Yep, brace yourself. Friday’s topic at the Pacifica Forum is “Thinking Through Sexuality: Everything You Thought You Knew About Homosexuality Is Wrong.” I’ll have some more details soon, but for now just savor the thought of the Pacifica Forum debating sexuality.

In today’s ODE opinion page there is a guest opinion by none other than crazy ol’ George Beres. He is a former member of the Pacifica Forum and firmly believes that we’ve all been brainwashed by an insidious “shadow government.” As you might imagine, his opinions on the Israel/Palestine conflict are nothing short of comedy gold:

College campuses nationwide have become the hottest battleground over the question of freedom of speech. That once would have seemed unlikely because free expression on all issues is a basic precept of higher education […]

Nothing has been more hotly contested than the policies of the new state of Israel in Palestine. I’ve found it raises a broader question: Can this subject even be discussed? Zionists and Israel sympathizers have said no and silenced such dialogue at some schools, threatening it at the University.

I’ve seen evidence of it – personal experience that suggests a growing pervasiveness of those willing to halt speech to stop such criticism.

Ah, yes. The Zionist entity suppressing free speech. That must be why students at San Francisco State University are calling for the SFSU College Republicans to be punished after they held an anti-Hamas rally.

I was in the Knight Library today looking for some research material and I discovered, stuffed in between books about Hitler and the Holocaust, dozens of copies of “David Irving’s Action Report” and issues of “American Free Press“. David Irving is, of course, a notorious Holocaust denier who was brought to campus by the lovely people at the Pacifica Forum last year. The “American Free Press” is a publication descended from conspiracy-minded periodical “The Spotlight“, which has ceased publication since 2001. Both papers are associated with noted anti-Semite and David Duke associate Willis Carto.

Sadly, the addressee of the issue of the American Free Press had the forethought to tear off the address label before distributing this garbage. The only good thing about finding this crap is that the AFP issue is dated from 2006 and the “Action Report” was published in 1998. Since it seems fairly unlikely that dozens of copies of Holocaust denial literature printed on bright yellow paper stuffed in between books across an entire section in the library have been totally overlooked by library staff for the last decade, I suppose we can rest assured that Eugene’s neo-Nazi scum aren’t spending a lot of time keeping up-to-date with their own “literature”.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has a delightful little write-up of my old friends from the Pacifica Forum. There’s not any new information, but there are some funny quotes. To wit:

Anelauskas declined a request for an interview. “I hope that one day you will end up, as the communist KGB did, in the dustbin of history,” he E-mailed the Intelligence Report.

Over at the always-excellent Harry’s Place, I ran across this thought provoking piece about modern anti-Semitism which I thought was particularly illuminating, given this University’s continuing controversies surrounding the Pacifica Forum and certain of their guest lecturers.

The author, Anthony Julius, makes explicit a crucial distinction that I think has long been missing from the debate over anti-Zionism/anti-Semitism, that of the “fellow traveler”. The out-and-out anti-Semite is usually not difficult to spot. These are the David Irvings and Hassan Nasrallahs of the world. Their distaste for Jews is barely concealed, if at all.

The “fellow travelers”, on the other hand, are like their counterparts who rooted for the Soviet Union (and the author makes clear that the comparison is deliberate) in that they dissemble and downplay actual instances of anti-Semitism, often unconsciously. Sometimes, as in the case of Palestinian terrorism, anti-Semitic acts are explicitly justified as being appropriate (or even automatic) responses to “oppression” at the hands of Zionists (read: Jews). In many cases, however, the very same people would find, say, the vandalizing of a synagogue here in Eugene appalling. As with the Soviet Union’s fellow travelers, a distinction is draw between what is considered normal and acceptable elsewhere and what is intolerable at home.

The article is especially timely, as the Register Guard has, within the last week, published letters like this one today (July 8) by George Beres (you might have to scroll down… the RG’s letter’s page doesn’t allow linking to specific letters) and this one on July 5 by Valdas Anelauskas, who should already be familiar with readers of the Commentator for his comments regarding a piece written by former Oregon Daily Emerald columnist Deborah Bloom:

Even if the author’s name wasn’t Deborah Bloom, after reading your opinion piece in the Emerald (Feb. 7) there is no doubt that it was written by someone who is Jewish. Because only from people of that peculiar tribe can we expect such Talmudic hatred for humanity. There is even a famous saying that wars are the Jews’ harvest.

In any case, the piece is rather long (11 pages + 9 pages of footnotes), so I won’t attempt to summarize it any further; it really does merit reading all the way through. Julius’ recognition of the “fellow traveler” is, I think, an important and useful addition to the lexicon of the debate.

[UPDATE]

Here’s a fine (if somewhat nauseating) example of the “fellow traveler” phenomenon, though it’s not really so much about anti-Semitic themes as an apologia for Islamic fundamentalism from a hardcore Marxian perspective. (Also via Harry’s Place)

The weekend before finals week isn’t exactly brimming with tantalizing news from the U of O, but here’s a few links to keep you busy:

• Activists will be protesting David Irving’s speech tomorrow. Check out the bottom of the story for a couple good quotes from our friend Dawn Coslow (DC).
• Mesaret Defar failed to set a world record in the 5K today at the Prefontaine Classic; Eugene girl Kara Goucher came in third.
• The Portland Mercury has a hilarious profile on the Pink Pistols – an LGBTQ gun club. These must be the bitter gun nuts Obama was talking about. Noted for possibly the best lede ever:

“Most gun clubs are for men who like John Wayne or Charlton Heston. They’re for the pussy, football, and beer crowd,” says Pink Pistols member Steve Gilbert, as we’re taking a break from shooting on a sunny Saturday afternoon. “The difference is, we’re more for the dick, shopping, and champagne crowd.”

P.S. I disabled comments for this post because it mentions David Irving, and we don’t want those people to come back.

On Monday, June 9 at seven p.m. in the EMU Walnut Room the Pacifica Forum will host David Irving. Yes, that David Irving. Way to stay classy, guys. Irving’s topic du jour will be “Political Imprisonment in Modern Europe.” Irving has some first-hand experience on the issue; he was convicted of Holocaust denial in Austria in 2006. I’m excited about this opportunity to see a world class, professional asshat in person.

Update: Not so shockingly, this post got linked to over at Stormfront. I’ve locked the comment thread. Now resuming our regular, ZOG-approved content (sarcasm, by the way).

On Friday, the Pacifica Forum met to discuss President Frohnmayer’s recent letter denouncing the forum and one of its more notable members, Valdas Anelauskas. PF founder Orval Etter drafted a letter to Frohnmayer, telling him to “get over it.” There was also talk of bringing “revisionist historian” Mark Weber back to campus on May 16. Finally, today’s ODE has a good write-up of the meeting. I’ll address all of this after the jump, in case you’re getting sick of reading about the Pacifica Forum. (more…)

As I previously wrote, President Frohnmayer recently issued a letter where he addressed, as he called it, the “gutter bigotry” of the Pacifica Forum. Here’s the full text pertaining to the PF:

In moving forward, there will always be a diversity of opinion about our approaches to equity by constituencies both on and off our campus. Our efforts benefit from continued open and honest engagement in these differing perspectives. Yet, even as we talk about our different perspectives, we must remain committed to advancing these efforts.

Even as we make notable progress, there have been challenges to the inclusiveness of the community we attempt to create here. Just last term, a student writer for the Oregon Daily Emerald was the subject of a viciously personal anti-Semitic posting for expressing her journalistic views on American foreign policy. In another incident, a group meeting on campus, in an unabashedly racist manner, mocked efforts by others to honor contributions by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And, finally, larger issues of First Amendment freedom of expression were raised once again by the Pacifica Forum, an outside group that holds its meetings from time to time on campus, and which hosted as a speaker the person who targeted the Emerald writer. (more…)

President Frohnmayer recently issued a letter denouncing the Pacifica Forum for its sometimes “unabashedly racist” content. The letter came at the urging of the community board of Oregon Hillel, a Jewish student group on campus; they were prompted to action by a disturbing, anti-semitic screed written by PF regular Valdas Anelauskas attacking ODE columnist Deborah Bloom.

While Frohnmayer spent plenty of time denouncing the forum, he was careful not to call for their outright banishment from campus. From the Register-Guard article:

Frohnmayer said in his letter that groups such as the Pacifica Forum may use UO facilities but do not speak for the university. The appearance of any speaker on campus does not imply the UO’s “endorsement, support, or even its moral indifference to the content of a message,” he wrote.

(more…)

As promised, the Pacifica Forum revisited the topic of Martin Luther King, Jr. yesterday, the anniversary of his assassination. However, unlike last time, when a PF speaker called King a “moral leper and communist dupe“, this week’s lecture focused on the “right-wing, corporate, militarist conspiracy that targeted King in 1968 and that still controls our country and its policies with its propaganda today.”

Longtime Pacifica Forum member George Beres claimed that King’s assassination, as well as the Kennedy’s, were orchestrated by a powerful “shadow government.” Not only that, but he claimed the populace at large has been brainwashed by said shadow government’s subtle and insidious propaganda (perpetuated by a complicit mass media, of course). You should probably pop a couple of Valium before you (more…)

On Friday, the Pacifica Forum met to continue it’s discussion, “Pacifica Forum: Attacks on and in.” The meeting addressed media coverage of the forum, as well its recent controversial lecture on Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, the forum never got around to answering my question as to why it had allowed itself to be overrun by complete assholes, but there was plenty of other fodder for discussion.

After an introduction by PF founder Orval Etter, Michael Williams, a member of the Community Alliance of Lane County’s Anti-Hate Task Force, addressed the forum with the following written statement:

One reason for the persistent criticism of the Pacifica Forum is that the forum has provided an approving and affirming environment for the expression of bigotry and hatred aimed first at Jews and now at African-Americans.

[…]

These diseased expressions of bigotry and hatred find a safe harbor in Pacifica Forum. Instead of correction and healing, this sickness is given encouragement and support; hatred is legitimized. This is what the community sees when it looks this way, this is what journalists hear when they accept the invitation to come and listen. This is why Pacifica Forum has developed such an unsavory reputation.

I invite you to consider whether racism and anti-Semitism are qualities you want to encourage, are attributes you want associated with your forum and your name. Because this is not the doing of a plotting media – you are doing this to yourselves by your silence, by your approval, by your applause. (more…)

The Eugene Weekly ran an article today on the Pacifica Forum, covering much of what I wrote about yesterday. However, here’s a nice tidbit I hadn’t heard yet:

[Michael] Williams, who has been monitoring Pacifica Forum meetings since 2003 on behalf of the Community Alliance of Lane County’s (CALC) Anti-Hate Task Force, distributed a leaflet including a comment Pacifica Forum regular Valdas Anelauskas made on the Oregon Daily Emerald website and his critique thereof. Anelauskas’ comment, in response to columnist Deborah Bloom expressing support for the Iraq War, argued that the war was only being fought for the security of Israel and included statements such as, “Even if the author’s name wasn’t Deborah Bloom, after reading your opinion piece in the Emerald (Feb. 7) there is no doubt that it was written by someone who is Jewish. Because only from people of that peculiar tribe can we expect such Talmudic hatred for humanity. There is even a famous saying that wars are the Jews’ harvest. And today it is truer than ever.”

Eva Sylwester, who wrote the article, has her ongoing coverage of the forum archived here.

This Friday, 4 p.m. in the Walnut Room of the EMU, the Pacifica Forum will be meeting to address recent OC coverage of the group.

According to several emails I received, Editor-in-Chief of the Eugene Weekly Ted Taylor sent Orval Etter, the founder and organizer of the Pacifica Forum, an email on Feb. 18 asking him to confirm several details from my story. On Feb. 27, Etter announced that the forum topic of that week was being changed to “Pacifica Forum: Attacks on and in.” (The Pacifica Forum’s immediate reaction when questioned or criticized for its often deplorable content is to claim it’s being attacked).

That Friday, Feb. 29, Jimmy Marr, the delightful fellow who previously called Martin Luther King, Jr. a “moral leper and communist dupe,” read the email from Taylor aloud to the forum. In it, Taylor asked Etter to comment on my question as to why the forum had allowed itself to, as I wrote, “be overrun by complete assholes.” Etter reportedly said this would addressed at the next meeting (March 7).

I will be there, of course, recorder in hand, dutifully capturing all the wackiness. To catch up on the Pacifica Forum, start here. Also, contributing writer to the Eugene Weekly Eva Sylwester has her coverage of the forum archived.

As I previously reported, the Pacifica Forum held a discussion on Friday titled “Martin Luther King: Communist?” Given the forum’s recent move towards white nationalist conspiracy-mongering, I predicted it would be a smear of the esteemed civil rights leader. Sadly, I was right. Jimmy Marr, a Pacifica Forum regular, opened his lecture, “Martin Luther King: The Man Behind the Media Mask”, thusly:

Look at your calendar. The founder of this country, George Washington does not have a federal holiday in his honor. Thomas Jefferson doesn’t. Abraham Lincoln doesn’t. Neil Armstrong […] doesn’t. What did King accomplish to merit or deserve to be honored above George Washington? Yet every year in January Americans endure the same propaganda blitz when the media go into a kind of almost spastic frenzy of adulation for this so-called Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King.

[…]

But the truth is that he was everything but that and certainly no hero that any American should look up to. To start with, even his name is a fraud.

And he’s just getting started, folks! (more…)