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Why Was Suffolk So Quick To Dismiss the Southern Poverty Law Center?

Posted April 5, 2010 by Patrick Young, Esq.
Categories: Hate Watch

Last week, the experts at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) were everywhere in the media following the arrests of militia members plotting to murder cops explaining the inner-workings of American-grown terrorists. They were called on again a couple of days later when a far-right group demanded the resignations of at least 30 governors. These incidents have confirmed reports from the Southern Poverty Law Center about the increased propensity towards violence of those on the extreme right.

When the SPLC report on hate crimes in Suffolk was published last August, it was covered by respected media outlets around the United States. Most media stories about the on-going murder of Marcelo Lucero trial cite the report. Yet many Suffolk politicians treated the in-depth report as though it were some sort of joke. Instead of examining the extensive documentation it contained of a long history of anti-immigrant violence in Suffolk, they nitpicked the report.

The pols never explained why SPLC research they described as faulty had uncovered hate crimes against Latinos that the full resources of Suffolk government had not uncovered nearly ten months after the Lucero lynching.

One researcher from the SPLC found out more about the climate of fear for Latinos in Suffolk in her four months of research in Suffolk County than county government found out in the last seven years.

Perhaps our political leaders owe an apology to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and thanks to the SPLC’s researcher.

Tags : hate watch, splc, suffolk

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