Civil rights Web site to fight cyberhate
November 24, 1997 Web posted at: 6:01 p.m. EST (2301 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Responding to President Clinton's call to fight hate crime, the nation's largest civil rights coalition and a regional Bell telephone company have created a Web site designed to combat Internet hate speech.
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights said Monday the site -- www.civilrights.org -- was developed and will be maintained for two years with a $100,000 contribution from Bell Atlantic.
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Wade Henderson, LCCR executive director, said the idea to create a Web site was triggered by a proliferation of Internet hate speech by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and White Aryan Resistance.
...and some cypherpunks?
Bell Atlantic chairman Ray Smith cited a study by the Anti-Defamation League showing the number of hate sites on the Internet has doubled to 250 in the past year. He called the new site "an antidote for poison."
The idea is to "counter the frightening espousal of hatred and violence against Americans because of their race, gender, religious or sexual orientation," he said.
Not to mention nationality. "You go, chop chop," says Tim May, making fun of someone apparently from Japan.
Henderson said hate groups have become more sophisticated in communicating their doctrines and recruiting. "Instead of the street, they recruit on the net," he explained.
There is also concern for the First Amendment protection of free speech, Henderson said. "This Web site will respond to hate with information and competing ideas without seeking to restrict Internet speech."
In addition to providing information on hate crimes around the country, the site will explain various strategies to address those crimes and offer materials for young people, parents and teachers to encourage diversity.
Cypherpunks other than May, Geiger, and the despicable Vulis will welcome a new civil rights effort which is built around respect for freedom of speech. Cypherpunk technologies will be a major force to eliminate racism. With privacy protected transactions, the color of a person's skin, his religion and his ethnicity are no longer apparent. People will be able to succeed on merit - and not the "good old boys" definition of merit, where somehow only white males seem to have what it takes. Cypherpunks need to build bridges to minority communities, to show them how these technologies can advance their cause. Racist comments by supposedly respected list members are harmful and must be countered in order to show that these views do not reflect the feelings of most cypherpunks.