Police probe rash of L.A. hate mail

[Jim Sagle]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dozens of Jewish residents, businesses and synagogues have received hate-filled letters in recent weeks, leading to investigations by local and federal officials.

<snip>

Some of the large manila envelopes had ''Die Jews Die!'' scrawled on them and other vituperative language filled the papers inside the envelopes. Some of the letters also targeted Asians, Muslims and gays.

Statistics from the Anti-Defamation League and the county's Human Relations Commission show the letters could be part of a larger trend of anti-Semitism in the Los Angeles area.

Hate crimes declined in every category, except anti-Semitism, from 2002 to 2003, according to the Human Relations Commission. Anti-Semitic crimes made up about 84 percent of the county's religious hate crimes.

More...http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/11412286.htm

[HardElection]

1. please delete

[Behind the Aegis]

2. Surprised?

I am not in the least bit surprised. "Jew-hating" is the 'in-thing' for quite a few people. Some it is obvious, and other times it is more covert. Many people blame Israel for the ills of the US and in their minds Israel equals Jews. This is not always the case, but there seems quite a few who cannot distinguish the two. Jews have always been at the end of the 'hatred stick' and it doesn't seem like that will end anytime soon.

[Jim Sagle]

3. Not surprised at all.

:mad:

[ninkasi]

4. Not surprised here, either

Sickened, saddened, but not surprised. Some people just seem to feel the need to have someone to hate.

[frictionlessO]

6. I agree for the most part but Jews were not the only ones or the most

commonly found at the end of the hatred stick. Many peoples have suffered horrid persecutions at the hands of a rabid monster called intolerance.

Pagans, Bhuddists, Muslims, Native Americans and Native Australians, Africans, Christians all have had thier turn at the end of the hatred stick.

The fact that this particular "rash" of hate mail is widely distributed amongst several minorities is indicative of a neo-nazi splinter. They have been emboldend both by the fact the domestic terrorist report left out the bulk of their groups as well as all the good press they are getting because of the minutemen (yes I know the leader supoosedly denounced publicly the nazi groups, but they are used to being covert and their leaders having to act like they don't know them, and in fact many of these fascists get a small thrill out of it... knowing that they are so underground that one must deny knowledge of their particular group, also any press is good press for these guys.. get to know a few of these jerks and you'll know what I mean).

My point is that Jew, Muslim, and Gay should try and unite in sharing the brunt of this intolerance and hatred.... well one can dream....

[Colorado Blue]

7. Excellent post, thank you. And yes, one can dream - some-

times I think it's about all we can do, in the face of such hatred.

[frictionlessO]

11. When the last light of hope is finally extinguished we have likely lost...

Dreams are good even if it is all we can do.

These are not false hopes, merely complicated to the point where hope is dim and visible but to a few...

Thank you for your fight and never give up.

[Behind the Aegis]

9. Good points

I don't think that Jews were the only ones to find themselves at the end of the "hatred stick," but, on whole, it seems we get more than our "fair share" of the hate. It is also not to say that Jews have been without fault in some situations.

I have found that most bigots hate more than one group. However, just about every bigot I have encountered always has something in common with other bigots, they all hate Jews (except for the Jewish bigots, and there are some).

It would be nice if all oppressed people could remember what that feels like and not inflict it on others. And for those who are not often at the other end of discrimination, could fully understand the ramifications. I certainly don't mean to squash your dream, but I have become so jaded that I feel humans will always find a reason to hate another group of people for one reason of another, and none of the reasons will ever be good! :(

[frictionlessO]

10. Yes, all very very true and all very very sad....

Still I can't help but get the feeling that if we could somehow start a larger more global movement based on something like Seeds of Peace we can really make progress towards the humanistic goals of empathy magnified by compassion or vice versa.

I believe this because most of the down trodden, oppressed and discriminated (you know...the hated), just want things to stop being that way. Intolerance plus fanaticism equals this kind of hatred. The more we introduce potential haters to those they could possibly hate due to region/culture the more headway we can make. Why we don't try our damdest as a country to foster tolerance and knowledge, empathy and compassion in our schools from day one is beyond me... It should be a required course from elementary through high school, it is as important as englis, math, and history and probably more important than PE.

As I said one can dream....

[Behind the Aegis]

12. I am with you sibling!

(I say sibling because I don't know if you are a "brother" or a "sister!" :))

Wouldn't it be nice if people were taught that words CAN and DO hurt?! Wouldn't it be nice if people were taught to treat one another as they, themselves, would like to be treated?! But, it is hard to do this when our "leaders" accuse running mates of being a "baby-killer" because he is pro-choice. Or terms like "that is so gay!" is allowed to go unchallenged. Or, one I had NEVER heard until I came to Oklahoma, "Go to so and so for a great deal! You can Jew him down!" Or, when I had African-American students saying that Arabs should be profiled before getting on planes!!! :wtf:

We can dream and hope and pray, but we must also take action and challenge when others are oppressed.

BTW...I do like your dream! :)

[Colorado Blue]

8. It wouldn't matter. This stuff was going around LONG

before Israel was even an idea. It's just bigotry, pure and simple. Israel was created in large part because of it, and the wars there have been fueled by it.

For our part, America has changed so much, at least it used to be considered impolite to express bigotry like this. Now it's FASHIONABLE.

I'm sad, and really worried:(

[shadowknows69]

14. and Israel swings the hatred stick a lot.

But I know the difference.

[Behind the Aegis]

15. And the difference is? n/t

[shadowknows69]

16. same one that says

The US is a nation of peaceful people even though our leader takes us to immoral war.

[Behind the Aegis]

17. Agreed!

Glad to see you do know the difference! The government and the people are not one and the same!! Thanks for responding! :)

[Behind the Aegis]

5. kick

I hope people are at least reading this article.

[mitchum]

13. So, right wing Christian terrorist Eric Rudolph has already found...

a new hobby?