May 8, 1996
Mr. Morris Dees
Chair, Executive Committee
The Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Avenue
P.O. Box 548
Montgomery, AL 36101-0548
re: MILITIA TASK FORCE
Dear Mr. Dees:
I have, until recently, been a contributing member to SPLC for several years, and until recently, I have been proud of that association. Even when the center received adverse publicity due to the overwhelming success of its financial strategy, I continued to support it. The Center's programs for Teaching Tolerance and pursuing justice for those whose civil rights were violated have made a lasting and positive impression on American society. Unfortunately, the SPLC's new focus is detracting from our solid reputation, and if it does not change soon, I fear that the damage to an excellent organization will be permanent.
As the impact of the SPLC lawsuits against bigotry and racially-motivated violations of constitutional protections were felt, their efficacy was proven by the waning severity of the violations that were pursued in the courts. As this occurred, the Southern Poverty Law Center was faced with a choice: it had to widen or shift its focus. The question was, "how?"
In the past, the Lawsuits by SPLC have been taken up
on behalf of the weak in order to secure compensation
and/ or some measure of justice against a somewhat
stronger entity, whether that entity was a well-financed
racist fringe group, or a local government. With the
overwhelming success of this strategy, new frontiers had
to be opened. There are many out there whose civil rights
are being ravaged by the strongest entity of all - the
United States Government - not for racial reasons, but for
political reasons. I personally have three friends* who are
currently fighting for their lives, and who have been
through horrors inflicted on them by their own
government, our government, the likes of which most
people don't even believe can happen in this country. There are literally thousands like them, and these people
are in severe need of assistance.
But rather than seek justice for those so abused, the Center has chosen to exploit sensationalist journalism, to which the SPLC itself has contributed heavily, inducing largely irrational fears to fight against the so-called "Patriot Movement" and its related "Militias". In the SPLC campaign, this heterogeneous group is painted with broad strokes in threatening ways which are very unfair to the great majority of those in the movement.
Abuses of power by the
federal government like
those mentioned above
have given rise to the
Patriot Movement and
the Militias. These are
understandable reactions
from a very concerned
population. If we in the
SPLC are truly
concerned with the threat
presented by these
groups, we should be
looking for ways to
constructively address
their legitimate concerns,
rather that seek to blindly
discredit and destroy the
entire movement.
There is no room for violence in the Patriot Movement. Violence always results in more power being granted to the federal government in the interest of "security" and at the expense of constitutional law - the exact opposite of what the Patriots seek. But any counter-establishment movement which addresses problems the magnitude of which are addressed by the Patriots is bound to attract some fringe elements, whose motives and means are dangerous and counter-productive. (In fact, the deliberate infiltration of such agent provocateurs by the federal government has been a common occurrence in its dealings with rebellious organizations for many years.) But instead of "throwing out the baby with the bath water," the decent and truly patriotic core of the Patriot Movement should be integrated into the Center's constituency, rather than marginalized and alienated from it.
In the SPLC's latest mailing, there is a picture of some militia men in fatigues, taking target practice with rifles in the desert. Their eyes are blacked out, and on the other side, we are informed that this is for "security reasons." I would submit that the real reason for this move is because the defamatory nature of the Center's accompanying description of Patriots and the militias would make a picture without such alterations ripe for a libel lawsuit. If that is true, it should tell us something: that the agenda being pursued here is not entirely correct.
About a year ago, I sent to you a copy of Defrauding America, by Rodney Stich, and I asked that you consider taking up Rod's legal case, as his civil rights were and are clearly being violated. I received a reply from the center indicating that the case was outside of the SPLC's current mission. It is unfortunate that in its evolution, the SPLC has chosen to become closer to Mr. Stich's persecutors than to him. I sincerely hope that this is a reversible trend. If not, I fear that a once-great organization will have lost its ideals in a quest for cash, and will be forever lost to the people it once served.
Sincerely,
David H. Stern, M.D.
Member, Leadership Council
Southern Poverty Law Center
DHS/dhs
cc: *Rodney Stich, Lester K. Coleman, and Michael Williams
Multiple Concerned Citizens
Deep Times News Service
