[Vision2020] Standing Up is Not Bigotry

[Art Deco]

Tom, Joe, et al,

The letter to the editor below by Joe Campbell does not address one of the more interesting and much privately commented upon questions of the "Hitler Youth" so-called harassment incident:  Who were the most probable culprits?

As far as I know at this point there is no evidence pointing to any specific individual.  If we take the MPD at their word, there will be no further investigation.

But, let's see.

Allegations by the Christ Church Cult claimed that the so-called desecration was prompted by an article headline of an actual article by Nick Geier in The Idaho Statesman calling the CCC a Neo-Nazi organization.  [There was no content in the article which justified the headline.]

At the time of the printing of story, it is unlikely that any outside of the cult higher echelons and a few outsiders had even heard of the article and the somewhat misleading headline (misleading because it was not the topic of the article, not because of its closeness to the truth).  The general local population most probably did not know of this article and headline until the local media carried the "Hitler Youth" story.

In context:  The CCC, who discriminates against almost everybody else in the world, had been (and still are) playing their "O poor us!  We are to be pitied victims of discrimination!" dirge.  

However, their is a very curious element about this incident.  The words "Hitler Youth" were:

1.    Written in chalk, thus easily removable.
2.    Written on the sidewalk, not the building.

If someone with a real animus against the cult and seeking to damage their image were to perpetrate such an incident, one would generally expect them to:

1.    Use paint, spray paint, or some other difficult to remove media.
2.    Paint on the building itself, where because of the surface structure, removal would be more difficult and expensive, and where the message's visibility would last longer and would continue to reappear until the surface was sanded down to the bricks.  [It is difficult to paint over certain other kinds of paint/media.  Messages written with these media keep working their way through normal paint.]

In other words, the perpetrators went out of their way:

1.    Not to damage the building at all.
2.    To make sure the actual message's visibility was very short-lived.

Hmmm.

In my opinion it is more probable than not that someone from the CCC or an agent of someone from the CCC was the perpetrator.  This opinion is further reinforced by the past CCC's dirty tricks and dishonesties in conjunction with their "O poor me!" campaign and other tactics.

This opinion is not original. Shortly after the incident, many people expressed similar thoughts.  I am disgusted that the MPD did not investigate this incident, not on the grounds of harassment, but on grounds of someone filing a false report to the police.

Showing its prejudice in its coverage, the Daily News did not print comments from anyone with the above opinion, although they would not even have had to step outside their own building to find people with such opinions.  

The Daily News coverage of this incident (and the MPD response) reminds me of the failure of the Daily News to print a news story about the so-called "safe-hijacking" at Zume last year although publisher Nathan Alford twice told me that such a story would appear after I bugged him about it twice.  A safe-hijacking should be a major story in Moscow, let alone one that occurred about a block of and within sight of the police station, next to and ostensibly through a well lit public square, and where there were no signs of a forced entry.

Hmmm.
 

Another issue not covered or commented upon by the local media:  the actual similarity of the CCC to the Neo-Nazis.  This has been a topic on this forum before hence I won't repeat the similarities and their documentation unless someone seriously challenges this characterization.
 

When the smoke clears and the mirrors are shattered, most of our community (if they do not already) will probably see the chalked "Hitler Youth" incident as a CCC play for sympathy in their "O poor me!" strategy.

Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
deco at moscow.com



Christ Church Cult Motto:

You must tolerate us since we do not tolerate anyone else.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 6:55 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] Standing Up is Not Bigotry


> >From today's (September 5, 2005) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with a special
> thanks to Joe Campbell.
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Standing up is not bigotry
> 
> I agree with Curt Parsons (Letters to the Editor, Aug. 26) on one thing. The
> act of vandalism committed against New Saint Andrews - the words "Hitler
> Youth" were written in chalk on a door outside NSA on the first day of fall
> classes - was disgusting and should not be tolerated in our community. 
> However, I disagree with Parsons on some other points. Parsons claims that
> he "would be ashamed to be associated with" the "anti-New Saint Andrews
> College vocalists," those involved in "transparent and bigoted actions with
> regard to the current zoning controversy." 
> 
> Though I am a critic of NSA, I do not consider myself to be "anti-NSA." Some
> of my students and friends are associated with either NSA or Christ Church
> and I respect them and their right to congregate with whomever they see fit.
> 
> 
> Furthermore, the zoning controversy has little to do with bigoted actions
> and more to do with equal treatment under the law. NSA is in violation of
> zoning laws. If we allow them conditional use of the downtown area, then we
> should - for reasons of fairness - allow UI the same conditional use. But we
> can't allow UI conditional use, for they will take over the downtown area.
> Thus, we can't allow NSA conditional use. NSA is not asking for equal
> treatment, they are asking for special treatment. Standing up against this
> is not bigotry. It is democracy in action. 
> 
> Lastly, it is absurd to suggest that there is some causal connection between
> criticisms of NSA and the recent vandalism. If someone were to read your
> letter, Parsons, and feel compelled to write "Liberal Activist" in chalk on
> my porch, would that be your fault? Hardly. You are not responsible for the
> actions of idiots who misunderstand your words and neither are the critics
> of NSA/Christ Church. 
> 
> Joe Campbell, Moscow
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Thank you, Joe.  Very well stated.
> 
> It really is just that simple.  If you violate the law, you are wrong.
> 
> Take care, Moscow.
> 
> Tom Hansen
> 
> Special not to His Whineyness - Just because your are paranoid doesn't mean
> that they AREN'T after you.
> 
> "I think one of the best ways to support education is to make successful
> private schools like Logos prosper through tax exemption."
> 
> - Donovan Arnold (July 11, 2005)
> 
> 
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