Along the Rio Grande, Riding Shotgun with Racists

Couple weeks ago, Frederick County, Maryland, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins announced he was going on a “border tour” to get a “first hand look” at the refugees from Central America - many of them unaccompanied children - who have been crossing from Mexico into the US by the thousands in recent weeks.

Now the gullible sheriff is back home in Maryland, offering interviews and soon, we surmise, he will be heading to D.C to share around his new knowledge.

According to the Associated Press, Sheriff Jenkins’  “fact finding mission” was being sponsored by a group known for fact-free screeds against immigrants:  the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

Too bad Sheriff Jenkins does not pick his sponsors better than this.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, FAIR was founded by John Tanton, a prominent figure in our contemporary nativist, i.e., Tea Party movement.

John Tanton carries a lot of weight with the Tea Party crowd and for good reason. He has complained long and loud about a supposed “Latin Onslaught” heading into the United States. In his own crude words, Tanton frets about the Hispanic birth rate in the US, which compares unfavorably, Tanton says, to the birth rate of White Americans.

According to John Tanton, here’s the problem:

“those with their pants up are going to get caught by those with their pants down!”

Apart from the blatant racism espoused by its founder John Tanton, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports that FAIR:

“has long been marked by anti-Latino and anti-Catholic attitudes”

“has mixed this bigotry with a fondness for eugenics, the idea of breeding better humans”

“has accepted $1.2 million from an infamous, racist eugenics foundation” (That would be the Pioneer Fund, which according to the New York Times, has promoted theories affirming the genetic superiority of whites.”) (Sourced below.)

The Southern Poverty Law Center adds that FAIR:

“has employed officials in key positions who are also members of white supremacist groups.”

“has promoted racist conspiracy theories about Mexico's secret designs on the American Southwest”

Now that he’s back home, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins of Frederick County, MD needs to answer a couple questions:

Sheriff Jenkins, are you in agreement with the FAIR nonsense about immigrants or did you merely want free airfare to the Rio Grande?

Sheriff Jenkins, did you take vacation days for your FAIR junket to Texas or did you bill all this as official, salary-based anti-immigrant “fact finding” to the taxpayers of Frederick County?

SOURCES:

The Anti-Immigration Crusader, NY Times April 17, 2011

FAIR - The Action Arm: Southern Poverty Law Center, Feb 2009

Frederick County, MD Sheriff Joins Border Tour

Baltimore Sun Opinion Writer Affiliated with a Hate Group

On February 1 2011, the Baltimore Sun opened its Opinion page to a column by Peter Sprigg, of the Family Research Council. (Marriage's public purpose: raising children - baltimoresun.com )


Why? 


The Baltimore Sun did not tell its readers that the Family Research Council has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.


Why not?


The Southern Poverty Law Center, has this to say (emphasis added) about Peter Sprigg:


" [. . .] anti-gay propagandists at FRC include Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies, who joined the organization in 2001. Sprigg authored a 2010 brochure touting “The Top Ten Myths about Homosexuality.” In the brochure, Sprigg claimed that ex-gay therapy works, that sexual orientation can change, that gay people are mentally ill simply because homosexuality makes them that way, and that, “Sexual abuse of boys by adult men is many times more common than consensual sex between adult men, and most of those engaging in such molestation identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual.” He also claimed that “homosexuals are less likely to enter into a committed relationship” and “less likely to be sexually faithful to a partner.” Sprigg’s sources are a mixture of junk science issued by groups that support ex-gay therapy and legitimate science quoted out of context or cherry-picked, a tactic long used by anti-gay groups to bolster their claims about gay people. Several legitimate researchers, like NYU’s Judith Stacey (a source Sprigg uses), have issued public statements condemning the practice and requesting that anti-gay groups stop misrepresenting their work.

"In 2004, Sprigg and FRC Senior Research Fellow Timothy Dailey co-authored the 2004 book Getting It Straight: What the Research Shows About Homosexuality. In it, they repeat claims that gay men “commit a disproportionate number of child sex abuse cases,” that homosexuals are promiscuous, and that lesbians exhibit “compulsive behavior.” Much of the book’s content can also be found in separate articles put out by the FRC.

"In March 2008, Sprigg responded to a question about uniting gay partners during immigration by saying, “I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than import them.” He later apologized, but in February 2009, he told Chris Matthews, “I think there would be a place for criminal sanctions on homosexual behavior.” “So we should outlaw gay behavior?” Matthews asked. “Yes,” Sprigg replied."





Questions for Mary J Corey, Baltimore Sun Vice President for Content (mary.corey@baltsun.com )


1. Why did the Baltimore Sun give op ed space to someone who is affiliated with a hate group?


2. Why did the Baltimore Sun permit Mr. Sprigg to identify himself with the Family Research Council, without advising Sun readers about this groups's decades' long record of hateful rhetoric? 




For more information about the Family Research Council, visit the Southern Poverty Law Center webasite and search "Family Research Council." www.splcenter.org