VIDEO OF NEWS STORY ON FRESNO "HATE" RALLY AND PICNIC HERE!!!

RadioFR ^ | 9/14/03 | Diotima

[diotima]

Here is the video of the news story that ran Friday night about the Fresno Chapter's "hate" rally and picnic.

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Please thank Agitator, Radio Free Republic's engineer and technical genius for converting these files so you could view them.

[cake_crumb]

"Remember, if this fight comes to a head, it will be won on sound bites and the fact is, some Forum posts will give Reyes all the ammo she needs. The debate has to be controlled and made an issue about the Fresno chapter (or all FR Chapters and the Network), not the Forum. That is an argument we can win."

Agreed 100 percent. I HAVE seen some of the posts on the threads you mentioned. I can think of some other threads too. While it could be argued that posts which could be interpreted as hate speech come from a militant fringe belonging to a relatively moderate group of..what is it now?...nearly 100,000 members isn't it?...and are not representative of the forum in general, you have an excellent point.

My point was that even if she wants to push it, the HRC's beef IS with the Fresno chapter, and the onus is on the HRC to prove the accusations they made in this unauthorized press release.

[A Navy Vet]

Okay, I'll defer to the majority. Roger, over and out.

[A Navy Vet]

Yes, I understand. Just providing some material evidence that FR Chapters have been doing this around the country. And thanks for promoting the CD. We still get at least one order a week.

[Timesink]

FR functions more or less as a common carrier, like the phone company. It's too big, has too many users, and for the most part allows FREEDOM OF SPEECH. To allow the HRC-lovers to use individual posts in order to smear FR (taken out of context from the threads where the posters probably got some heat for them) is like someone trying to get IBM shut down because they got rude service from a single individual in IBM tech support one day.

If we have to prepare for Mutually-Assured Destruction, so be it. Start researching the HRC, its members and their backgrounds. I'm sure you'll find lots of hate emanating from their mouths over the years. Start researching the activities of groups the HRC has aligned themselves with and supported. Because there's no way you're going to be able to frame this as merely the Fresno FRN chapter vs the HRC if it gets more news media attention.

The optimal thing will probably be to just support the mayor. If he can get the HRC suspended or shut down, they lose their legitimacy immediately (what little they ever had) and nothing Reyes or any of the rest of them have to say will matter. All we'd have to do is say "She has been completely discredited. We thus couldn't care less what she has to say."

[Bob J]

While it could be argued that posts which could be interpreted as hate speech come from a militant fringe belonging to a relatively moderate group of..what is it now?...nearly 100,000 members isn't it?...and are not representative of the forum in general...

Yes, that could be argued but we would never get it into a sound bite. All Reyes has to do is put together a list of the grungier comments on the Forum and let the press pick which ones they want to print. As we and our freinds go on defense, Reyes and her cohorts will be churning out one phrase soundbites after another and...controlling the debate. I've said it many times, the Forum is our source of strength and greatest asset, but, it also our achilles heel. It has to be made clear that the Fresno Chapter is completely separate from the Forum. It was organized and acts completely independently from it.

[cake_crumb]

"There were inopportune comments on the original thread about bringing guns and inferring they be shot."

Ah...whomever said that...that was stupid. I hope they were deleted. Sheesh. This doesn't happen all that regularly. It seems that the combination of the war on terorsm and the amazingly...uh...passionate feelings surrounding the recall right now would account for some of the more thoughtless comments.

I remember the thing with Rogan. I hope this will wake up those who type before thinking.

[Amerigomag]

How's that? People might eat too many cookies

Assuming an honest question here goes.

A bulletin board in the Seattle area, associated with the green and anti-WTO movement posted a notice of the Fresno rally suggesting a disruption.

FR picked up the message and the resultant thread contained the usual spread of opinions and loose remarks. A local peace activist picked up on the remarks and added his own agenda and made a presentation to the HRC. FR was painted as a racists hate group that was armed to the teeth, aware of the planned disruption and ready to defend themselves with firearms.

The left leaning commission jumped at the oppurtunity presented to bash a conservative organization with at least a degree of plausible denial, voted to warn the city of the potential for violence because of the rumored confrontation.

So far not a major crime, just predicatably bad judgement. But then the chairman took it upon herself, late Thursday evening to fax the media on city letterhead that a hate group was planning violence in the middle of a busy city intersection on Friday afternoon.

[Bob J]

HRC, its members and their backgrounds. I'm sure you'll find lots of hate emanating from their mouths over the years. Start researching the activities of groups the HRC has aligned themselves with and supported. Because there's no way you're going to be able to frame this as merely the Fresno FRN chapter vs the HRC if it gets more news media attention. Excellent points. Maybe the Fresno Chapter can get working on this. BTW - In the past we have been successful at making a distinction between chapters and the Forum. However, we have to get out early and often on it for it to stick.

[Bob J]

Unfortunately, they already have the worst, even though they were deleted, I believe. Those were the comments that were presented at the HRC meeting urging them to take this action.

The issue now is how much more they will find in the archives.

[blam]

Excellent video, thanks. I'm mad as hell too, 'JustAmy.'

[gitmo]

The fax said that the FR site clearly threatened violence to anyone who disrupts their rally". Anything on the forum that could be construed that way?

[BillF]

Nice article.

Do you know who wrote it? Was it you?

[F16Fighter]

Call a HUGE news conference to announce how American patriots are not only being deprived of their 1st Amendment rights, but are now forced to defend their reputation through a defamation lawsuit.

[cake_crumb]

"All Reyes has to do is put together a list of the grungier comments on the Forum and let the press pick which ones they want to print. As we and our freinds go on defense, Reyes and her cohorts will be churning out one phrase soundbites after another and...controlling the debate. I've said it many times, the Forum is our source of strength and greatest asset, but, it also our achilles heel."

All sadly, absolutly true. There IS one bright side: many people are familiar with this site and some of them are in the media. They know that a few posts don't make a forum.

As for an achilles heel as well as our greatest asset, that is true wherever freedom of speech is exercised.

"It has to be made clear that the Fresno Chapter is completely separate from the Forum. It was organized and acts completely independently from it"

Again, great point because the various chapters ARE seperate from the forum and rallies put on by those chapters are independent from the forum itself. It should be no problem as long as we all stay calm and keep our wits about us.

[diotima]

The actual quote was "violence against minorities that interfere with their rally or picnic."

There was no threat made against any minorities or anyone else. There was only the assertion that we would notify the police of threats to disrupt us and we would protect ourselves.

[VOA]

Thanks diotima and agitator for the link-up.

I'll give the reporter, Ms. Vang, real credit.
She reported the facts and did all due diligence in letting the involved parties
have their say.
Good, even-handed reporting...something you don't see all that often.

[demsux]

Sue the bastards...

[A Navy Vet]

What they find on a public forum is immaterial if you well establish the autonomy and peaceful activities of the chapters in any media release or correspondance. There are dozens and dozens of threads regarding the PEACEFUL demonstrations by Freepers.

If this goes larger than Fresno, some pre-emptive documentation would be helpful. But sounds like the Mayor may have this in hand.

[ladyinred]

The commission is appointed by the city council. They have become out of control and causing lots of problems as of late, including asking the council to issue a proclamtion condemning the war which prompted one councilman to remove his appointee from his post. The leftist group then went ballistic and staged demonstrations against him. It was awful and went from bad to worse with the councilman recently sending a venting email to his staff saying he wished he had one dirty bomb, he could wipe out the liberals with one shot, or something like that. Now they are calling for his removal for a hate crime.

The commission was only supposed to promote racial harmony, but have become very politically active against the war, the President, and this one conservative council member, and now, FreeRepublic. The member who was removed is a member of Peace Fresno, the group who demonstrated across the street from us against the war!!! This commission needs to be disolved, but the leftists are keeping them in place way beyond their usefullness.

An article in the local paper today about this confirms what I suspected. This was all prompted by a website posting on an anarchist website calling for members of that group to disrupt our rally. It seems telling to me that the person who brought this before the commission was obviously on that website which is the home of the anarchists who distrupt the WTO meetings etc. You know the group I mean I am sure.

[gracie1]

That was a damn good letter. I am writing some myself.