The Sentinel Blasts the Jaffrey Rally

[Caleb]

This hit piece made the FRONT PAGE of the Keene Sentinel.  Must be a slow news day.  How can hearsay, rumor, and innuendo be worthy of the front page?
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Thursday, August 17, 2006

Jaffrey event sparks concern

Anna Haigh
Sentinel Staff

JAFFREY ? Jaffrey?s first ?Live Free or Die Celebration? is classified as an extremist event by the Anti-Defamation League, but organizers say that listing is a mistake.

?We?ve been doing a little bit of damage control today,? Richard H. Olson, co-organizer of the event, said Wednesday. ?It turned out to be a hornet?s nest when I thought it was going to be a fun event.?

The celebration appears on a national list of events deemed extremist on the Web site of the Anti-Defamation League, a national organization that fights hatred, extremism and terrorism.

The Web site lists the event as a ?demonstration organized by N.H. Council of Conservative Citizens, a racist organization.?

The national Council of Conservative Citizens, based in Missouri, doesn?t list a New Hampshire chapter on its Web site.

Olson said event co-organizer Jean M. Coutu sent the national council a notice about the ?Live Free or Die? event.

?We didn?t realize that (the council) had the connections that it did have,? Olson said.

He said the event was in no way organized by the national Council of Conservative Citizens, and said he and Coutu are asking the Anti-Defamation League to take the ?Live Free or Die Celebration? off its extremist event listing. They?re also asking the Council of Conservative Citizens to take mention of the event off of its Web site.

Robert Trestan, Northeast civil rights counsel with the Anti-Defamation League, said the league posted the event on its list of extremist events because the Council of Conservative Citizens said it was an organizer, and because the Jaffrey celebration?s Web site had a link to the council.
As for an appeal, ?that?s something that they?ll need to take up with the Council of Conservative Citizens,? Trestan said.

?In some ways, what we?re reporting on our Web site is based on information that both of these organizations have posted on their own Web sites.?

Officials from the Council of Conservative Citizens could not be reached for comment today.

The notice that was posted in July on the Council of Conservative Citizens? Web site reads: ?The New Hampshire CofCC is organizing The Live Free Or Die March and Rally, on August 26, in downtown Jaffrey, N.H ... CofCC Members in New Hampshire and New England, and from even further away, for those who are so ambitious, are invited.?

The Anti-Defamation League?s Web site describes the ideology of the Council of Conservative Citizens as ?white supremacy and white separatism.?

The council ?advances its ideology by inflaming fears and resentments, among Southern whites particularly, with regard to black-on-white crime, non-white immigration, attacks on the public display of the Confederate flag, and other issues related to ?traditional? Southern culture,? the Web site said.

In a letter Coutu sent to the Anti-Defamation League, and made public, he wrote: ?I consulted and only consulted several organizations known for large rallies as to keep it within all legal boundaries. The links on our site were to only be to the approved speakers and their (Web sites). Apparently a link was on there that wasn't authorized and was removed. Claims by many groups on Web sites are out of our control.?

But the listing has already prompted one state senator to reconsider speaking at the event.

N.H. Sen. Robert J. Letourneau, R-Derry, was scheduled to speak at the Aug. 26 celebration about the history of the state?s motto.

?If they don?t get off the list, I may reconsider,? he said Wednesday. ?I certainly don?t want to be involved in anything that?s anti-racial in any way, shape or form.?

Other scheduled speakers include N.H. State Rep. John B. Hunt, R-Rindge, Olson, and former Jaffrey state representative H. Charles Royce.

The event will cover issues such as preservation of land around Mount Monadnock, immigration law enforcement, helmet choice advocacy, honesty in local government and eminent domain property protection, organizers say.

Olson also said a link to the national Council of Conservative Citizens that appeared on the event?s Web site on Wednesday had been put up in error.

?The correct link on our Web site should have been ccfile.org,? Olson said, which is four letters different than the site for the conservative citizens council.

?It was just a mistype.?

The ?ccfile? address leads to a Web site for ?Concerned Citizens and Friends of Illegal Immigration and Law Enforcement.?

The immigration Web site includes links to ?help stop illegal aliens from taking American jobs? and ?we don?t need guest workers.?

All details of the Jaffrey celebration had been taken down off the event?s Web site today.

The Anti-Defamation League?s list of extremist events includes gatherings such as an anti-immigration demonstration in Wisconsin organized by a neo-Nazi group, a convention in California organized by a tax-protest group and a southern festival in Tennessee organized by a neo-Confederate group.

Olson said he Coutu are now working to spread the message that hate groups are not welcome at the celebration.

He said anyone with literature, clothing, signs or speech that is found to be anti-Semitic, or in support of white supremacy or racist views, will be asked to leave.

Anna Haigh can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1434, or ahaigh@keenesentinel.com.

[citizen_142002]

It might not have been a bad thing that they put this on the front page. I looked at the CofCC website and they do look pretty racist. They say nothing blatant that I found, but the inuendo is so thick you could taste it. Wikipedia's write up say's they can be traced straight back to anti integration organizations in the south.
It's a bummer if they high-jacked "Live Free or Die" for that cause. The event is mentioned on the CofCC website. Is this whole thing sponsored by Council of Conservative Citizens?

Originally I thought this was a spin job by a lefty reporter, but sadly it looks like an accurate reporting job.

[KBCraig]

I don't know anything about the NH CofCC. But nationally, "CCC" has always been a thinly disguised way of saying "KKK" without really saying it. It is a nominally more polite face dedicated to the same goal. Think of it as CCC:KKK = Sinn F?in:IRA.

There has also been the not-so-cutesy way of expressing the same sentiment, by sneaking in the letters. Cass, County, Texas is just to my south; years ago, they had a "welcome" sign up at the county line, sponsored by "Kass Kounty Kountry Klub".

Kevin

[citizen_142002]

I just want to know if CCC is really a sponsor, because if it is I'm pissed and I think some nasty letter writing and demonstration are in order. "Live Free or Die" represents all that is good to me, NH, Libertarianism, and Reason. I will not have that sacred sentiment twisted or defiled by a bunch of southern bigots.
Before I steam too much is this a misunderstanding or the fault of the ADL or is CCC really the sponsor. The CCC's website say that it's their event.

[Fluff and Stuff]

I don't know anything about the NH CofCC. But nationally, "CCC" has always been a thinly disguised way of saying "KKK" without really saying it. It is a nominally more polite face dedicated to the same goal. Think of it as CCC:KKK = Sinn F?in:IRA.

There has also been the not-so-cutesy way of expressing the same sentiment, by sneaking in the letters. Cass, County, Texas is just to my south; years ago, they had a "welcome" sign up at the county line, sponsored by "Kass Kounty Kountry Klub".

Kevin

But is the IRA a bad group?  Also, thanks for informing me.  Sure, I live near where the KKK was created but I really know little about the modern KKK because it just doesn't exist around these parts.

[Dreepa]

It was in the Concord Monitor as well.

The event is not sponsored by the CCC.
Mike Lorrey called the guy who is running it (as did CNHT) and posted an explantion in the NH discuss list.

[citizen_142002]

Fuck the ADL. I take back what I said. I sent a message to the ADL already and I'm going to contact Anna Haigh. I told the ADL that their listing bordered on libel. The CCC is going to hear from me to, pricks.

[KBCraig]

"Live Free or Die" represents all that is good to me, NH, Libertarianism, and Reason. I will not have that sacred sentiment twisted or defiled by a bunch of southern bigots.

Speaking of bigotry, please be careful how you throw around "southern". 

I know that just about everything is "southern" to NH, geographically speaking. But the CCC is based in St. Louis, which is not southern in any cultural or political sense.

I didn't encounter any sense of racial bigotry in NH, which is good. But, my years of experience have taught me that you're more likely to encounter bitter racial hatred in Philadelphia than in Memphis.

Kevin

[Kat Kanning]

All I know is that the guy who organized the rally was real supportive of Russell.  I'll be there.

[Caleb]

Yep, Nick, I'm writing a letter to the editor.  This was nothing but defamatory libel posing as news. 

The article itself points out the fact that the CCC is not affiliated with these people.  So if that's the case, why print an article entitled "Jaffrey event sparks concern"  The only "concern" was that the ADL mistakenly connected this event to a racist group because the racist group linked to it on its website. 

So if the KKK decided to link to the FSP, would that make us a racist group?  You can't control who links to you.

[citizen_142002]

Well most of them are from the south, so that's why I said southern. It's not like they're New Hampshire's own racists. But I will carefully mark my use of the word southern. FYI I hold nothing against the Confederacy, except the slavery thing, but then the US enshrined slavery in the constitution and the states of the confederacy were part of the US for almost eighty years. Is the US flag offesive because the US was once a slave holding nation?
The Sentinel supposedly ran a slightly more corrective article about the rally today. I talked to the organizer and I guess he and some friends picketed in front of the Sentinel building.

[KBCraig]

Well most of them are from the south, so that's why I said southern.

Most of whom? CofCC? Jaffrey rally organizers? Bigots?

If you mean that most of "them" (bigots) are from the South, then I repeat my suggestion that your own bigotry is showing. Very inaccurate bigotry, I might add, having lived with and worked with people from all throughout the U.S.

It's not like they're New Hampshire's own racists.

Who are "they", whose racists are they, and what evidence do you have that they're racists at all?

Once you start slinging that "R word", you have to be careful who gets splattered.

I've followed the debate about the Jaffrey rally, versus the CofCC claim that it's their rally. I'd like to know the truth of that.

In the meantime, I beg you to stop slinging about such imprecise terms as "racists", "them", "southern", "most of them", etc.

But I will carefully mark my use of the word southern. FYI I hold nothing against the Confederacy, except the slavery thing, but then the US enshrined slavery in the constitution and the states of the confederacy were part of the US for almost eighty years. Is the US flag offesive because the US was once a slave holding nation?

As a Southerner who also strongly objects to slavery in any form, and as a student of history, I assure you that we agree on this. The so-called "Emmancipation Proclamation" didn't free a single slave in the Union (where Lincoln was President), only those in the conquered Confederacy (where he was not).

The Sentinel supposedly ran a slightly more corrective article about the rally today. I talked to the organizer and I guess he and some friends picketed in front of the Sentinel building.

Good for them, and thank you for bringing this up. You and I are not enemies; I'm just cautioning you about stereotypes (which are the root of racism and bigotry). It's very important to use precise language on divisive issues, lest we offend potential allies.

Kevin

[KBCraig]

Follow up: Union Leader article (note that it includes a Keene Free Press link!  )

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NH_RALLY_BLUNDER_NHOL-?SITE=NHMAL&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Aug 18, 6:01 PM EDT

N.H. motto rally organizers say white pride connection is mistake

JAFFREY, N.H. (AP) -- A rally to celebrate New Hampshire's state motto ended up on a watch list of extremist events after it was promoted by a national white supremacist group.

Organizers of the Aug. 26 "Live Free or Die Celebration" describe the rally as a nonpolitically aligned, citizen sponsored event to discuss the motto's history along with state issues including eminent domain, immigration and land preservation. But the Anti-Defamation League called it an "extremist event" on its Internet watch list after seeing the rally listed on the Council of Conservative Citizens' Web site.

Organizer Jean Coutu, 48, of Jaffrey, said Friday he asked the council for help because of its experience organizing rallies and outdoor events, and agreed to the council's request to list the rally on its Web site "strictly with the understanding that it was a nonaligned event."

Coutu said though he supports the council's views on immigration, he does not subscribe to its pro-white stance, which is described on the Web site as a belief that "the American people and government should remain European in their composition and character."
   
"The Live Free or Die celebration is in no way shape or form white supremacist," Coutu said. "This was put on by a group of very nice people."

Meanwhile, fellow organizer Richard Olson said he was spreading the word that hate groups will not be welcome at the event. He said anyone with literature, signs, or clothing promoting racist views would be asked to leave the rally.

Organizers said the rally would go on, despite cancellations from two scheduled speakers. Former Republican U.S. Rep and state Supreme Court Chuck Douglas former state Rep. Charles Royce, R-Jaffrey, both dropped out of the rally. State Sen. Robert Letourneau, R-Derry, who had agreed to speak about the history of the state motto, also said he will consider canceling if the rally stays on the Anti-Defamation League's list.

[Kat Kanning]

Cool.  They had the link wrong, so I just put a flyer at their address.

[Dave Ridley]

Everyone is so uptight about racist groups....  But how much courage does it take to be against groups that are so unpopular...