Many so-called minority families are desperate for a loan to keep their houses and stay in their neighborhood. This goes for ALL neighborhoods regardless if a minority area or not, but there is a reason lending and minorities are in the news these days – thanks to Fox news.

On Fox New today they had another special on Acorn. Of course, the Fox slant on Acorn is obvious; “Acorn is to blame for the woes of the American economic collapse“, but there was still allot of good information if you can read through the bias.

Basically the charge from Fox is; “Acorn had a lobby that pressured the HUD to lower the standards of lending so that the banks began giving bad loans to millions”.

Yes. Acorn did have a lobby and they did apply pressure to the government, and many other entities. Sometimes Acorn was overly aggressive due to the behavior of some more radical members, but by and a large Acorn does good work.

Acorn Is All About Push Back

The very reason Acorn was started was because of the Redlining practice that started in the early 1930s – I know that the “right leaning” readers don’t want to hear or read information on why Acorn was started. I also know that the “left leaning” readers don’t want to hear about some of the mistakes Acorn has made, or some of the misdeeds carried out by Acorn members.

Acorn is simply about push-back. After decades of racial discrimination against the poor, the black, the brown, the Asian, the Jewish, and more, people that had seen enough racism began organizing. Their organization has grown to be “a threat” to the powerful, the rich, and the racists of America.

Whenever there is an injustice one way there is a correction, and Acorn is part of that social correction. What the attackers of Acorn are doing is very simple. They are taking isolated incidents involving individuals which have nothing to do with Acorn’s charter or mission. Acorn was created simply to give the poor and the minorities of American society a fair shake. Of course there will be individuals within their organization that will break the rules and make asses of themselves (and Acorn). EVERY organization has individuals who take part in “ill activity”. It’s human nature when you consider thousands and thousands of people. But to paint an entire group, company, or organization with same brush, is wrong, wrong, and wrong.

It’s the same for these health insurance companies. If they didn’t discriminate for preexisting conditions, didn’t decline health care funds, and kept their premiums low, the rest of what they do would be considered good.

Just like banks. Not ALL banks took part in the predatory lending and high risk leveraging that went on prior to the current economic collapse.

Just like the Republicans. Not all Republicans are racist, mud slinging piss ants like Karl Rove, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity. Most would be more to the center of the American political landscape.

The Fox News Acorn Witch Hunt

The Acorn witch hunt carried out by Fox News and others is ridiculous and disgusting. Fox News and their followers are not really worried about Acorn and their activities – the only reason Fox and the far right have scoped it’s bulls-eye on Acorn is because they believe Acorn was to blame for Obama getting into power. Not only is Barack Obama a left wing Liberal a (in their eyes) – he’s also a Marxist, a Socialist, a Communist, a Nazi – he is black. Underlying all of this, is the obvious notion that Fox News and their ardent followers are racists. This is the blow back that is going on in the American discourse. We’ll have to see what the effects of the latest events of 2009 are going to have on the future of America. In the mean time, Fox and Acorn are going to keep plugging away for their causes and livelihoods.

In the final analysis, Acorn is simply an organization that attempts to stop discrimination, get poor people to the voting booths, and pressure the banks and governments to ensure low income families can invest in a home instead of renting an apartment for their entire lives.