SPLC: “There is no Exoneration” For Hate Speech That Leads to Violence (Video)

This is an update to an earlier post pointing out how Floyd Lee Corkins II, the man who shot up the Family Research Council, specifically said in his guilty plea today that he picked his target off of a “Hate Map” put up by the Southern Poverty Law Center.  I decided to make it a separate post because there was no good place to put it in the original, with its format.

The point of the last post was to point out how shabbily they had treated Sarah Palin when they speculated that Jared Loughner might have been motivated by a map with bull’s eyes on it, and to speculate if they are going to heap the same treatment on the SPLC now that they have been directly blamed in this shooting by the shooter himself.

To follow up on that story, I have called the SPLC looking for an official response to this story.  I left a message as of now haven’t heard back from them.  I have also been digging around in their archives.  We can see where they early on joined in the chorus of people blaming the right—but not Sarah Palin specifically—for shooting of Gabby Giffords (because Loughner was your typical right wing Marxist, apparently) and others (see here and here), and they present to us this video clip of their director of their Intelligence Project, Mark Potok, speaking with Keith Olbermann back when Olbermann worked for MSNBC and shortly after the Giffords shooting:

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The money quote comes at around 4:24 when they have this exchange:

OLBERMANN: If the person is indeed disturbed does that, in your view, exonerate those who put the crosshairs on Ms. Giffords, those who use language demonizing liberals or democrats, or just leaving the poli— the party out of it, people in office, incumbents, or does it simply underscore why such language no matter what direction it is pointed in is so ill advised.

POTOK: I think the latter.  I think there is no exoneration for the people talk about, you know who make these, who… make these kinds of falsehoods on the air and the public squares all over this country. The people who say it is not about healthcare it, its about the President wanting to kill your grandmother. You know, its not about immigration reform, its about a secret plot on the part of mexico to reconquer the southwestern united states.  And on and on and on.  While the people who make those statements obviously do not intend directly for people to be harmed or murdered, I think it is entirely natural that some people out there who are disturbed, you know actually act on these things.  Obviously that is a tiny sliver of those who hear these kinds of statements but we’ve reached a point, as the sheriff suggests where the vitriol is so white hot out there that some people who are disturbed go out there and commit these kinds of acts.

(I am cleaning up a lot of pauses, stuttering and “you knows” just to make it easier to read.  I do not believe I have altered the meaning in any respect.)

So there you have it.  On petard hoisted.  And needless to say, if I get that call back from the SPLC, I will be sure to ask them about that quote.

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My wife and I have lost our jobs due to the harassment of convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin, including an attempt to get us killed and to frame me for a crime carrying a sentence of up to ten years.  I know that claim sounds fantastic, but if you read starting here, you will see absolute proof of these claims using documentary and video evidence.  If you would like to help in the fight to hold Mr. Kimberlin accountable, please hit the Blogger’s Defense Team button on the right.  And thank you.

Follow me at Twitter @aaronworthing, mostly for snark and site updates.  And you can purchase my book (or borrow it for free if you have Amazon Prime), Archangel: A Novel of Alternate, Recent History here.  And you can read a little more about my novel, here.

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Disclaimer:

I have accused some people, particularly Brett Kimberlin, of reprehensible conduct.  In some cases, the conduct is even criminal.  In all cases, the only justice I want is through the appropriate legal process—such as the criminal justice system.  I do not want to see vigilante violence against any person or any threat of such violence.  This kind of conduct is not only morally wrong, but it is counter-productive.

In the particular case of Brett Kimberlin, I do not want you to even contact him.  Do not call him.  Do not write him a letter.  Do not write him an email.  Do not text-message him.  Do not engage in any kind of directed communication.  I say this in part because under Maryland law, that can quickly become harassment and I don’t want that to happen to him.

And for that matter, don’t go on his property.  Don’t sneak around and try to photograph him.  Frankly try not to even be within his field of vision.  Your behavior could quickly cross the line into harassment in that way too (not to mention trespass and other concerns).

And do not contact his organizations, either.  And most of all, leave his family alone.

The only exception to all that is that if you are reporting on this, there is of course nothing wrong with contacting him for things like his official response to any stories you might report.  And even then if he tells you to stop contacting him, obey that request.  That this is a key element in making out a harassment claim under Maryland law—that a person asks you to stop and you refuse.

And let me say something else.  In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that any person supporting me has done any of the above.  But if any of you have, stop it, and if you haven’t don’t start.