Thread: SOB BS - Hispanic group right to stand up to hatemongers

Opinion
Hispanic group right to stand up to hatemongers
Our view: Hispanic Institute's boycott of CNN over Lou Dobbs puts networks on notice public won't tolerate hateful lies
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.08.2008
The Hispanic Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group, last week launched a national boycott of CNN, the cable news channel, to highlight unrelenting and erroneous attacks against Latino immigrants by talk-show host Lou Dobbs. While we aren't sure such an effort will be effective and while by its nature, it impugns other good programs on CNN, we agree with the spirit of the boycott.
We applaud the institute for taking a stand on behalf of the immigrant community and calling on a network to take responsibility for the content of its programs. We encourage other groups — whether they represent minorities or not — to let CNN and other news outlets know that unwarranted attacks that demonize a particular group of people will not be tolerated.
If the Hispanic community flexes its viewership muscles and the boycott succeeds in reducing CNN's ratings, particularly for Lou Dobbs' nightly show, officials with the network might be inclined to get rid of such inflammatory and dishonest programming.
Similarly, we believe local groups could put pressure on Tucson radio station 104.1-FM, which airs "The Jon Justice Show," a morning program that repeats many of the claims made by Lou Dobbs and other anti-immigrant media personalities.
Lou Dobbs, along with fellow CNN host Glenn Beck and Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, has been behind much of the anti-immigrant sentiment that is gripping the country. Dobbs and others regularly make outlandish and erroneous claims. Among them: that illegal immigrants are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime, that they drain communities of cash by illegally using social services and that they intend to take over the Southwestern United States.
While there are some slivers of truth in what Dobbs and the others say — for example, children of illegal immigrants do cost states money when they attend public schools — their claims were largely discredited in a recent report by the Media Matters Action Network, a project of the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Media Matters for America.
In a May 21 report, "Fear & Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News," researchers systematically debunked the major anti-immigrant statements made by Dobbs and others.
For example, the report cited Census data and university studies that concluded recent immigrants are less likely — not more — to be involved in crimes than native-born citizens. In fact, the report said, neighborhoods with higher immigrant populations had lower rates of crime.
"When it comes to this issue, cable news overflows not just with vitriol, but also with a series of myths that feed viewers' resentment and fears, seemingly geared toward creating anti-immigrant hysteria," the report said.
Programs like "Lou Dobbs Tonight" are harmful and potentially dangerous because they give license to xenophobes and racists to spew their hate on immigrants.
If such people see men in suits on TV railing against immigrants, it emboldens them to also show hate for someone who doesn't fit their ideal of an "American." To make matters worse, perpetrators of hate crimes often can't tell if a Hispanic person is an illegal immigrant, a legal immigrant or a U.S. citizen.
The FBI reported last year that of all the hate crimes in 2006 motivated by a bias against someone's ethnicity or national origin, 62.8 percent of victims were targeted because of an anti-Hispanic bias. In three years, the number of Hispanic victims of hate crimes jumped 38 percent, from 595 victims in 2003 to 819 in 2006.
Not all this violence can be attributed to talk-show hosts like Dobbs, of course. But such programs foment anger and obviously don't promote civil discourse on the problem of illegal immigration.
What's surprising about the CNN boycott is that it didn't occur sooner.
"We're taking this step after years of CNN management's failure to rein in Mr. Dobbs' irresponsible assertions about immigrants and their impact on our country and its institutions," Gus West, The Hispanic Institute's board chairman, said when the boycott was announced Tuesday.
"The lack of any meaningful response from CNN's management, or any abatement of Mr. Dobbs' offensive tirades, makes it clear to us that the company supports his misleading and often inaccurate positions."
According to the Nielsen Company, which monitors television viewers, there are 12.1 million Hispanic television households in the United States.
Here's hoping they and their allies can help improve the quality of cable television and the standard of living for illegal immigrants. Just because people are in this country illegally — but helping the nation in countless ways — doesn't mean they can't be treated with dignity and respect


http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/242552

Our view: Hispanic Institute's boycott of CNN over Lou Dobbs puts networks on notice public won't tolerate hateful lies

We need to make it VERY clear to our Elected Officials . The money for these groups , taxpayer support must stop. These people are so one sided and narrow minded that they even "Hate" Mexicans from different regions of Mexico. But the real upsetting part is , there defending "Illegals" . Law Breakers with all that it encompasses ! Where the Hell are our "Good Guys"? Yeah , the ones who should tell the "CHC" to take a hike .

Most American citizens,no matter their ethnic background,are fedup with Illegal Immigration and most of the ones who are for it do not speak english anyway so I doubt they are watching CNN.

Good luck with your Boycott !

OH NO!!! Another boybott.....I'm sure CNN is just quaking with fear and intimidation

Many comments are left at the source link.
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Editorial critical of Dobbs riles readers
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.14.2008
letters are in response to the June 8 editorial "Hispanic group right to stand up to hatemongers."

Star gets it wrong
The Star propaganda machine switched into high gear with its editorial. Time and again, the Star describes people who are against illegal immigration as anti-immigrant. I know both Jon Justice and Bill O'Reilly advocate enforcement of the existing immigration laws, nothing more.
As for the assertions that illegal immigrants are a drain on social services, this is a well documented fact. Just a few years ago, our state officially complained to the federal government about the cost of medical care for illegals. The state's position was that the federal government should pick up the tab.
The bottom line is that Justice, O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs want what the majority of Americans want and that is enforcement of our immigration laws. If the Star and Media Matters do not like it, then they should work to change the law, not undermine it.
David Jones
Teacher, Tucson

Newspaper is right
Our home is in Kansas City, Mo., but we live in Tucson part of the year. I have often been critical of the Star, comparing it to the Kansas City Star, especially for its lack of space for national and world blockbuster news developments on the front page.
However, the editorial regarding the Hispanic Institute's boycott of CNN has endeared us to the Star forever. It expresses our feelings exactly — feelings for which we have no forum.
We are avid watchers of CNN, especially during the primaries, but we have been turning it off when Lou Dobbs comes on. We didn't know about the untruths, but the anti-immigrant, anti-Latino expressions are disgusting and are indeed inflammatory.
We were strong supporters of Hillary Clinton, but Barack Obama got our respect for his statement condemning this type of hatemongering by Rush Limbaugh and Dobbs.
Richard and Priscilla Scott
Kansas City, Mo.

Star appears to want amnesty
Lou Dobbs is not against legal immigrants. Dobbs is against illegal immigration, as are many Arizonans.
And Media Matters is not an unbiased source for information about the real cost of illegal immigration.
The Star appears to have a bias in favor of amnesty for illegals. Arizonans might want to consider boycotting the Star and continuing to get their facts from CNN.
Steven Makowski
Retired telecom engineer, Sahuarita

An ironic stance
The irony of the Star endorsing a boycott of another media outlet apparently is lost on your editorial writer. It surely is not lost on the Star's publisher or other advocates of the First Amendment. I respect your right to be "wrong," as you are so often.
One does not have to agree with Lou Dobbs' or Glenn Beck's stands on immigration to understand the folly of your position. Readers weary of your habitual demonizing of critics of our porous borders might easily turn the boycott tactic on you.
Most, however, will respect your right to your opinion and hope the Star eventually will realize that the social and economic impacts of illegal immigration are complex and invite divergent opinions on how to deal with them.
Emmett Smelser
Editorial consultant, Marana


http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/243671