Diagnosis: Hate Group

Philip Rodney Moon

On Thursday Night the groups Chicanos y Latinos Unidos (CLU) and Michigan Equality came together to present an event titled “Diagnosis: Hate Group”. The event was a Speech and Powerpoint presentation by Todd Heywood, a journalist for the newspaper Between the Lines and Michigan Messenger.com. Heywood is also a blogger for YAF Watch, a blog that has tracked the activities of YAF.

Heywood gave evidence from interviews, internal documents from YAF and MSU, screenshots from YAF’s web activity, and reporting from events to make the case for YAF being a hate group.

Heywood gave the list of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s standards for a hate group. He said YAF met 6 of the 8 standards to being a hate group.

“What I’m about to reveal to you is racist, is sexist, is homophobic…it’s pretty vile,” Heywood said, “In order for you to understand what this group has done and what it stands for, you have to really understand what they’re saying.”

Heywood presented Kyle Bristow’s agenda from his election campaign to ASMSU. Among the campaign items were eliminating funding for all non-heterosexual organization, eliminating minority representation, allow a Christian organization, create a council for white students and create representation, creating a man’s council, removing Planned Parenthood from Grand River Ave., and hunting down illegal immigrants in the Lansing area.

Heywood discussed Kyle Bristow’s actions in the “Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day,’ as well as the origins of the event.

“Morgan Wilkin was an intern for the Republican National Committee,” Heywood said. “She dreamt up Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day, as well as another game called Fun with Guns. Fun with Guns was about taking pictures of well known Democratic leaders and shooting them. She was condemned and fired by the Republican National Party. Howard Dean from the Democratic National Committee condemned her for this. Kyle Bristow condemned Mehlman from the Republican National Committee and Howard Dean for condemning Morgan Wilkins.”

http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2006/09/republican_chairman_is

Heywood went on to attack the MSU administration for its lack of response to issues surrounding the Chris Simcox event.  An e-mail was sent to an unidentified student activist showing a dead immigrant.

“MSU has refused to release the photo,” Heywood said. “I’ve heard descriptions of the photo, that it was a bloody dead male in the desert. What did MSU do about this?... Nothing.”

Heywood also had an e-mail on April 19th from MSU administrators about a phone call from a Minuteman member who warned the university that Chris Simcox would bring violence at his event. Terry Denbow, the vice President of University Relations, did not return the phone call of the Minuteman until the next day.

Heywood also presented some of Bristow’s own rhetoric.  He quoted a post of Kyle Bristow on Facebook.

“"If Christopher Columbus didn't bring civilization to America, the Indians would still be running through the forests in loincloths, scalping each other, shoving bones through their noses, worshipping pagan gods, doing human sacrifices to their "sun god," using human skulls as bowls, and spreading syphilis,” Bristow was quoted as saying on March 31, 2007. “Thank God Christopher Columbus put an end to this backward culture. Viva Christopher Columbus!”

YAF’s anti-gay rhetoric was also examined. Heywood presented a video titled “The Bible Says” by Donnie Davies. The chorus of the video is “God Hates a Fag”. Kyle Bristow was shocked to learn that the video is believed to be a hoax, set up to make fun of anti-gay Christians.

Heywood said Bristow also seemed to be afraid of gays having AIDS. At the Mark Krikorian event Heywood went up to shake Krikorian’s hand while introducing himself. When he offered the same to Kyle, said he didn’t want to get AIDS. Krikorian was apparently shocked at Kyle’s statement.

“It’s interesting that even the bigots have a problem with that,” Heywood said.

Heywood also took on Bristow’s accusation that Heywood had sex in public bathrooms.

“Kyle seems to think my sex life revolves around having sex in public bathrooms,” Heywood said. “Which is interesting because he is giving me more sexual credit than I think I deserve. Not least of which because you’re talking with a guy who has trouble having sex in a dark room. Kyle loves to posts lots and lots of things about me having sex in bathrooms. He begins to raise questions in my mind as to whether or not he might be sexually obsessed with me.”

Heywood finished his speech with a final warning: that the people at YAF and the Leadership Institute that supports them believe those who believe in diversity are destroying the world.

“Idealist convinced that destroying the world as it was would create a new heaven on Earth,” was a quote from the Leadership Institute Heywood used.