I am an American Indian, who is a member of an activist group/online forum known as Free Republic.
I wanted to register my disapproval with the recent press release from the Fresno HRC. Calling Free Republic a 'Hate Group' is divisive, intolerant, and dishonest.
Although I am not a resident of Fresno, I am being targeted by the HRC through its press release in what has become an issue of national implications, with Free Republic being an 'organization' not restricted to Fresno alone.
I would like to ask that you look into this improper, and possibly illegal, use of city resources for the sake of a biased political agenda, and to take appropriate action to ensure it never happens again.
Thank you for your time.
Respectfully yours,
Chad Fairbanks
(copy of press release was appended here)
I grew up in Tulare County and lived in California most of my life. I am first generation Hispanic, served in the Peace Corps, taught in California Junior Colleges and doing my part to live a life towards public service. For the Human Rights Commission to call the Free Republic a hate group is to call everything I represent, wicked. My father is a doctor; my brother a police officer, my mother and grandmother were nurses. So is our public service and minority status considered hateful since we do not share the same political ideology as the HRC???
The HRC is also stating the FR hates minority groups, yet I am a minority as are many who use the Free Republic message board. It is fallacious for the HRC to state that a conservative message board is a community of the violent and the cruel. I am proud of the grass root efforts of the FreeRepublic and hope that the HRC will publicly apologize for its misplaced political jockeying. This is persecution, plain and simple.
Thank you,