Matt Yglesias

Apr 16th, 2009 at 7:44 pm

Ralph Peters Says Monitoring Right-Wing Extremism Is “Racist”

As I’ve been saying, you never see a conservative feeling that any kind of racism against non-white people is a problem. But they’re hyper-sensitive to the made-up problem of anti-white racism. Thus, this unhinged rant from Ralph Peters on Fox News who feels that the Department of Homeland Security’s memo recommending vigilance against violent right-wing extremists is a “racist” attack on “white Christians”:

Meanwhile, conservative members of congress are calling for bloodshed as tea parties warn of Obama’s plan to enslave the white race.

Filed under: Race, Ralph Peters,





64 Responses to “Ralph Peters Says Monitoring Right-Wing Extremism Is “Racist””

  1. Nicholas Warino Says:

    No one is better at creating outrage over imaginary injustices or threats than the modern-day right-wing.

  2. Nick Says:

    My girlfriend (who is brown and an immigrant) was once told by her ex-roommate that, as a white heterosexual Christian, she was a victim of oppression in Canada.

    She was not joking.

  3. Max424m Says:

    Col. Ralph Peters. Enemy of the state. A self-fulfilling prophecy.

  4. Gabriel Says:

    These assholes are going to get somebody killed, and right soon.

  5. toasterhead Says:

    Sometimes I get the feeling that the RNC has had a box in their basement labeled “Black President” that they put there during the Jesse Jackson candidacy in 1984, and now they’re just pulling random talking points out of the box and throwing them at the media.

  6. 24AheadDotCom Says:

    Ah, yes, the “made-up problem of anti-white racism”. Here’s just one example, from the person who was later made chairman of the California Democratic Party:

    “Remember, [Proposition] 187 [the measure to cut public benefits to illegal aliens] is the last gasp of white America.”

    From closer to home, count the racist statements from CAP’s commnters.

    Regarding the report, it was based in part on a misleading report from a far-left group that’s indirectly linked to a foreign government and that consistently supports illegal activity.

  7. pseudonymous in nc Says:

    These assholes are going to get somebody killed, and right soon.

    You’re not allowed to say that, because it just riles them up. See also: knocking on their doors in response to domestic disturbance calls. All can be parsed as “They’re Taking Away Our Guns”.

    When I said we’d gone from the Paranoid Style to the Psychotic Style, I wasn’t kidding.

  8. Dan Kervick Says:

    The problem of fringe numbers of returning veterans gravitating toward extremist paramilitary groups is an old one, and not just in the United States, but in many other countries. As a military man, Peters is smart enough to know that.

  9. Who bankrolls Lonewacko? Says:

    Lonewacko gets real sensitive when DHS talks about violent white-supremacist groups, doesn’t he? Weird.

    He’s spitting blood about the SPLC, too, but is just too much of a pussy to mention them by name.

  10. Rich in PA Says:

    Since liberalism is a conspiracy, would it be too much for media-prominent liberals to call a special meeting and agree that the on-camera answer to these claims should be wordless laughter? I think we should present a united front, a popular front so to speak, that right-wing claims make us laugh so hard that we can’t speak. Especially since we now control the government and the armed forces.

  11. ed Says:

    These assholes are going to get somebody killed,

    Knoxville and Pittsburgh called. They want you to add “else” to this phrase, between the “somebody” and the “killed.”

  12. k1 Says:

    Unfortunately people will die because a bunch of out of touch pols have no idea how to deal with a 21st century politician in a 21st century America and thus revert back to violence that’s justified by fake outrage against socialism, fascism, et al.

    Obama, and by extension the Ds, figured out that there were a WHOLE GROUP OF AMERICANS, YES AMERICANS, who were not politically involved. Like all good party leaders he made a full faith effort to REACH OUT TO THEM and THEY RESPONDED by VOTING FOR HIM.

    Instead of talking about secession, why not figure out how to TALK TO HISPANICS. Instead of crying about how Obama cheated why not figure out HOW TO TALK TO BLACKS. INSTEAD OF HOPING TO MARGINALIZE non-christians why not figure out WHAT YOU HAVE IN COMMON.

    This is crazy, and as a black person I must admit that it’s kinda scary because the economy getting worse (and it will) will only be cover for crazy people to act on these FAKE FEARS.

    k1

  13. Richard Steven Hack Says:

    What was it Jon Stewart asked Obama during one of his interviews during the campaign? Something like: “Are you really going to enslave the white race?”

    Nice to see the right wing picking up Jon’s talking points!

  14. rapier Says:

    I’m hoping to snag a job at a FEMA camp forcing the undesirables to tend gardens of organic veggies and herd free range chickens, when then are not preparing my lattes.

    Consult your implanted bio chip for info on where to submit your application.

  15. Tom S. Says:

    Timothy McVeigh was a veteran. Do the conservatives really want to see history repeat itself? At least we now have the Patriot Act to come down hard after the next Oklahoma City-style attack.

  16. 24AheadDotCom Says:

    Here’s another recent example of “the made-up problem of anti-white racism”: link. Please note that I’m not suggesting that they simply hide it better; I want everyone to know exactly what they support.

  17. Mattyoung Says:

    I suppose technically one could be a centrist extremist, justifying the means to move us to the normal, center. The motto would be: “Relax, damnit”

  18. Ed Marshall Says:

    I can’t find anything but I swear I remember a terrorist outfit in the 80’s in the UK that had a “radical centrist” doctrine and they were going to blow people up until everyone agreed that their synthesis of left and right politics was correct.

  19. Ed Marshall Says:

    I know this is a tough pill to swallow, Lonewacko, but you are just a loser. It’s not because you are white that you are so down and can’t get anywhere and feel oppressed. It’s because you suck ass.

  20. El Cid Says:

    AssforaHeadCommieDot: This is what you just linked to in order to demonstrate the huge problem of anti-white racism:

    Wannabes: Teabaggers Draw Less Than Half of ‘08 Spice Girls Reunion Tour

    By: Blue Texan Thursday April 16, 2009 10:30 am

    After all the hype, how many Teabaggers showed up yesterday? Nate’s got the numbers, and it isn’t pretty.

    Based on news accounts of 306 “Tea Party” protests in different cities across the country yesterday, I get a cumulative attendance of 262,025, with a fair number of (probably mostly smaller) events still unaccounted for.

    That’s just embarrassing.

    Even with all of that free broadcast media and all of those fatcat backers, the Teabaggers didn’t come close to matching the turnout of recent actual grassroots protests.

    And as a point of reference, more than twice as many Americans wanted to see the Spice Girls in concert last year. Put another way, more Americans saw “Race to Witch Mountain” last weekend than all those white people who showed up at “Teabag: The Movie” yesterday.

    Now that’s something kinda funny.

    Could even you try to fucking explain this? How is this anti-white racism? Because they hypothesized that “white people” were the turnout for the tea party crap?

  21. joe from Lowell Says:

    Lonewacko, are you so fucking stupid that you accidently linked to a fucking Spice Girls video, or are you so fucking stupid that you think the Spice Girls are racist?

  22. Paul Lettan Says:

    So monitoring Gov. Rick Perry and his Texan secessionism with its un-American, traitorous, anti-Americanism, should not interest Homeland Security? What waccy tea was drunk at all those Republican tea parties?

  23. fostert Says:

    Yeah, us white guys really face some serious discrimination. And I’m serious. If we go to India, taxi drivers will overcharge us by a factor of five. They take one look at me, and they’re fighting over who gets to rip me off. That’s why I stick to the Muslim taxi drivers. They only charge me double. But here in America, it’s really not a problem. The only problem I have here is when I tell people that I’m not Christian. That’s a good way to get refused service. It works well in the south.

  24. fostert Says:

    “What waccy tea was drunk at all those Republican tea parties?’

    You know, I make a kick-ass mushroom tea. It’s strong enough that if I served it to them, it might have made them sane. Psychomimetic drugs can do that to people who are already psychotic.

  25. AC Says:

    Wow. I didn’t think anyone could out-douche Doocy. That Peters is a piece of work.

    You can say anything you want on Fox. No sources, no backup. TV sucks in general, but that’s ridiculous.

  26. 24AheadDotCom Says:

    What’s hilarious is seeing the “liberals” (and fake “liberals” from Reason) who can’t even spot obvious racism.

    You’d think CAP would be able to hire smart people to comment here in order to make their side look slightly better. The problem, as always for CAP, is that they can’t find any smart people.

  27. Steve Sailer Says:

    Recently, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that she was going to crack down on the border … the Canadian border. Now, her Department has circulated to law enforcement agencies nationwide an intelligence report telling them to be on the lookout for conservatives:

    “The report also said a push for new immigration legislation that would grant residency or citizenship to people who entered the country illegally could fuel anger among groups fearing competition for jobs.”

    The Department of Homeland Security has yet to follow this logic out to its inevitable conclusion and home in on the obvious real threat: Canadian conservatives.

    Perhaps we’ll soon see a campaign coordinated amongst the Obama Administration, the SPLC, CAP, and the New York Times editorial board about the looming menace to the American Dream posed by I, Ectomorph.

  28. will Says:

    The DHS isn’t a threat to freedom, and anyone who suggests it is un-American–until it starts targeting white people.

    And torturing and imprisoning people without trial isn’t a violation of civil liberties, but tax increases are.

    Where was the black helicopter crowd for the last eight years? (I’ll give the Ron Paul people credit, though, at least they were somewhat consistent)

  29. Max424 Says:

    @7: “When I said we’d gone from the Paranoid Style to the Psychotic Style, I wasn’t kidding.”

    Is the Right purposefully placing itself on the brink? Have they decided they can never make a comeback using the electoral process and the time has come for different measures?

    Has the Right decided the Rubicon has been crossed?

  30. fostert Says:

    “I didn’t think anyone could out-douche Doocy.”

    That’s the great thing about conservatives these days. Every time you think it just can’t get any weirder, it does. Their cup runneth over with insanity. It’s fun to watch. That brings up an interesting question: what portion of FOX viewers are only watching it for the comedy? I’m guessing 25%, but it could be higher.

  31. fostert Says:

    “Has the Right decided the Rubicon has been crossed?”

    Well, they crossed it at least ten years ago. But it’s possible that they are just realizing it now.

  32. k1 Says:

    O’Reilly just made the leap from a civil war b/t Fox and CNN/MSNBC (really O’Reilly a civil war???) to an actual Civil War b/t Obama voters and non-Obama voters (he purposely made it a point to NOT refer to them as McCain supporters not once but thrice).

    I’m telling you these guys are seriously playing with FIRE (see Pittsburgh circa 2 weeks ago).

    k1

  33. Jim Says:

    The wingnut paranoia/rage/hysteria is reaching a fever pitch. The media is virtually ignoring it. All it will take is another terrorist attack for the brownshirt militias to hit the streets “in defense of freedom.”

    The paranoia surrounding this DHS report stems from the fact that so many of the FOX/Malkin/Teabaggin’ masses identify with the extremist right. When you are on TV screaming about seceding from the US and arming and secret FEMA concentration camps and the enslavement of the white race, tell me, how far are you from the extremist right-wing militia movement that the report is describing? Most sane people have abandoned the GOP by now, which is why it is growing more insane by the day.

  34. Who bankrolls Lonewacko? Says:

    What’s really fucking funny is that Lonewacko spits out his pacifier when actual self-identified white-supremacist militia are considered potential threats. It’s as if he takes it personally, which surely can’t be true.

  35. Snowman Says:

    Good lord.

    Seven years under an administration that tortured at will, suspended entire portions of the Bill of Rights, and we get this b.s. outrage now over a DHS report ordered BY THAT LAST, rights-suspending, torturing administration (but blame Obama, he published it).

  36. Max424 Says:

    @35: Don’t forget, its Obama’s war. Actually, its Obama’s wars.
    Obama is a fascist communist bent on taking over the world while giving the United States away to terrorists.
    Obama plans on enslaving the white race except for Canada which he refuses to invade because he is a weak Nazi-liberal dictator.
    Obama is letting Mexican labor pour over the border and take our crappy jobs.
    Meanwhile, ObamaHussienBanLaden plans on not letting Businesses hire Mexicans which will not allow Businesses to compete which means we must build a wall and put 6 Marine divisions into Texas.
    To stop the flood! Of Mexicans, that is. Who are dark skinned Catholics!
    Catholics? Hmmmm….
    Either way, we must sell drugs and stop the guns! Whoops….we must sell guns and stop…er… anti-gun people with guns! Stop them with guns, I mean. Shoot them. All!

    I live in Rhode Island and demand we secede from Obamaland and become a rival superpower! Rhode Islanders! Rise up! (We are going to need some nukes, btw).

  37. Comment Says:

    Matt – If you wanna step back a bit – go check out some of Ralph Peters older columns before he really
    lost solid MSM status (in a financially meaningfull sense)

    He wrote some pretty nasty stuff about “white Christians” and he catagorized them as red necks of sorts – This
    was when he was excusing Power and shifting
    blame on the Liddy Englanders who followed orders.

    Peters used that phrase “stab in the back” un-ironically
    too many times to qualify for a lucrative mainstream
    status, so he has shifted to a nastier right wing
    pose.

  38. Jimm Says:

    These are sad days indeed when “White Christians” are playing the “victim card”, decrying racism, and I was born into that tribe, so have at least some insight into how pathetic that must feel, even though I left that style of compartmentalized thought and identity behind a long time ago.

  39. Senescent Says:

    The problem of fringe numbers of returning veterans gravitating toward extremist paramilitary groups is an old one, and not just in the United States, but in many other countries.

    True that. A good deal of the European chaos between the world wars was the result of men coming home from war convinced that it was a perfectly viable way to resolve problems, and there was no particular reason that should be confined to foreign policy. Heck, even in America, a good number of WWI veterans laid seige to D.C. And the G.I. Bill and post-WWII eviction of women from the workplace had more to do with keeping the veterans too busy to get up to no good than is usually admitted.

  40. SLC Says:

    It certainly is humorous to see a closeted gay man like Rick Perry leading the right wing whackjob would be secessionists. He must really be feeling the pressure from Senator Hutchinsons’ Rethuglican primary challenge.

  41. AC Says:

    The vast majority of so-called “white Christians” are peace-loving and non-violent. Christianity is a religion of peace. We are in no way advocating persecution of Christians.

    There is, however, and extremist element which has been radicalized and has perpetrated violent acts.

    It behooves us to take this threat seriously and not hinder our security efforts by being overly concerned with political correctness. Racial profiling may be necessary. Mistakes will be made.

    We call on “white Christians,” the majority of which are hard-working, family-oriented, law-abiding Americans to denounce the extremist elements within their community.

  42. normal Says:

    Righties resorting to violence isn’t new.
    Happens whenever they are out of power.

  43. shooter242 Says:

    You know it’s stuff like this that tells everyone how insecure liberals are. Taking quotes out of context and twisting them into full blown condemnation is juvenile at best and paranoia at worst.
    I thought Yglesias was supposed to be smart.

  44. SteveIL Says:

    Lie #1:

    As I’ve been saying, you never see a conservative feeling that any kind of racism against non-white people is a problem.

    Of course it’s what he’s been saying, because repeating lies over and over and over is the only way the left can get anything done.

    Lie #2:

    But they’re hyper-sensitive to the made-up problem of anti-white racism.

    It does exist, except to those who deliberately say it doesn’t exist.

    Lie #3:

    Meanwhile, conservative members of congress are calling for bloodshed as tea parties warn of Obama’s plan to enslave the white race.

    In the link, the post has a phrase that the Republican Representative “appears” to be calling for bloodshed. Now, the word “appears” is gone.

  45. joe from Lowell Says:

    Wow, Lone Wackjob really did link to a clip of the Spice Girls to demonstrate the crushing burden of anti-white racism.

    It wasn’t a mistake. He’s all, “Oh, yeah, liberals? No anti-white racism, huh? Spice Girls!!! Boo-yah! Pwned!”

    Amazing.

  46. Njorl Says:

    You know it’s stuff like this that tells everyone how insecure liberals are. Taking quotes out of context and twisting them into full blown condemnation is juvenile at best and paranoia at worst.
    I thought Yglesias was supposed to be smart.

    For such an argument to be effective, you must provide exculpatory context.

  47. Laura Says:

    First off I’m a Constitutionalist and I don’t pledge any allegience to any other party but our Constitution. The Tea Partys were started by 2 AVERAGE AMERICANS. Whoever thinks different is just a sheep and BAH to u. Now, this FAKE NON-AMERICAN obama is a facist and u morons can’t c how un-American he is. U think it’s funny about the FEMA camps which HR 645 proves they exist and YES I read it. U liberals are the racist ones and have no right to tell me how 2 live. U want osama obamaland then get out of America and go to some island, Cuba maybe, and let Adolf obama tell u what u can eat, how much energy u can use, what u can and cannot say and oh so much more. ALL of u should be tried for treason. Real Americans want to follow the Constitution. BTW, I served my country for 12 years and I survived 911. Maybe u little lefties need to ask obama what he is doing about Islamberg, NY. I bet u also are on the side of the REMOSELESS skell who murdered the 3 police in Pittsburgh and that murderer in SanFrancisco.

  48. Njorl Says:

    Wow Sailer, an unattributed quote about an unreferenced report. I am so swayed by your didactic prowess.

  49. Njorl Says:

    Laura, no one is going to buy your send-up if you use words like “Constitutionalist”.

  50. Vermando Says:

    I can’t believe that he faults the report for not also talking about threats from Islamic terrorists.

    It’s a report about the domestic right-wing extremist threat, the one from which Timothy McVeigh sadly emerged. There are separate reports on the threat from Al-Qaeda, eco-terrorists / leftists, etc. Does he really think that every time they publish an investigation into one threat that we need to also mention “of course, these aren’t the only guys out there who might attack us – we also face threats from XX, YY, and ZZ, just to let you know that we haven’t forgotten about them.”

    Unbelievable – it really shows the potency of identity politics about which the Right used to complain.

  51. joe from Lowell Says:

    Laura, no one is going to buy your send-up if you use words like “Constitutionalist”.

    Oh, I don’t know. She saved it with the clever use of Adolf obama.

    So…why exactly does Adolf get capitalized and obama doesn’t?

  52. Steve LaBonne Says:

    So…why exactly does Adolf get capitalized and obama doesn’t?

    Those are exactly the little touches that make parody trolling easier to confuse with the real thing. I always admire attention to detail. There is no reason that can be given for any particular such detail; they are random, like the neural processes of genuine conservatrolls. Reproducing them convincingly is an art.

  53. El Cid Says:

    I demand that loyal Texans gather together to burn Spice Girls CD’s in order to take a stand against vicious anti-white racism, while pouring maple syrup over the fire to protest Janet Napolitano’s jihad against Canadianarian conservatives.

  54. Ed Marshall Says:

    I like the capitalization on Real Americans too.

    It needs a ™ but maybe that’s too much.

  55. ibc Says:

    One of the hallmarks of modern conservatism is a total and complete lack of empathy.

    Because of this, they can’t seem to understand what the big deal is about things like nooses in trees, likening the first AA president a “monkey”, or burning crosses on lawns.

    But…they *do* understand that–for some reason they cannot comprehend–these things have some sort of claim on the conscience of people with normal, healthy developed sense of morality.

    So, even though they can’t figure out why, they realize that claims of “racism” seem to be effective in some way they can’t understand, and want a piece of the action.

  56. Siger of Brabant Says:

    Police Say (Iraq) Vet Made, Sold IEDs to Gangs (in US)

    This story didn’t get much notice. It played out last Christmas day. Not all returned Iraq vets sell IEDS to gangs, of course.

  57. joe from Lowell Says:

    So, even though they can’t figure out why, they realize that claims of “racism” seem to be effective in some way they can’t understand, and want a piece of the action.

    This describes them so well. Then, when they make a comment about race and the room goes silent as everyone else gapes at them, they cannot understand why, since to their own ears, what they said sounds just like what everyone else was saying.

    Obviously, it’s a conspiracy to pick on white male Christians when that keeps happening. Hence, “anti-white racism.”

  58. ba Says:

    MY wrote – “As I’ve been saying, you never see a conservative feeling that any kind of racism against non-white people is a problem.”

    Umm. yeah. Except for removing Trent Lott as majority leader b/c of comments he made for Strom thurmond. Except for William Buckley’s long campaign against anti-semitism in the Conservative movement. Except for electing an African American as party boss…..

    MY is not dumb. He’s just a liar.

  59. Francisco The Man Says:

    And ba shows up to prove ibc’s point. Hilarious.

    Also, *cough* Geraldine Ferraro *cough*

  60. Anthony Says:

    U want osama obamaland then get out of America and go to some island, Cuba maybe,

    Well, since American overwhelmingly elected President Obama, maybe you should go to some island. O I forgot, “un-American” is always defined as the opposite of whatever you happen to think at the moment.

  61. Bob Oso Says:

    The oppressed Christian theme has been around a long time and is still pretty popular. Many tv preachers and evangelists have used it, heck the ACLJ was formed because of the oppression’s alleged existence. I have even heard every day preachers use the theme in sermons. It goes along the lines of “ever since they took God out of public schools…” I always shake my head at my brethren when they claim religious oppression in the United States. These are typically people who have never left their comfort zone but now find their neighborhoods changing around them. I think the White Christian oppression theme is weird outgrowth of this.

  62. refineryoperator Says:

    That guy certainly disproves the right wing extremist label.

    Maybe Iam being naive, but I don’t see why republicans leaders/commentators would choose to identify themselves as being the targets of this report.

    The groups identfied in that report are white supremacist groups, militia groups, seperatist branch dividian type cults, and groups who think it is okay to kill the people who work at abortion clinics. Imdividuals who subscribe to those extreme positions DO kill people.

    So I don’t see what msinstream republican leaders are getting out of this kind of thing.
    I don’t think the average republican voter will be outraged by a government agency identifying possible threats, and I don’t think the average republican voter identifies with those kinds of groups.

    So who are republican leaders talking to except maybe the very people this report identifies?
    Do they want them to vote and become republicans?

  63. Brian Oregon Says:

    If Hannity and Savage and Ralph Peters THINK the report is about them, then in some sense IT IS. They must classify themselves with the people about whom the report was written.

    Another indication of the need for non-conservatives to exercise their 2nd Amendment right.

  64. phillyfan Says:

    I agree, Obama hates America, he destroyed the Constitution, denied Habeus Corpus rights, lied to America, cut taxes for the rich and raised them on the poor, invaded a soverign country (Iraq not Texas), had his friend try to get his party to have a lifetime majority through lies and false prosecutions. Any president that acted like this is a traitor and should be hung. BTW be afraid righties be very afraid, when Obama becomes dictator, you will all be wiped out. Think of yourselves as Jews in Hitlers Germany. Fema camps (the same FEMA that could not evacuate New Orleans). Then in the f&*%KING oven you go. White, black, Hispanic, Muslim. The athiest Obama will have his revenge. MMMMMMMMMWWWWAAAA,MMMMMMMWAAAAAAA, MWAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA.


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