# Credibility of the Southern Poverty Law Center **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 27, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314 "2015-07-27T13:50:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/101 "2015-07-29T02:27:58Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Well, **Mr. Nylock** could not have possibly meant that bit **seriously,** could he?! > > Ermm, right? I did not mean it seriously; it was just an example of my sharp, razor like wit. Probably the only example:( ---
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/102 "2015-07-29T10:29:08Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > _Harper’s_? Hard left? Do they follow the Trotskyist line of _Better Homes and Gardens_? Maybe you _like_ the fact that they are a socialist, pro-Putin magazine that thinks Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are too economically conservative. But like it or not, that makes them a far to the left publication by the standards of American political discourse, and goes a good way to explaining their participation in the “there is no such thing as anti-Semitism, only legitimate criticism of Israel” movement that the hard left adores so much. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/103 "2015-07-29T11:03:22Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > _Harper’s_? Hard left? Do they follow the Trotskyist line of _Better Homes and Gardens_? Well, when one considers Pat Buchanan or Pat Robertson to be liberals, _Harper’s_ does look to be rather far to the left of one’s own positions. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/104 "2015-07-29T15:06:59Z")
Confirmation bias is a harsh mistress. ---
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/105 "2015-07-29T15:09:23Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Well, when one considers Pat Buchanan or Pat Robertson to be liberals, _Harper’s_ does look to be rather far to the left of one’s own positions. I can certainly think of something that Pat Buchanan, Harper’s, Alexander Cockburn, and many groups the SPLC dislikes have in common. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/106 "2015-07-29T15:15:12Z")
> [@Haberdash](#): > > I can certainly think of something that Pat Buchanan, Harper’s, Alexander Cockburn, and many groups the SPLC dislikes have in common. Why are you being so coy? Just say it. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/107 "2015-07-29T18:25:52Z")
I just assume that those who scorn them believe the Ku Klux Klan are good guys and blacks are bestial thugs. Is that not the case? I got to know SPLC through reading\* Intelligence Report.\* I suppose it’s possible that certain white churches have painted a false impression of SPLC in the minds of those who’ve never read SPLC literature. And that many of those influential whites stop short of endorsing all-white counties and the like. But _why_ stop there? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/108 "2015-07-29T19:55:58Z")
> [@Haberdash](#): > > Right-wingers are mostly angry that the SPLC noticed that the leading anti-immigrant groups like CIS have easily documented white supremacist origins. Uh, maybe. Are you the same person apparently demanding (in another thread today) that all Muslims in France be regarded as suspicious until they denounce Mohammed? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/109 "2015-07-30T23:38:43Z")
Yes, yes: _Harper’s Magazine_ is hard left. Indubitably, according to certain perspectives. It’s a literary magazine, which in itself is suspicious. This month’s cover highlights a set of articles on parenting. One details the familial situation of various 20th century writers: it mostly counts the number of children. I know: numbers. Another refers to kids as “Little Emperors”. Totalitarian. Worse, it compares parenting styles and laws in various -get this- _European_ countries. If cross-country comparisons are not hard left, then most people on this message board have over 6 years of schooling. Their political articles are even worse. One details the history of voting rights in the US, addressing the 1860s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and even 2000s _in the same article_. If that isn’t evidence that Harper’s is a haven of anti-democratic commies, then some people on this message board -not necessarily all- have a coherent understanding of representational government and at least a junior high school exposure to historical method. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/110 "2015-07-30T23:42:40Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Why are you being so coy? > > Just say it. My guess is he’s implying they all hate Jews, though I don’t remember Harper’s ever being accused of this. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/111 "2015-07-31T00:20:00Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > . . . If that isn’t evidence that Harper’s is a haven of anti-democratic commies . . . Follow the money! Who are their advertisers? Clothing, travel, wine… Clearly these are all undesirable social manifestations, devoted to the destruction of capitalism! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/112 "2015-07-31T03:51:36Z")
> [@Haberdash](#): > > Maybe you _like_ the fact that they are a socialist, pro-Putin magazine that thinks Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are too economically conservative. That is a very odd judgment on _Better Homes and Gardens._ ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314/113 "2015-07-31T05:59:06Z")
I prefer the more conservative magazine: _Better Homes Than Yours_\*. \*Hat Tip: The Simpsons [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credibility-of-the-southern-poverty-law-center/726314.md?page=5)