It was more a brushfire than a firestorm when the Southern Poverty Law Center chose to place potential GOP presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson on its ‘extremist watch list”. Any outrage was muted by the blinders-on approach most major media takes to anything that would amount to any criticism of the SPLC.

There was enough blowback from the decision to lump Dr. Carson into a group of those on the “hate watch” portion of its website to generate reconsideration at the SPLC headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama.

Here is how the SPLC defines “hate groups” on its website) “Currently, there are 939 known hate groups operating across the country, including neo-Nazis, Klansmen, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, black separatists, border vigilantes and others.”

“Others”.  Fairly broad there, lots of latitude. Ben Carson was, briefly, an “other”.

Dr. Carson’s ‘extremist’ view and ‘hate’ crime? Saying that “Marriage is between a man and a woman; It’s a well-established pillar of society.” The SPLC considers anyone who says anything negative about gay “rights” or same-sex marriage to be an extremist who spews anti-gay hatred.

The SPLC backed down within a couple of days. It has now withdrawn Dr. Carson’s name from its list of known haters and apologized, sort of, issuing a statement that read in part: “We’ve also come to the conclusion that the question of whether a better-researched profile of Dr. Carson should or should not be included in our “Extremist Files” is taking attention from the fact that Dr. Carson has, in fact, made a number of statements that express views that we believe most people would conclude are extreme.”

Actually it’s the withdrawal and apology that are more troublesome and problematic that placing Dr. Carson on the list in the first place.

“(V)iews that we believe most people would conclude are extreme.” Most people? So if “most people” would conclude something to be extreme then they would qualify for “hate watch.”

Well, considering that the current polls show “most people” find abortion to be extreme, then the SPLC better get to work.  They have lots of names to add to their list of haters. Not the least of which is the current President of the United States.

Add to that, this. “Most people.”  In other words the SPLC claims that the views and opinions of a minority are extremist.  Let that sink in for a moment.

The SPLC’s hyperpartisan ‘hate’ group list is backed and accepted by mainstream media as the authority view on the definition of hate and the determination of who practices it in the United States.  Once more that would mean the majority of Americans view the SPLC to be extreme in its views.  I should check to see if the SPLC’s headquarters are made of glass.