The culture of hate emanating from the Northwest corner of Washington state has a well-documented history. Nourished by the religious bigotry centered in the town of Lynden, and inflamed by the Anti-Indian racism in the city of Ferndale, the politics of fear ripples out into the neighboring communities of Bellingham and Blaine.
At the heart of this politics of fear is the Tea Party, now disguising itself under the alias Common Threads Northwest. And while liberals in the city of Bellingham decry the entrenched homophobia, xenophobia and racism generated by the Tea Party network, they have themselves adopted a culture of complacency and cowardice.
This complacency and cowardice, combined with the corruption of media, has allowed the culture of hate to not only survive, but to prosper. Allied with industries such as fossil fuel exporters, the Tea Party flies under the radar, aided and abetted by local media that is on the take in exchange for covering up corporate crime.
Salish Sea Maritime 