Wednesday, January 12, 2011

UPDATED: Topeka Hate Group Skipping Tucson Entirely, Publicity Ransom Paid

Posted By on Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 9:55 AM

First of all, I've tried really hard not to give the famous Topeka group of hateful morons any press online on our site. Sure, every other media outlet in town has jumped on every update, whether they're coming or not coming, giving those idiots another mention, another batch of hits on their website, and we just don't want to participate here at the Weekly.

We're cheered by the groups that have organized to try to block their presence and we were happy to post that the Arizona Legislature passed a bill to keep them at least three hundred feet away from funerals. Still, looking at my own Facebook feed, everyone wants to know if they're coming and where, so we want to keep people informed. It's a icky balance.

Why anyone agreed to give them airtime, I have no idea, but radio stations in Phoenix and Toronto have agreed to give them an opportunity to spread their hateful, ridiculous views in exchange to keep them away from Christina Green's memorial service tomorrow. Possibly not a great idea to set concessions with the group as an example, but that's not my call.

UPDATE: Conservative radio host Mike Gallagher is giving the hatemongers a nationally syndicated audience, so they've announced they're not coming at all, although I'm not sure they ever were to begin with which makes me wonder what they'll get from the media the next time something ugly happens and they make the same threat, but whatever. As far as I can tell, Gallagher's not on the air in Tucson, so that's just as well.

The bad news is that they're still coming on Friday to protest Judge John Roll's funeral, picket the Safeway at Ina and Oracle, and for some reason, Tucson High. So, there you go: if you want to make things difficult for them, that's where to go. Just be as nice as possible. They want to drag people into their depths of hell, fueled by hate. Don't give in to what they want.

What we won't be doing at the Weekly: mentioning the group's name again, sending a photographer to any of their events, or covering their protests in any way. It's not news. They have absolutely nothing of value to say. Period.

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