[lbo-talk] Berlet on Democracy Now

[David Green]

Here is a quote from Berlet regarding Daniel Pipes. When it comes to Pipes, 
Berlet backs off from the kind of criticism that he customarily offers in 
relation to "hate groups." Instead, he tempers his criticism with praise for 
Pipes as a scholar (of conspiracism). It's clear that Berlet does not understand 
that with someone like Pipes, studying "studying apocalypti­c demonizati­on and 
conspiraci­sm" is integral to his hatred for Muslims:

"Well, I think the point is to be critical of Pipes, without stooping to smear 
tactics and stereotypi­ng. I have worked with Pipes on studying apocalypti­c 
demonizati­on and conspiraci­sm, and know that he is capable of some very fine 
scholarshi­p. I talk about how "countersu­bversion" mania carries some people 
away in my longer article on "Almontase­r and earlier withhunts" mentioned in my 
blog post above."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chip-berlet/liebermans-muslim-bashing_b_101074.html

Again, I think that the unwillingness of Berlet to look clearly at more 
"respectable" haters is integral to his lack of a serious analysis of economics, 
politics, the state, violence, and the uses of "hatred." He is selective in his 
approach, and there are systematic ideological blinders inherent in this 
selectiveness.

David Green