Laird M. Wilcox - Revision history

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	[[Image:LairdWilcox.png\|right\|thumb\|300px\|Laird Wilcox]]		[[Image:LairdWilcox.png\|right\|thumb\|300px\|Laird Wilcox]]
	'''Laird Maurice Wilcox''' (born November 28, 1942 in San Francisco, California) is an American researcher specializing in the study of political fringe movements. He is the founder of the "Wilcox Collection on Contemporary Political Movements,"<ref>[http://www.voluntaryist.com/articles/027a.php Voluntaryist] article ''What Is Political "Extremism"?'' by Laird Wilcox From Issue 27 - Aug. 1987</ref> said to be one of the largest collections of American political material in the United States. It is housed in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the [[University of Kansas]].<ref name=freespeech>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/wilcox/ Free Speech and the Wilcox Collection: Forty Years of Collecting Political Documents] Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, [[University of Kansas]].</ref> Wilcox worked as carpenter, investigator and writer while living in [[Olathe, Kansas]].<ref name="NewsKU">[http://www.news.ku.edu/2005/october/12/wilcox.shtml KU News Release] article ''Wilcox Collection of political literature to celebrate 40 years at KU'' by University of Kansas published October 12, 2005.</ref>		'''Laird Maurice Wilcox''' (born November 28, 1942 in San Francisco, California) is an [[American]] researcher specializing in the study of [[political]] fringe movements. He is the founder of the "Wilcox Collection on Contemporary Political Movements,"<ref>[http://www.voluntaryist.com/articles/027a.php Voluntaryist] article ''What Is Political "Extremism"?'' by Laird Wilcox From Issue 27 - Aug. 1987</ref> said to be one of the largest collections of American political material in the United States. It is housed in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the [[University of Kansas]].<ref [[name]]=freespeech>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/wilcox/ Free Speech and the Wilcox Collection: Forty Years of Collecting Political Documents] Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, [[University of Kansas]].</ref> Wilcox worked as carpenter, investigator and writer while living in [[Olathe, Kansas]].<ref name="NewsKU">[http://www.news.ku.edu/2005/october/12/wilcox.shtml KU News Release] article ''Wilcox Collection of political [[literature]] to celebrate 40 years at KU'' by University of Kansas published October 12, 2005.</ref>

	In 1968, Wilcox signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.<ref>“Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” January 30, 1968 ''New York Post''</ref>		In 1968, Wilcox signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.<ref>“Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” January 30, 1968 ''New York Post''</ref>
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	The Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, housed in the Kansas Collection of Kenneth Spencer Research Library, [[University of Kansas]], includes coverage of "more than 10,000 individuals and organizations. The bulk of the collection covers 1960 to the present and comprises nearly 10,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals, 800 audio tapes, {{convert\|73\|ft\|m}} of manuscript materials and more than 100,000 pieces of ephemera including flyers, brochures, mailings, clippings and bumper stickers." Wilcox continues to make regular donations.<ref>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/kc/wilcox.shtml University of Kansas] Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas</ref>		The Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, housed in the Kansas Collection of Kenneth Spencer Research Library, [[University of Kansas]], includes coverage of "more than 10,000 individuals and organizations. The bulk of the collection covers 1960 to the present and comprises nearly 10,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals, 800 audio tapes, {{convert\|73\|ft\|m}} of manuscript materials and more than 100,000 pieces of ephemera including flyers, brochures, mailings, clippings and bumper stickers." Wilcox continues to make regular donations.<ref>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/kc/wilcox.shtml University of Kansas] Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas</ref>

	The collection began in 1963-1964 when Wilcox, then a student at the University of Kansas, kept a scrapbook while he was chair of the Student Union Association Minority Opinions Forum. According to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library website, the forum was very active that year, with speakers invited to discuss civil liberties, freedom of expression, [[History of South Africa in the apartheid era\|apartheid]], [[communism]], the [[American Nazi Party]], and the [[Socialist Labor Party]]. In 1965, the university purchased a number of books, serials, and pamphlets from Wilcox, and the Wilcox Collection began.<ref name=freespeech/>		The collection began in 1963-1964 when Wilcox, then a student at the University of Kansas, kept a scrapbook while he was chair of the Student Union Association [[Minority]] Opinions Forum. According to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library website, the forum was very active that year, with speakers invited to discuss civil liberties, [[freedom]] of expression, [[History of South Africa in the apartheid era\|apartheid]], [[communism]], the [[American Nazi Party]], and the [[Socialist Labor Party]]. In 1965, the university purchased a number of books, serials, and pamphlets from Wilcox, and the Wilcox Collection began.<ref name=freespeech/>

	In 1989 Wilcox received the "Kansas City Area Archivists Award of Excellence" in 1989 for his role in founding and maintaining the Wilcox Collection.<ref>[http://www.umkc.edu/kcaa/Awards/recipients.htm KCAA Award of Excellence Recipient].</ref> In 1993 he was awarded the Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights in the United States. In 1994 he was awarded the Freedom of Information Award of the Kansas Library Association/SIRS "For outstanding commitment to intellectual freedom." In 1995 he received the Mencken Award of the [[Free Press Association]] "For outstanding journalism in defense of liberty."{{Citation needed\|date=January 2011}} In 2005 the University of Kansas honored Wilcox, then 63, in the Spencer library's North Gallery for his role in founding the collection.<ref name="NewsKU"/> He has been a member of the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] since 1961 and a member of [[Amnesty International]] since 1970.{{Citation needed\|date=January 2011}}		In 1989 Wilcox received the "Kansas City Area Archivists Award of Excellence" in 1989 for his role in founding and maintaining the Wilcox Collection.<ref>[http://www.umkc.edu/kcaa/Awards/recipients.htm KCAA Award of Excellence Recipient].</ref> In 1993 he was awarded the Myers Center Award for the Study of Human [[Rights]] in the United States. In 1994 he was awarded the Freedom of Information Award of the Kansas Library Association/SIRS "For outstanding commitment to intellectual freedom." In 1995 he received the Mencken Award of the [[Free Press Association]] "For outstanding [[journalism]] in defense of liberty."{{Citation needed\|date=January 2011}} In 2005 the University of Kansas honored Wilcox, then 63, in the Spencer library's North Gallery for his role in founding the collection.<ref name="NewsKU"/> He has been a member of the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] since 1961 and a member of [[Amnesty International]] since 1970.{{Citation needed\|date=January 2011}}

	==Criticism of "Watchdog" groups==		==Criticism of "Watchdog" groups==
	In his 1997 self-published book ''The Watchdogs''<ref name=Watchdogs>''The Watchdogs''], self-published through "Editorial Research Service," [http://www.lairdwilcox.com/publish/watchdogs.html available at lairdwilcox.com]; extensively footnoted. A downloadable PDF version of the book is available [http://www.solargeneral.com/library/watchdogs-laird-wilcox.pdf here]. (ISBN 0-933592-89-2)</ref> Wilcox criticized and "industry" of such groups "whose identity and livelihood depend upon growth and expansion of their particular kind of victimization." He holds such groups use "links and ties" to imply connections between individuals and groups. And they collect millions of dollars by greatly exaggerating the size and danger of such groups, becoming "a massive extortion racket." He names groups like the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], the [[Anti-Defamation League]], [[Political Research Associates]] and the [[Center for Democratic Renewal]]. [[Mark Potok]] of Southern Poverty Law Center told a reporter that Wilcox "had an ax to grind for a great many years," and engaged in name calling against others doing anti-racist work. [[Chip Berlet]] of [[Political Research Associates]] told a reporter that "Laird Wilcox is not an accurate or ethical reporter...He simply can't tolerate people who are his competition in this field."<ref>[[Robert Stacy McCain\|McCain, Robert Stacy]]. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-61963980.html "Researcher Says 'Watchdogs' Exaggerate Hate Group Threat"], ''[[The Washington Times]]'', May 9, 2000.</ref><ref>[[William Norman Grigg]], formerly a senior editor of the [[Conservatism in the United States\|conservative]] [[John Birch Society]] publication "The New American," writes that Wilcox is "considered by many academics to be one of the nation’s foremost experts on 'fringe' political movements," as well as "a forthright critic of professional anti-right activists ..." [http://web.archive.org/web/20070101205811/http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1999/11-08-99/vo15no23_police.htm "Propagandizing the Police"], ''The New American'', published by The [[John Birch Society]], Vol. 15, No. 23, November 8, 1999.</ref>		In his 1997 [[self]]-published book ''The Watchdogs''<ref name=Watchdogs>''The Watchdogs''], self-published through "Editorial Research Service," [http://www.lairdwilcox.com/publish/watchdogs.html available at lairdwilcox.com]; extensively footnoted. A downloadable PDF version of the book is available [http://www.solargeneral.com/library/watchdogs-laird-wilcox.pdf here]. (ISBN 0-933592-89-2)</ref> Wilcox criticized and "industry" of such groups "whose [[identity]] and livelihood depend upon growth and expansion of their particular kind of victimization." He holds such groups use "links and ties" to imply connections between individuals and groups. And they collect millions of dollars by greatly exaggerating the size and danger of such groups, becoming "a massive extortion racket." He names groups like the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], the [[Anti-Defamation League]], [[Political Research Associates]] and the [[Center for Democratic Renewal]]. [[Mark Potok]] of Southern Poverty Law Center told a reporter that Wilcox "had an ax to grind for a great many years," and engaged in [[name calling]] against [[others]] doing anti-racist work. [[Chip Berlet]] of [[Political Research Associates]] told a reporter that "Laird Wilcox is not an accurate or [[ethical]] reporter...He simply can't tolerate [[people]] who are his competition in this field."<ref>[[Robert Stacy McCain\|McCain, Robert Stacy]]. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-61963980.html "Researcher Says 'Watchdogs' Exaggerate Hate Group Threat"], ''[[The Washington Times]]'', May 9, 2000.</ref><ref>[[William Norman Grigg]], formerly a senior editor of the [[Conservatism in the United States\|conservative]] [[John Birch Society]] publication "The New American," writes that Wilcox is "considered by many academics to be one of the nation’s foremost experts on 'fringe' political movements," as well as "a forthright critic of professional anti-right activists ..." [http://web.archive.org/web/20070101205811/http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1999/11-08-99/vo15no23_police.htm "Propagandizing the Police"], ''The New American'', published by The [[John Birch Society]], Vol. 15, No. 23, November 8, 1999.</ref>

	==Books==		==Books==
	*''[[Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe]]'', by John George (professor of political science and sociology at the University of Central Oklahoma) and Laird Wilcox, 1992. It is an examination of [[politic]]al [[extremism]] of both the [[far left]] and [[far right]] in the [[United States]].<ref>Published by [[Prometheus Books]] (Buffalo, New York) in 1992 as a 523-page hardcover (ISBN 0-87975-680-2). In 1996, Prometheus Books (Amherst, New York) republished it as the paperback ''American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, Communists and Others'', (Paperback), 443 pps. (ISBN 1-57392-058-4)</ref>		*''[[Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe]]'', by John George (professor of political [[science]] and sociology at the University of Central Oklahoma) and Laird Wilcox, 1992. It is an examination of [[politic]]al [[extremism]] of both the [[far left]] and [[far right]] in the [[United States]].<ref>Published by [[Prometheus Books]] (Buffalo, New York) in 1992 as a 523-page hardcover (ISBN 0-87975-680-2). In 1996, Prometheus Books (Amherst, New York) republished it as the paperback ''American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, [[Communists]] and Others'', (Paperback), 443 pps. (ISBN 1-57392-058-4)</ref>

	*''Be Reasonable: Selected Quotations for Inquiring Minds,'' by Laird Wilcox and John George, 1995. It is a large collection of quotations on twenty topics, including civil liberties, Freedom of Speech and of Press, Ideologies and Ideologues, Propaganda, and Public Opinion and Mass Media. "This is a unique reference work consisting of provocative quotations meant to challenge tendencies toward censorship an supression of ideas as well as the stifling effects of 'politically correct' behavior."<ref>''Be Reasonable: Selected Quotations for Inquiring Minds,'', Prometheus Books, 1995, 361 pps. (ISBN 0-87975-867-8).</ref>		*''Be Reasonable: Selected Quotations for Inquiring Minds,'' by Laird Wilcox and John George, 1995. It is a large collection of quotations on twenty topics, including civil liberties, Freedom of Speech and of Press, Ideologies and Ideologues, [[Propaganda]], and Public Opinion and Mass Media. "This is a unique [[reference]] work consisting of provocative quotations meant to challenge tendencies toward censorship an supression of ideas as well as the stifling effects of 'politically correct' behavior."<ref>''Be Reasonable: Selected Quotations for Inquiring Minds,'', Prometheus Books, 1995, 361 pps. (ISBN 0-87975-867-8).</ref>

	*''The Watchdogs: A Close Look At Anti-Racist "Watchdog" Groups'', self-published by Laird Wilcox, 1997. "Included are documented instances of illegal spying, theft of police files, fund-raising irregularities, questionable "hate crime" statistics, irresponsible and fraudulent claims, perjury, harassment and stalking, violence, and deep and longstanding involvements with Marxist-Leninist extremists."<ref name=Watchdogs/>		*''The Watchdogs: A Close Look At Anti-Racist "Watchdog" Groups'', self-published by Laird Wilcox, 1997. "Included are documented instances of illegal spying, theft of police files, fund-raising irregularities, questionable "hate crime" statistics, irresponsible and fraudulent claims, perjury, harassment and stalking, violence, and deep and longstanding involvements with [[Marxist]]-Leninist extremists."<ref name=Watchdogs/>

	==Notes==		==Notes==
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	==Further reading==		==Further reading==
	*Wilcox, Laird. "''What Is Political Extremism''?," Free Inquiry, Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism. Fall 1990, Vol. 10, No. 4., pp. 13–16. A more recent (2005?) and shortened version of this essay appears [http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28477095/What-Is-Political-Extremism here]		*Wilcox, Laird. "''What Is Political Extremism''?," Free Inquiry, Council for Democratic and [[Secular]] [[Humanism]]. Fall 1990, Vol. 10, No. 4., pp. 13–16. A more recent (2005?) and shortened version of this essay appears [http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28477095/What-Is-Political-Extremism here]
	*"''[http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/12/washington/campus-journal-far-left-and-far-right-meet-in-a-midwest-library.html?scp=1&sq=Laird+Wilcox&st=nyt Far Left and Far Right Meet in a Midwest Library ]''," Education Section, New York Times (12 August 1992) .		*"''[http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/12/washington/campus-journal-far-left-and-far-right-meet-in-a-midwest-library.html?scp=1&sq=Laird+Wilcox&st=nyt Far Left and Far Right Meet in a Midwest Library ]''," Education Section, New York Times (12 August 1992) .
	*Farney, Dennis. "''Emergence of Extremist Groups Reflects Changing U. S. Society, Researcher Says''." Wall Street Journal (27 April 1995).		*Farney, Dennis. "''Emergence of [[Extremist]] Groups Reflects Changing U. S. [[Society]], Researcher Says''." Wall Street Journal (27 April 1995).
	*Wilcox, Laird. "''Who Watches The Watchmen''?," in The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization, Edited by Jeffrey Kaplan and Helene Loow, Alta Mira Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0759102040		*Wilcox, Laird. "''Who Watches The Watchmen''?," in The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of [[Globalization]], Edited by Jeffrey Kaplan and Helene Loow, Alta Mira Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0759102040
	*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.lairdwilcox.com/news/defame.html The Protocols of Ritual Defamation: How Values, Opinions and Beliefs Are Controlled in Democratic Societies]''. Essay written in 2002.		*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.lairdwilcox.com/news/defame.html The Protocols of Ritual Defamation: How Values, Opinions and Beliefs Are Controlled in Democratic Societies]''. Essay written in 2002.
	*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.overalltech.net/pub/Quotes5Writer_sRights.pdf The Writer's Rights]'': Over 1,600 Selected Quotations on Freedom of Expression, Civil Liberties and Individual Rights. 136 pp. ISBN 0-9761337-4-1. 2005.		*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.overalltech.net/pub/Quotes5Writer_sRights.pdf The Writer's Rights]'': Over 1,600 Selected Quotations on Freedom of Expression, Civil Liberties and Individual Rights. 136 pp. ISBN 0-9761337-4-1. 2005.
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	'''Laird Maurice Wilcox''' (born November 28, 1942 in San Francisco, California) is an American researcher specializing in the study of political fringe movements. He is the founder of the "Wilcox Collection on Contemporary Political Movements,"<ref>[http://www.voluntaryist.com/articles/027a.php Voluntaryist] article ''What Is Political "Extremism"?'' by Laird Wilcox From Issue 27 - Aug. 1987</ref> said to be one of the largest collections of American political material in the United States. It is housed in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the [[University of Kansas]].<ref name=freespeech>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/wilcox/ Free Speech and the Wilcox Collection: Forty Years of Collecting Political Documents] Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, [[University of Kansas]].</ref> Wilcox worked as carpenter, investigator and writer while living in [[Olathe, Kansas]].<ref name="NewsKU">[http://www.news.ku.edu/2005/october/12/wilcox.shtml KU News Release] article ''Wilcox Collection of political literature to celebrate 40 years at KU'' by University of Kansas published October 12, 2005.</ref>		'''Laird Maurice Wilcox''' (born November 28, 1942 in San Francisco, California) is an American researcher specializing in the study of political fringe movements. He is the founder of the "Wilcox Collection on Contemporary Political Movements,"<ref>[http://www.voluntaryist.com/articles/027a.php Voluntaryist] article ''What Is Political "Extremism"?'' by Laird Wilcox From Issue 27 - Aug. 1987</ref> said to be one of the largest collections of American political material in the United States. It is housed in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the [[University of Kansas]].<ref name=freespeech>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/wilcox/ Free Speech and the Wilcox Collection: Forty Years of Collecting Political Documents] Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, [[University of Kansas]].</ref> Wilcox worked as carpenter, investigator and writer while living in [[Olathe, Kansas]].<ref name="NewsKU">[http://www.news.ku.edu/2005/october/12/wilcox.shtml KU News Release] article ''Wilcox Collection of political literature to celebrate 40 years at KU'' by University of Kansas published October 12, 2005.</ref>

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	==Notes==		==Notes==
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	==See also==		==See also==

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[[Image:LairdWilcox.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Laird Wilcox]]
'''Laird Maurice Wilcox''' (born November 28, 1942 in San Francisco, California) is an American researcher specializing in the study of political fringe movements. He is the founder of the "Wilcox Collection on Contemporary Political Movements,"<ref>[http://www.voluntaryist.com/articles/027a.php Voluntaryist] article ''What Is Political "Extremism"?'' by Laird Wilcox From Issue 27 - Aug. 1987</ref> said to be one of the largest collections of American political material in the United States. It is housed in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the [[University of Kansas]].<ref name=freespeech>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/wilcox/ Free Speech and the Wilcox Collection: Forty Years of Collecting Political Documents] Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, [[University of Kansas]].</ref> Wilcox worked as carpenter, investigator and writer while living in [[Olathe, Kansas]].<ref name="NewsKU">[http://www.news.ku.edu/2005/october/12/wilcox.shtml KU News Release] article ''Wilcox Collection of political literature to celebrate 40 years at KU'' by University of Kansas published October 12, 2005.</ref>

In 1968, Wilcox signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.<ref>“Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” January 30, 1968 ''New York Post''</ref>
==Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements==
The Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, housed in the Kansas Collection of Kenneth Spencer Research Library, [[University of Kansas]], includes coverage of "more than 10,000 individuals and organizations. The bulk of the collection covers 1960 to the present and comprises nearly 10,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals, 800 audio tapes, {{convert|73|ft|m}} of manuscript materials and more than 100,000 pieces of ephemera including flyers, brochures, mailings, clippings and bumper stickers." Wilcox continues to make regular donations.<ref>[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/kc/wilcox.shtml University of Kansas] Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas</ref>

The collection began in 1963-1964 when Wilcox, then a student at the University of Kansas, kept a scrapbook while he was chair of the Student Union Association Minority Opinions Forum. According to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library website, the forum was very active that year, with speakers invited to discuss civil liberties, freedom of expression, [[History of South Africa in the apartheid era|apartheid]], [[communism]], the [[American Nazi Party]], and the [[Socialist Labor Party]]. In 1965, the university purchased a number of books, serials, and pamphlets from Wilcox, and the Wilcox Collection began.<ref name=freespeech/>

In 1989 Wilcox received the "Kansas City Area Archivists Award of Excellence" in 1989 for his role in founding and maintaining the Wilcox Collection.<ref>[http://www.umkc.edu/kcaa/Awards/recipients.htm KCAA Award of Excellence Recipient].</ref> In 1993 he was awarded the Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights in the United States. In 1994 he was awarded the Freedom of Information Award of the Kansas Library Association/SIRS "For outstanding commitment to intellectual freedom." In 1995 he received the Mencken Award of the [[Free Press Association]] "For outstanding journalism in defense of liberty."{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} In 2005 the University of Kansas honored Wilcox, then 63, in the Spencer library's North Gallery for his role in founding the collection.<ref name="NewsKU"/> He has been a member of the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] since 1961 and a member of [[Amnesty International]] since 1970.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

==Criticism of "Watchdog" groups==
In his 1997 self-published book ''The Watchdogs''<ref name=Watchdogs>''The Watchdogs''], self-published through "Editorial Research Service," [http://www.lairdwilcox.com/publish/watchdogs.html available at lairdwilcox.com]; extensively footnoted. A downloadable PDF version of the book is available [http://www.solargeneral.com/library/watchdogs-laird-wilcox.pdf here]. (ISBN 0-933592-89-2)</ref> Wilcox criticized and "industry" of such groups "whose identity and livelihood depend upon growth and expansion of their particular kind of victimization." He holds such groups use "links and ties" to imply connections between individuals and groups. And they collect millions of dollars by greatly exaggerating the size and danger of such groups, becoming "a massive extortion racket." He names groups like the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], the [[Anti-Defamation League]], [[Political Research Associates]] and the [[Center for Democratic Renewal]]. [[Mark Potok]] of Southern Poverty Law Center told a reporter that Wilcox "had an ax to grind for a great many years," and engaged in name calling against others doing anti-racist work. [[Chip Berlet]] of [[Political Research Associates]] told a reporter that "Laird Wilcox is not an accurate or ethical reporter...He simply can't tolerate people who are his competition in this field."<ref>[[Robert Stacy McCain|McCain, Robert Stacy]]. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-61963980.html "Researcher Says 'Watchdogs' Exaggerate Hate Group Threat"], ''[[The Washington Times]]'', May 9, 2000.</ref><ref>[[William Norman Grigg]], formerly a senior editor of the [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] [[John Birch Society]] publication "The New American," writes that Wilcox is "considered by many academics to be one of the nation’s foremost experts on 'fringe' political movements," as well as "a forthright critic of professional anti-right activists ..." [http://web.archive.org/web/20070101205811/http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1999/11-08-99/vo15no23_police.htm "Propagandizing the Police"], ''The New American'', published by The [[John Birch Society]], Vol. 15, No. 23, November 8, 1999.</ref>

==Books==
*''[[Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe]]'', by John George (professor of political science and sociology at the University of Central Oklahoma) and Laird Wilcox, 1992. It is an examination of [[politic]]al [[extremism]] of both the [[far left]] and [[far right]] in the [[United States]].<ref>Published by [[Prometheus Books]] (Buffalo, New York) in 1992 as a 523-page hardcover (ISBN 0-87975-680-2). In 1996, Prometheus Books (Amherst, New York) republished it as the paperback ''American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, Communists and Others'', (Paperback), 443 pps. (ISBN 1-57392-058-4)</ref>

*''Be Reasonable: Selected Quotations for Inquiring Minds,'' by Laird Wilcox and John George, 1995. It is a large collection of quotations on twenty topics, including civil liberties, Freedom of Speech and of Press, Ideologies and Ideologues, Propaganda, and Public Opinion and Mass Media. "This is a unique reference work consisting of provocative quotations meant to challenge tendencies toward censorship an supression of ideas as well as the stifling effects of 'politically correct' behavior."<ref>''Be Reasonable: Selected Quotations for Inquiring Minds,'', Prometheus Books, 1995, 361 pps. (ISBN 0-87975-867-8).</ref>

*''The Watchdogs: A Close Look At Anti-Racist "Watchdog" Groups'', self-published by Laird Wilcox, 1997. "Included are documented instances of illegal spying, theft of police files, fund-raising irregularities, questionable "hate crime" statistics, irresponsible and fraudulent claims, perjury, harassment and stalking, violence, and deep and longstanding involvements with Marxist-Leninist extremists."<ref name=Watchdogs/>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Gordon D. Hall]]
*[[Ernie Lazar]]
*[[Extremism]]

==Further reading==
*Wilcox, Laird. "''What Is Political Extremism''?," Free Inquiry, Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism. Fall 1990, Vol. 10, No. 4., pp. 13–16. A more recent (2005?) and shortened version of this essay appears [http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28477095/What-Is-Political-Extremism here]
*"''[http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/12/washington/campus-journal-far-left-and-far-right-meet-in-a-midwest-library.html?scp=1&sq=Laird+Wilcox&st=nyt Far Left and Far Right Meet in a Midwest Library ]''," Education Section, New York Times (12 August 1992) .
*Farney, Dennis. "''Emergence of Extremist Groups Reflects Changing U. S. Society, Researcher Says''." Wall Street Journal (27 April 1995).
*Wilcox, Laird. "''Who Watches The Watchmen''?," in The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization, Edited by Jeffrey Kaplan and Helene Loow, Alta Mira Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0759102040
*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.lairdwilcox.com/news/defame.html The Protocols of Ritual Defamation: How Values, Opinions and Beliefs Are Controlled in Democratic Societies]''. Essay written in 2002.
*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.overalltech.net/pub/Quotes5Writer_sRights.pdf The Writer's Rights]'': Over 1,600 Selected Quotations on Freedom of Expression, Civil Liberties and Individual Rights. 136 pp. ISBN 0-9761337-4-1. 2005.
*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.overalltech.net/pub/Quotations-Propaganda.pdf Propaganda, Persuasion & Deception]'': Over 1,125 Selected Quotations for the Ideological Skeptic. 124 pp. ISBN 0-9761337-0-9. 2005.
*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.overalltech.net/pub/Quotations-Rationality.pdf Rationality, Rhetoric, Skepticism & Logic]'': Over 835 Selected Quotations for the Ideological Skeptic. 80 pp. ISBN 0-9761337-3-3. 2005.
*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.overalltech.net/pub/Quotations-Fanaticism.pdf Fanaticism, Dogmatism & Ideological Thinking]'': Over 1,050 Selected Quotations for the Ideological Skeptic. 95 pp. ISBN 0-9761337-1-7. 2005.
*Wilcox, Laird. ''[http://www.overalltech.net/pub/Quotations-PoliticalPsych.pdf Political & Social Psychology & Behavior]'': Over 1,250 Selected Quotations for the Ideological Skeptic. Compiled by Laird Wilcox. 121 pp. ISBN 0-9761337-2-5. 2005.

==External links==
*[http://www.lairdwilcox.com Official website]
*[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/wilcox/ Free Speech and the Wilcox Collection: Forty Years of Collecting Political Documents]

{{Persondata 
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