Is this the beginning of a sea change? We’ll see. Blogger and State House candidate Ntodd Pritsky has broken the taboo and engaged the Vermont Commons crowd directly in a discussion of the implications of allying with white supremacist secession groups such as the League of the South. Here’s an excerpt:
Anyway, Odum has forcefully brought his opinions to bear, as he always does, and in our exchange he challenged me to “disavow any racist associations.” I’m not entirely sure this will count, but I will try:
I think racists and white supremacists are evil. I think one should call them out. I think having such people in leadership positions of an organization like SVR is actively aiding and abetting said evil. There is much on the now-outed SVR mailing list I explicitly disapprove of, particularly the Rothschilds-related conspiracies which are anti-Semitic bullshit warmed over, any threats of violence, embracing capital punishment, misogynist remarks, and so on.
Sure its not exactly a “let’s talk about this” and more of a “there, I did it already” kind of post – but he still has crossed the line. Maybe he’ll light a fuse that could lead into a “clean” secession movement.
Or maybe it’ll just get yanked down (note: the diary is not displayed on the main blog site and – as such – will only be read by a handful in its current form it’s up front now), and maybe ntodd will get tossed into the SVR scrapheap along with the others who have dared question these affiliations (Bill McKibben, Robert Riversong, Dan DeWalt, Frank Bryan). After all, from the very beginning (at least its beginning at this site), the then-cooly and clinically expressed concerns and objections were met with personal attacks and harassment campaigns. One hopes the SVR leadership is capable of learning that such an approach has not helped their cause any.
In any event, Todd (or is it ‘n’?), thanks for stepping up and speaking the truth in what is bound to prove to be an unpopular way o’er yonder. Well done.
It was more “can we please move on” than you probably wanted.
I’m a big Bill McKibben fan, and Robert Riversong is on the Kucinich mailing list (I mostly lurk there, too, but sometimes send campaign spam).
…my positions on healthcare, jobs, marijuana, etc?
http://www.samessenger.com/nod…
…that only about 12 people care about this. You, me, JD, Rowley, Naylor, Williams and about half a dozen others on that listserv. Probably a couple other folks on this site. Okay, 14.
I’m sure they’re pleased over there. I actually dont like to get into this stuff anymore. Too depressing, on many levels. Maybe for a doctoral thesis some day. JD, and off and on Rowley, when he’s active, are a lot more into it (no JD is not Rowley, and for those who know the difference, the more they insist he is, the more inane they look. Of ALL people, why on Earth would JD freakin’ Ryan bother with an online alias??? He relishes this stuff for pity’s sake… I can only assume they cleave to that fantasy – or better yet, the fantasy that it’s me – because they desperately want to believe that there are no more than 2 people in the whole world who object to their associatons. No doubt the only reason they haven’t yet decided Rowley is actually Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center is that it hasn’t occurred to them yet)
But the pattern with these guys clearly suggests they want the confrontation. After the first post way back when when I raised my own objections based on Rowley’s stuff (and at the time, I assumed they would quickly separate themselves from the Klan-types. HA! Was I wrong), the pattern became one of harassing me and my employer at work and online steadily until I popped and hit them again. Here, again, it’s happened, with the inane ongoing crap about me being Rowley. They’re just stalker-y over there. Now that I’ve said something again they will, likely, forget all about JD and Rowley and go back to obsessing on me. It’s…. weird. I really bring out the crazies like no other front pager does. It’s something we’ve discussed behind the scenes from time to time.
I’ve resisted the temptation to take the whole sordid tale to HuffPo, where I have blogging rights, or to try to return to the Guardian, who I haven’t tried to pitch a story to in ages. I suppose that’s the next “pop,” but frankly, I’m not inclined to bother.
Some kinda weird masochist streak over there.
Now if you could just get ’em to put this “J.D. Rowley” thing to rest. So very silly.
No offense, ntodd, but your particular association with SVR (or your opinion of their racist links) strikes me as about as relevant as Hitler’s paintings (the guy did paint, BTW). I don’t understand the point of this post but good, 1 of 1200 SVR supporters have officially questioned their racist BS.
Move along folks.