In other news...

[lily_liedtome]

There are some things in this world that are horrible and upsetting and just... not good.

Hate groups have increased by 40% in this country in the last year.  Anti-GLBT violence is up 24% .  People are still being lynched, but that's not even news.   What is WRONG with us, world?  Why are we so hateful?

Comments

[ext_63023]

Dude, I have to say, I have some serious issues with how they're counting hate groups. My mother is a member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps; in fact, she's a vetter, it's her job to go through and talk to people and weed out anyone that makes any racist comments, has a history of violence, or just pings her as being "off."

Now, I don't know exactly where exactly I stand on the subject of illegal immigration, but I do know how the MCDC run their operation. I looked them up on that website and some of the stuff they're printing about the organization is 100% made up and absolutely ridiculous. I mean... my mom is a 63-year-old substitute teacher. She's not a freaking skinhead, and she's definitely not some gun-toting psycho like the website makes them out to be.

Sorry, I didn't mean to rant. I just think that maybe you shouldn't take that website as gospel truth. I mean, they're also including the Nation of Islam as a hate group. Which, if you've read the recent Gallup polls, only about 7% of Muslims are classified as "radical." Now, it's a very vocal minority; but to classify the entire faith on that is just bullshit.

That being said - yes, absolutely, 100%, there is way too much racism, sexism and homophobia in our society. When I've got a 1 in 6 chance of being raped sometime in my life, there is something seriously fucked up with this picture.

[lily_liedtome]

I see your point about the way they count groups, actually, although I have to disagree with you on the minutemen, because, at least around here (arizona), they are a hate group. Maybe not nationally, but here these are guys that go "hunting" illegal immigrants; they are known locally for their violent and often illegal tactics. I'm willing to believe this is a flaw in our local chapter, and not representational of the national group, but.

Quite honestly, that website did look a bit sketchy - I put it up because I've had it open in my browser for a couple days, along with these other articles, and it was (is) an insane statistic. And whether or not it's true, there does seem to be a general trend toward more violence, more intolerance -- I mean, even the stuff I didn't mention: Hillary Clinton and Huckabee's comments about assassination directed at Obama, the fact the a gay man in North Carolina reported a sexual assault and was then arrested, along with the perpetrator, for "crimes against nature," or something to that effect. WTF WORLD? I'm just so frustrated with... all of it.

Actually, I meant to comment on your post yesterday (I think?) about anger. I'm not -- my first reaction is never violence (I'm nominally a pacifist, but really I'm just very, very disassociated with my body, to the point where using it to win an argument seems sort of... alien. IDK, my issues *rolls eys*) , but I understand the desire for it, how it could be. And I think you are right in saying that it is quite obviously not one or two messed up individuals, but rather a problem with society as a whole. And I think I had something else to say, but, eh.

[ext_63023]

*nodnod* There are a lot of different chapters of the Minutemen, and none of them have anything to do with each other. People imagine that it's this nation-wide network, when in fact it's just little isolated pockets of people, all with their own rules and regulations. The Minutemen of Arizona are known for being assholes. They're considered yahoos even by other Minutemen: it's hard to dismiss the preconception of gun-toters when there are idiots like that running around.

I definitely agree there's a trend, though. Hillary and Obama's camps can both complain about sexism and racism, respectively, but the truth is that one is not more acceptable than the other, and one is not worse than the other. They're both plaguing us.

As for my own issues... ish, I don't know. I've been in some pretty sketchy situations wherein I had to use my body that way, in defense of someone that couldn't. It's just always been a part of my life.