Pro-Immigrant Bloggers Counter Xenophobic Comments

From the Chicago Tribune:

When the Tribune and Sun-Times recently posted stories dealing with immigration, Sara McElmurry saw a familiar dynamic take shape. The online comments following the pieces were heavily negative, with some casting immigrants as parasites or welfare cheats.

So McElmurry, communications manager for the Chicago-based advocacy group Latino Policy Forum, shot an email to her “Comment Corps” — a list of 3,000 people she asks to intervene when she believes online comments have become bigoted or monolithic.

“Balance the rhetoric of fear by posting your own comment, using the talking points below as a guide,” she wrote. “It takes only a few moments to make your voice heard!”

McElmurry and some like-minded allies are trying to influence opinion by engaging their foes in the new media’s public square. By presenting their arguments in forums they see as one-sided, they hope to counter what they regard as misinformation and sway at least a few hearts and minds. Read more…

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