Letters to the Editor

March 25

Mail letters to Letters, Santa Fe Reporter, PO Box 2306, Santa Fe, NM 87504, deliver them to 132 E. Marcy St., fax them to 988-5348 or email them to the editor.

Fear This
"Hate Rises"? A more accurate title would've been "Hate Sells."

The Southern Poverty Law Center's over-hyped jihad against "hate groups" ranks up there with PT Barnum's hokiest shows.

The Nation, a prominent leftist periodical, observed, "What is the Southern Poverty Law Center doing…? Mostly making money.…In 1999 it spent $2.4 million on litigation and $5.7 million on fundraising, meanwhile taking in more than $44 million.…On the subject of "hate groups,"…no one has been more assiduous in inflating the profile of such groups than the center's millionaire huckster, Morris Dees." That's why The American Institute of Philanthropy assigned the SPLC an "F" grade on a scale of A to F.
The SPLC's scam is to constantly cry "wolf!" while selling wolf repellent, which has seriously compromised its credibility.

At a news conference in Washington, DC in April 1996, Dees announced, "Those [black] churches that have been burned in the South were certainly burned by racists." After subsequent investigation revealed there was no rash of black church
burnings, the Charlotte Observer concluded Dees had "misinformed" the press.

The bottom line is that the SPLC has a long record of fearmongering for profit. And you're aiding and abetting them.
Mike Tuggle
Charlotte, NC


Girls etc.
The Santa Fe Reporter article "Hate Rises" was disconcerting and eye opening. I was happily surprised to see that New Mexico "bucked the trend" of the increase in hate groups across the nation. Girls Inc. of Santa Fe knows that educating youth as to the importance of knowing and appreciating diversity is a key weapon against ignorance of the types seen with hate groups.

In recent years, with support from the Santa Fe Community Foundation, we have been developing a program that addresses the importance of diversity. Sticks and Stones has been designed to foster understanding through community education. This program educates girls in awareness and advocacy, impacting the Santa Fe community of which they are an important part. The project encourages girls to use creative forms of expression to increase their own and others' understanding and appreciation of diversity. Language is a powerful tool, and Girls Inc. aims to teach girls to be effective communicators in their worlds—to stand up for themselves and others.

I invite the community to attend one of our Girls Inc. Expedition Tours at our Hillside Avenue Center, where you can see firsthand what we do, how we do it and why we do it. Dates and times can be found on the calendar on our website, girlsincofsantafe.org, or by contacting me.
Alexis I Brown
Director of Development & Communications
Girls Inc. of Santa Fe


Burn after readin'
Clearly the bad vibes referred to in the article were coming from Mr. Pein [News, March 18: "Bad Vibes?"]. His rude characterization of the yoga center was based on his lack of knowledge of what "brain education" is about. Projecting ones own whacky prejudices onto other people is a common human failing, but I would expect more from a serious reporter. Similarly, Googling your subject and then writing an article based on the very few negative reports to surface and ignoring the hundreds of positive comments is a cheap and nasty way to make a living. When I Googled Mr. Pein I found a lot more negative reports about him than I found about Dahn Yoga, most particularly his incoherent and petty attack on the College of Santa Fe last winter. I didn't read it at the time because the only use I have for the Reporter these days is to start my fire in the winter.
Hilary Coffman
Pecos

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