point. It's one thing to create policies and direct government resources to address illegal immigration into this country. It's quite another to condone armed and untrained civilians patrolling the border.

People should be aware that the recent Arizona-Mexico vigilante activity is the brainchild of extremists who have proved themselves willing to use radical tactics to promote an extreme anti-immigrant agenda.

The Minuteman Project was highly publicized among right-wing extremists from militia groups to white supremacist organizations and attracted a variety of fanatics and extreme anti-immigration activists. A number of neo-Nazi adherents showed up for the first weekend of events, which was endorsed by Shawn Walker, spokesman for the neo-Nazi National Alliance. That's the organization whose founder wrote "The Turner Diaries," which inspired Timothy McVeigh.

National Alliance fliers designed to coincide with the event were circulated in numerous communities along the Arizona border. They described illegal immigration as an "invasion" that will cause white people to be "a minority within the next 50 years."

Many other white supremacist groups endorsed the Minuteman Project, including the notorious neo-Nazi group Aryan Nations, which actively promoted the project, proclaiming it "a call for action on part of ALL ARYAN SOLDIERS."

Leaders of the Minuteman Project included members of active border vigilante groups. Before getting involved with the Minuteman Project, co-founder Chris Simcox was most well-known for creating a border vigilante group he called "Civil Homeland Defense." He was also convicted last year of two misdemeanor counts and sentenced to two years of probation for carrying a loaded firearm onto the Coronado National Memorial, a National Park Service property.

Simcox told a crowd in California in March 2003 that "so far, we've had restraint, but I'm afraid that restraint is wearing thin. Take heed of our weapons because we're going to defend our borders by any means necessary."

Given these sentiments, it is no surprise that the efforts of right-wing extremist groups to take the law into their own hands and administer their own form of "justice" coincide with a wave of border violence in Arizona that has included execution-style slayings. Violent incidents against illegal immigrants have been both brutal and frequent, further intensifying the atmosphere of fear and suspicion on both sides of the border.

The tide of armed vigilantism has risen in Arizona, adding heat and hatred to the desert state, while doing nothing to solve legitimate problems. Whether proclaiming an imminent loss of American "culture" due to immigration or organizing armed patrols to hunt humans, these anti-immigration extremists have deliberately confused border control policy with intolerance and paramilitary activity. They promote a culture of lawlessness and defiance that will only add to, not solve, America's border problems.

The situation on the Arizona-Mexican border is one that nobody really wants. A significant increase in illegal immigration, as well as other cross-border activities such as drug smuggling, has alarmed many citizens. As bad as that is, however, it is becoming increasingly acceptable to espouse xenophobic and intolerant ideology toward the immigrant community -- a community becoming victimized by extreme hatred. Whatever one's views on border security, it is worth taking a minute to look beyond its organizers' benign self-descriptions and learn the real agenda behind the Minuteman Project and its ilk.

Amanda Susskind is regional director of the Pacific Southwest region of the Anti-Defamation League. Joanna Mendelson is an investigative researcher based in the Pacific Southwest region of the Anti-Defamation League.

SIXX--Very Revealing Post about the Anti-Defamation League.

Correct me if I'm wrong here.....but did not these two silly women just Libel and wrongfully DEFAME the Minutemen???

Just give them enough space in the paper and they'll step in their own mess every time.

Just like Vinny Fox down in Mexico City....give him a place at a podium with a microphone and a room full of "frozen food companies".....

All these JOKERS have their weak spots....and it will be....none of 'em know when to shut up.

Let 'em roll......they are doing us a favor with every WORD!!

I said once that this could be a War of Words....and it may just turn out to be One.

I hope the Minutemen take action on this libelous article and sue the Anti-Defamation League for Defamation.

Can anyone tell me the difference, racially speaking, between the MECHA and the Aryan Nation....you know both being Caucasian and all.

Originally Posted by Judy

SIXX--Very Revealing Post about the Anti-Defamation League.

Correct me if I'm wrong here.....but did not these two silly women just Libel and wrongfully DEFAME the Minutemen???

Just give them enough space in the paper and they'll step in their own mess every time.

Just like Vinny Fox down in Mexico City....give him a place at a podium with a microphone and a room full of "frozen food companies".....

All these JOKERS have their weak spots....and it will be....none of 'em know when to shut up.

Let 'em roll......they are doing us a favor with every WORD!!

I said once that this could be a War of Words....and it may just turn out to be One.

I hope the Minutemen take action on this libelous article and sue the Anti-Defamation League for Defamation.

Can anyone tell me the difference, racially speaking, between the MECHA and the Aryan Nation....you know both being Caucasian and all.

Yes, they did libel them and their publication should be sued into the ground. Thanks.

You know it seems the media will print just any old thing they want without regard for facts!

I most defintely consider this defamation of character and I will be willing to contribute to pay for the attorneys for the minutemen to file a lawsuit!

I am so tired of these dreary 60s aging liberal foundations telling me how I should feel about anything. I wonder how long these too hags would last on that border when the drug running thugs come busting into their houses demanding money? It's a side of life I'm sure these two have never seen through the windows of their limousine...

BobC wrote

I wonder how long these too hags would last on that border when the drug running thugs come busting into their houses demanding money

Isn't this the same theory as **Rosie ODonnell demanding the DISARMAMENT OF ALL AMERICANS and then going out and BUYING A GUN?**

I think they should be given an award. It's been awhile since I've seen anything that would compare with their ability to twist facts.

It should be presented at their trial for defamation.

I, too, would be happy to contribute to the attorneys fees for the MMP.

RR

These two extremists aught to be on a sitcom! Seriously. As I was laughing (and I needed a good laugh), it just reminded me of Hollywood.
I can really picture these two, and I'm going to do everyone a favor and not describe the picture.

Anyway, count me in on attorney fees.

Great!! We need to get the message to the Minutemen!!