Increase in hate groups is concerning
 
Editorial
Longmont Daily Times-Call - Longmont, Colorado
 
Hate it seems is on the rise in America.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is reporting that hate groups in the United States have increased by 50 percent over the last eight years, from about 600 in 2000 to more than 900 now.

Those groups include 15 in Colorado ranging from neo-Nazi groups and "general hate" groups to individual groups with anti-immigrant, anti-gay, Black separatist and neo-Confederate agendas.

They’re in Denver, and they’re in small towns, including Estes Park (White Revolution), LaPorte (Scriptures for America), Lafayette (League of the South) and Florence (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints).

Though there is some debate about the kinds of activities that could bring an organization under suspicion of being a "hate group," such as combating abortion or illegal immigration, it’s clear that an atmosphere conducive to the development of hate groups exists in the United States.

Recession, poverty and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left many Americans feeling beleaguered and hopeless.

The change in presidential administrations has brought new stresses, from people who dislike the president simply for the color of his skin to others who fear the Obama administration might take away gun rights.

No doubt we are living in one of the most difficult and challenging eras in this country’s history.

But regardless of whether the fears many feel are valid, hate cannot be the answer.

Though Americans have different viewpoints and feel fervently about many causes, we sometimes forget that our greatest strength comes when we work together.

The people of the United States need to pull together to get through these trying times.
 
TimesCall.com
Originally published April 27, 2009
 
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