The KKK in Washington D.C.
Below is a letter to the editor from a woman in Prince William County. There are a number of ways this could be received - yes she uses the word "illegal" - yes she is affluent, has enough resources to stay home with her children. But the main thing about the letter is her comment on the presence of the KKK.
This is serious stuff. I suggest that if you ever have the opportunity, try to watch the DVDs of "Eyes on the Prize" - that will tell you plenty about the Klan.
_____
Letters To the Editor
Sunday, September 16, 2007; Page PW02
Washington Post
Don't Turn a Blind Eye To Immigration Backlash
As a former middle school counselor in the Baileys Crossroads area, I am very familiar with the challenges that immigrant families -- legal and illegal -- and especially their children face in adapting to life in the United States. By and large, like all immigrants before them, the vast majority want nothing more than to achieve and contribute to the American dream
I am a mother raising two young children in Prince William County, blessed to be a stay-at-home mom. I find myself greatly concerned about how the local political reaction to illegal immigration is affecting the environment in which my children are growing up.
Recently, several members of the Board of County Supervisors sponsored a controversial resolution to combat illegal immigration in the area. Supervisor John T. Stirrup Jr. (R-Gainesville) and Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) are entitled to their opinions about illegal immigration, but they are not entitled to turn a blind eye to the actions that certain hate organizations are taking in conjunction with their opinions, specifically the Ku Klux Klan.
Recently, there have been reports on activity by the Klan in some neighborhoods, distributing anti-immigrant material. Instead of perhaps moderating their position on illegal immigration, the supervisors instead denied there was any connection between the two issues.
"I'm really disturbed that he would try to make such a stupid connection," Stewart said about one news story.
"There's a lot of things that happen in life, that may happen in the same time frame that may not necessarily be related to each other," Stirrup said. "I don't really think that there's a relationship between the two."
To deny the connection of the immigration resolution and the KKK appearance is to deny reality.
"If any one single issue or trend can be credited with reenergizing the Klan, it is the debate over immigration in America," said Deborah M. Lauter, civil rights director of the Anti-Defamation League. "Klan groups have witnessed a surprising and troubling resurgence by exploiting fears of an immigration explosion, and the debate over immigration has, in turn, helped to fuel an increase in Klan activity, with new groups sprouting in parts of the country that have not seen much activity."
The Southern Poverty Law Center has reported the following: "Energized by the rancorous national debate on immigration and increasingly successful at penetrating mainstream political discourse, hate groups in America continued to grow in number in 2006, rising 5% over the year before to 844 groups.
"That increase translated into a 40% jump in the number of groups since 2000, when there were 602 hate groups operating in America, according to research [by the center's Intelligence Project]. Much of the expansion has been driven by hate groups' exploitation of the issue of illegal immigration, which many Americans see as a pressing concern."
What disappoints me most is the direction my board of supervisors is taking this county, a direction that leads to nowhere but increased hate and division. What we need are voices of innovation, of new ideas, solutions that can take into account the totality of the illegal immigration dilemma before this county and country.
If we do not begin to solve this problem in a realistic and humane way, we will continue to see an upsurge of hate while not addressing the issue of illegal immigration in a comprehensive manner.
Elena Schlossberg-Kunkel
Haymarket
Letter to the editor: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091402564.html
photo: http://brotherpeacemaker.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/klan-members.jpg
Letters To the Editor
Sunday, September 16, 2007; Page PW02
Washington Post
Don't Turn a Blind Eye To Immigration Backlash
As a former middle school counselor in the Baileys Crossroads area, I am very familiar with the challenges that immigrant families -- legal and illegal -- and especially their children face in adapting to life in the United States. By and large, like all immigrants before them, the vast majority want nothing more than to achieve and contribute to the American dream
I am a mother raising two young children in Prince William County, blessed to be a stay-at-home mom. I find myself greatly concerned about how the local political reaction to illegal immigration is affecting the environment in which my children are growing up.
Recently, several members of the Board of County Supervisors sponsored a controversial resolution to combat illegal immigration in the area. Supervisor John T. Stirrup Jr. (R-Gainesville) and Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) are entitled to their opinions about illegal immigration, but they are not entitled to turn a blind eye to the actions that certain hate organizations are taking in conjunction with their opinions, specifically the Ku Klux Klan.
Recently, there have been reports on activity by the Klan in some neighborhoods, distributing anti-immigrant material. Instead of perhaps moderating their position on illegal immigration, the supervisors instead denied there was any connection between the two issues.
"I'm really disturbed that he would try to make such a stupid connection," Stewart said about one news story.
"There's a lot of things that happen in life, that may happen in the same time frame that may not necessarily be related to each other," Stirrup said. "I don't really think that there's a relationship between the two."
To deny the connection of the immigration resolution and the KKK appearance is to deny reality.
"If any one single issue or trend can be credited with reenergizing the Klan, it is the debate over immigration in America," said Deborah M. Lauter, civil rights director of the Anti-Defamation League. "Klan groups have witnessed a surprising and troubling resurgence by exploiting fears of an immigration explosion, and the debate over immigration has, in turn, helped to fuel an increase in Klan activity, with new groups sprouting in parts of the country that have not seen much activity."
The Southern Poverty Law Center has reported the following: "Energized by the rancorous national debate on immigration and increasingly successful at penetrating mainstream political discourse, hate groups in America continued to grow in number in 2006, rising 5% over the year before to 844 groups.
"That increase translated into a 40% jump in the number of groups since 2000, when there were 602 hate groups operating in America, according to research [by the center's Intelligence Project]. Much of the expansion has been driven by hate groups' exploitation of the issue of illegal immigration, which many Americans see as a pressing concern."
What disappoints me most is the direction my board of supervisors is taking this county, a direction that leads to nowhere but increased hate and division. What we need are voices of innovation, of new ideas, solutions that can take into account the totality of the illegal immigration dilemma before this county and country.
If we do not begin to solve this problem in a realistic and humane way, we will continue to see an upsurge of hate while not addressing the issue of illegal immigration in a comprehensive manner.
Elena Schlossberg-Kunkel
Haymarket
Letter to the editor: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091402564.html
photo: http://brotherpeacemaker.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/klan-members.jpg
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