Aberdeen’s New Americans Task Force—the well-known folks actually discussing practical solutions to help Aberdeen welcome and integrate immigrant workers and their families, not to be confused with the “Americans First, Task Force“, the anonymous hate group plugging Aberdeen into the feckless rantings of the anti-Muslim speaking circuit—briefly discussed the August 11 anti-immigration propaganda session led by itinerant St. Cloud car salesman (and hence immigration and religion expert?) Ron Branstner. New Americans Task Force members say the 160 or so Aberdonians in the audience were misinformed in more ways than one:
Jody Zueger, with Housing Authority, said people felt misled about the lecture.
“They were looking for information instead of a blast of negativity,” Zueger said about the folks she’s talked to.
“It was a lot of misguidance based on fear,” said Jay Hill, with Molded Fiber Glass, who attended Branstner’s talk [Kelda J.L. Pharris, “New American Task Force Members Discuss Branstner Immigration Lecture,” Aberdeen American News, 2016.08.26].
Employers take umbrage at the anti-immigration lecturer’s fear-mongering:
Hill said he was most disgusted by a statement Branstner made about not letting children play with immigrant kids because they carry parasites.
“The people that employ people here were very angry,” Hill said, referring to MFG and other employers with a large refugee or immigrant populations on staff [Pharris, 2016.08.26].
Although the anonymous hate group handed out contact sheets that highlighted Lutheran Social Services, none of the August 11 attendees have been moved to contact LSS to learn more about its efforts to resettle refugees in South Dakota:
Liesl Hovel’s employer, Lutheran Social Services, was named by Branstner. Hovel said Lutheran Social Services never received any phone calls or communication after the lecture [Pharris, 2016.08.26].
True Branstnerites may contend that Hovel was probably ordered by the United Nations not to give dissenters any press. It is more likely that, for all their voluble fury, the folks who attend these Two-Hour Hates are all taking Kristi Noem’s t-shirt to heart: rather than contact Lutheran Social Services or participate in the New Americans Task Force and risk having their narrow, fearful, and misinformed worldviews challenged by plain fact, these angry folks would rather sit there in their wrongness, insulated by Branstner and Breitbart, and be grouchily, self-satisfiedly wrong.
Can you video a New Americans Task Force meeting? Thursdays at 10AM don’t work for far too many people to attend.
It is not surprising that LSS hasn’t heard from any one on this. Hate groups thrive in the dark spaces in society and in mobs. They don’t want to be confronted with facts or confronted about their hateful views on their own.
LibD, if I’m not subbing, I may make my way over there. However, you’ll probably find it more boring than Ron’s video, since the NATF is just working.
Darin, I agree: the hate group doesn’t dare come out in the open except in their own controlled forum where they can shout and rage unchallenged by fact and unshamed by community decency. Watch: they’ll probably make their next big event secret, or ban media from the event so they can control the stories about what is said there.