Growing Right-Wing Hate?

Image by Philipp Klinger (in US & CDN 14/06 till 04/07) via Flickr

What do you think about the media's sudden interest in reporting on right-wing hate? Is it just a passing fancy, or is it really getting worse? Are those of you in Mississippi seeing any sort of shift in local attitudes or the expression of those attitudes? I am still trying to figure out if the fact that we are hearing more about it is merely an effect of the recent high-profile acts of domestic terrorism or if things really are getting worse.

Until recently, I found myself thinking that increased media coverage is primarily a result of the recent domestic terrorism and not any real increase in right-wing extremism. But now it sounds like some of the groups who monitor this sort of thing are reporting increased extremist chatter. You can find the Homeland Security report here.

In a recent op-ed in The New York Times, Paul Krugman noted,

There is, however, one important thing that the D.H.S. report didn’t say: Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment.

It strikes me that this is a potentially dangerous time, not only for those of us who live in particularly conservative regions but also for those of us who vale free speech and want to make sure it is preserved. No easy answers here.

Tags: media, Mississippi, right-wing, hate, domestic terrorism, extremism, Homeland Security, Paul Krugman

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