# The Southern Poverty Law Center has jumped the shark **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 4, 2016, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588 "2016-11-04T05:28:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/1 "2016-11-04T05:28:37Z")
I just learned from Sam Harris’s podcast that the SPLC has [placed Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz on their list of hate groups.](http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/maajid-nawaz-splc-anti-muslim-extremist/505685/) This is absolutely absurd, and really despicable as it endangers their lives. I am particularly livid about this because I have had great respect for this organization over many years. Just the other day I was watching a stellar _West Wing_ episode in which they got a shout-out for having successfully sued the Ku Klux Klan–the award forced the KKK to turn over their HQ to the mother of a victim of racial violence. How far they have fallen. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/2 "2016-11-04T05:45:33Z")
Yep, just stupid, unless they define their mission as “call out anyone who says mean things, whether they are true or not.” Ayaan Hirsi Ali may say mean things about Islam, but nothing that isn’t true. She’s been in the trenches. She’s seen oppression the SPLC members can’t even imagine. ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/3 "2016-11-04T06:05:55Z")
had this happened before I sent in my absentee ballot, I might have voted for Trump, just as a fuck you gesture to the extremists taking over the left. The SPLC used to be something for society’s good. Now it cannot be such. Its this kind of shit that makes me really hate what liberalism has become, and am scared for its future; I can’t have a political home with this kind of thing going on. Islam is an un-American death cult and its influence on society must be stopped. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/4 "2016-11-04T06:16:17Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Islam is an un-American death cult and its influence on society must be stopped. Whoa there, pilgrim. It’s a little tricky calling out liberal extremism while spouting such extremist nonsense yourself. I do agree with the burden of the above posts though. The SPLC has lost all sense of perspective in labeling these critics of Islam as hatemongers. ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/5 "2016-11-04T06:16:38Z")
also, this is a great idea of how free speech and dissent die at the hands of Muslim immigration. I wonder how the left would feel if a critic of Christianity, in the vein Ali is to Islam, was put on this list. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/6 "2016-11-04T06:22:53Z")
It took all of one post for the original offense to be eclipsed by utter shittiness. Wow, **DerekMichaels00** , congrats. You’re a complete jackass. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/7 "2016-11-04T06:41:34Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Yep, just stupid, unless they define their mission as “call out anyone who says mean things, whether they are true or not.” > > Ayaan Hirsi Ali may say mean things about Islam, but nothing that isn’t true. She’s been in the trenches. She’s seen oppression the SPLC members can’t even imagine. From what I can see, her problem was that she originally threw out all the good Muslims with the bad and declared war on Islam itself. Now that she doesn’t, I agree that she should not be on this list, even if it turns out part of her autobiography is not entirely true. (Though I suspect it is.) And, yeah, Nawas doesn’t fit on the list, either. But the article does a good job of laying out where they went wrong. The thing that bothers me more is not that they included him, but that they seem to be holding their guns. Nothing bothers me more than people who are proven wrong but stick to their guns. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/8 "2016-11-04T07:06:45Z")
Is there a link to the SPLC discussing the hows and whys? The Atlantic link in the OP is fine, but I’d like to at least hear what the SPLC has to say for themselves. (I did check their website but discoverability is not its strong suit.) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/9 "2016-11-04T07:41:25Z")
I wasn’t aware the SPLC kept lists of individuals like this. Seems potentially counterproductive. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/10 "2016-11-04T07:43:34Z")
I think the idea is that once you brand an organization a hate group that it discredits everything they say. Except that SPLC has been suffering from the common ailment known as “mission creep” and expanded to basically anyone holding relatively mainstream opinions that the SPLC disagrees with on issues like gay marriage, immigration, and affirmative action. Of course, that would make even some Democratic officeholders end up on their list, but that would complicate their narrative. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/11 "2016-11-04T07:46:55Z")
Alternet is of course pimping this list hard. I get a kick out of this bit from their 2015 hit piece on Ali: > [@](#): > > In _Heretic_, a polemic recycling many of her past arguments against Islam, she calls for the emergence of a Muslim Martin Luther — the authoritarian 16th-century zealot who called for burning down the synagogues of Jews, whom he compared to a gangrenous disease. Gee, what might, you know, \*Lutherans \*think about this characterization? Alternet would go apeshit if Ali or anyone else described Mohammed in similar terms, even though there is plenty of material there to do so. Their hypocrisy is just so blatant. Do they really not see it? Or do they just not care? ETA: > [@adaher](#): > > I think the idea is that once you brand an organization a hate group that it discredits everything they say. Except that SPLC has been suffering from the common ailment known as “mission creep” and expanded to basically anyone holding relatively mainstream opinions that the SPLC disagrees with on issues like gay marriage, immigration, and affirmative action. Of course, that would make even some Democratic officeholders end up on their list, but that would complicate their narrative. Yes, part of it is likely the fact that organizations, whether they are capitalist enterprises or nonprofits, feel an inherent pressure to keep producing more of whatever it is they make. More product, more growth. There’s not much of that in continuing to quietly monitor neo-Nazis, so like the food conglomerates that constantly come up with new products like microwaveable pancakes or PB and J mixed up in the same jar, they continually cast about for new grist for the hate group mill. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/12 "2016-11-04T08:02:12Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Now it cannot be such. Its this kind of shit that makes me really hate what liberalism has become, and am scared for its future; I can’t have a political home with this kind of thing going on. Islam is an un-American death cult and its influence on society must be stopped. _“Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion, a religion that respects others. Ours is a country based upon tolerance and we welcome people of all faiths in America.” -George W. Bush_ [Good thing we don’t have lefty loonies like Dubya in office anymore, right?](https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/ramadan/islam.html) ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/13 "2016-11-04T08:18:20Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Is there a link to the SPLC discussing the hows and whys? The Atlantic link in the OP is fine, but I’d like to at least hear what the SPLC has to say for themselves. (I did check their website but discoverability is not its strong suit.) [here it is](https://www.splcenter.org/20161025/field-guide-anti-muslim-extremists) Also, Smapti, at least GW Bush knew what good vs evil was. Clearly, the hard-left does not. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/14 "2016-11-04T08:23:56Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Also, Smapti, at least GW Bush knew what good vs evil was. Clearly, the hard-left does not. And yet, even with his knowledge of good and evil, he never called Islam an “un-American death-cult”. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/15 "2016-11-04T08:48:21Z")
Ayaan Hirsi Ali? You mean the lady who lied about pretty much everything of her life, including her name and date of birth? No idea who Maajid Nawaz is. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/16 "2016-11-04T08:51:23Z")
She did what every illegal immigrant does. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/17 "2016-11-04T08:57:09Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > She did what every illegal immigrant does. Although I usually tend to disagree with you about immigration (and many other things), this is a good point. Like the Martin Luther thing, it’s pretty hypocritical for the hard left to fiercely attack her on this point when there are millions of undocumented immigrants who have given false biographical information to their employers, and there’s no way those same people would excoriate them for doing that… ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/18 "2016-11-04T09:23:39Z")
Oh, I can excoriate, but that doesn’t make her a hater.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/19 "2016-11-04T09:40:37Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > No idea who Maajid Nawaz is. He’s a secularist and activist against extremist Islam, criticism of which extremist views the SPLC somehow considers as hatemongering. By going down this road the SPLC will eventually make themselves irrelevant. It’s richly ironic that they are becoming one of the merchants of hate that they so condemn. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588/20 "2016-11-04T09:42:11Z")
Hey, at least they haven’t put Rushdie on their list yet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-southern-poverty-law-center-has-jumped-the-shark/770588.md?page=2)