AWARE-LA » Mark Potok

Once Again, FAIR Reveals Its Black Heart of Hate

Mark Potok — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:29:22 +0000

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has never been a pleasant organization. Its top leaders have warned shrilly of a “Latin onslaught,” defended a racist 1924 quota system, insisted that America needs a “European-American majority,” and fretted that Latinos are “outbreeding” white people. Its founder has sought ways to sterilize unmarried mothers, corresponded with [...]

Utah Republican AG Derides ‘Help’ From Nativist Organization

Mark Potok — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:26:13 +0000

It’s long been something of a mystery how conservative Republicans can expect to keep winning elections when so many of them spend their time dissing Latinos, a critical and rapidly growing portion of the electorate. Indeed, many Latino rights organizations argue persuasively that it was Latino voters who took Barack Obama over the top in [...]

Westboro Gay-Bashers Plan to Picket Paterno’s Funeral

Mark Potok — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:01:39 +0000

Always eager for the next outrage, the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church — already infamous worldwide for its “God Hates Fags” website and its regular picketing of American soldiers’ funerals — says it will picket the funeral of Penn State football coaching legend Joe Paterno.
The church, largely composed of pastor Fred Phelps and his extended family, [...]

Anti-Gay Haters Plan Press Conference Today at SPLC

Mark Potok — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:55:52 +0000

Today at noon, a group of the nastiest gay-bashers in America plans to hold a press conference in front of the Montgomery, Ala., offices of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which publishes this blog. Claiming that the SPLC is engaged in a “campaign to demonize adherents of traditional Judeo-Christian morality,” the white organizers of [...]

The Last Word: Hatewatch’s 5th Annual Smackdown Awards

Mark Potok — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:11:25 +0000

Another year, another horror. As we close out another 12 months of mayhem, criminal violence and just plain stupidity on the radical right, it’s time, once again, to compile our annual year-end roster of winners of Hatewatch’s Smackdown Awards. And this year’s been a doozy — from neo-Nazis trying to hide their past to irrepressible [...]