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 Off the Record

remember me as loving you

By Diogenes (articles ) | March 17, 2007 1:48 PM

Via James Taranto: the gospel of inclusivity summons its bouncer to pitch out insubordinate obstacles to a hate-free community.

A group devoted to social tolerance has been accused of being intolerant. The finger-pointing came after an altercation occurred at a meeting for the Fremont Alliance for a Hate-Free Community, where a discussion about hate crimes deteriorated into an ugly incident, witnesses said.

While trying to eject 71-year-old Barbara Marques from the monthly gathering Monday, the Rev. Garnet McClure grabbed and shook the chair in which Marques was sitting, attendee Sharon Giottonini said.

McClure, a female pastor at Fremont Congregational Church, reacted after Marques said the 2002 slaying of transgender teen Gwen Araujo might not be a hate crime, several witnesses said.

A scuffle ensued and McClure continued to pull on Marques' chair, said Giottonini, a member of the alliance and the East Bay Coalition for Border Security, a Fremont anti-illegal-immigration group.

Serves her right. If Grandma Marques finds motives other than hatred for crimes strangers have committed against The Brethren, she can only be filled with hate herself, and there's clearly no place for such a person in a welcoming fellowship of open, tolerant, and caring individuals. Give her the hook.

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  • Posted by: - Mar. 19, 2007 11:16 AM ET USA

    In the fifties, the mear whisper that one might "have communist sympathies" was enough. Today the term is "intolerance." Left or right, you can always gain power by making everyone fear the accusation of being one of "them."

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