A month ago if someone speculated that John Huppenthal was a reader of and commenter on the white supremacist website Stormfront.org, Huppenthal could have answered simply, “I won’t dignify that allegation with a response.” And that would have been the end of it. A number of months ago, before my former colleagues at Blog for Arizona and I realized Huppenthal was writing hateful and ignorant comments under the names Thucydides and Falcon9, I would not have written this post, because any possible connection between Huppenthal and Stormfront.org is based on speculation and inference.
But all that changed once Huppenthal’s anonymous online comments became public. In the words of the old English song: Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye. We have seen that a virulent, angry strain of right wing racism runs through his veins. And if he’s not actually a Holocaust denier or Hitler supporter, his comments placing Charles Darwin and Margaret Sanger in the same category with the leader of the Third Reich put Huppenthal within spitting range of Hitler apologists. That’s why a few people have pointed to the possibility that Huppenthal has commented on Stormfront.org and why Bob Lord and Pamela Powers wrote posts about it on Blog for Arizona.
Given the events of the past few weeks and the growing list of websites we know Huppenthal has left anonymous comments on, he needs to address these allegations directly. Actually, Huppenthal should go further and name every website where he’s left comments using an assumed name. If his apology and repentance for his anonymous commenting — which he called “hateful” and said he “repudiates” and “renounces” — is genuine, he should be willing to make a clean breast of it and let the public know the full extent of his commenting activities.
Bob Lord wrote a post about possible Huppenthal/Stormfront connections on Blog for Arizona. Pamela Powers also wrote a post on the subject. Both writers were clear, they have no definitive proof of a connection.
One commenter on Stormfront.org uses the handle, Thucydides. It may not be Huppenthal. The Greek historian Thucydides is a favorite of conservatives and white supremacists alike, so someone else could have adopted that handle.
Huppenthal is mentioned eight times on the Stormfront site in connection with the Mexican American Studies controversy. Bob Lord linked to the comments in his post. Most likely, Huppenthal had no part in those comments, but we know he is obsessive about tracking down places where his name is mentioned, since many of his comments on Arizona websites are answers to posts which mention him. He probably has a Google Alert for his name, which would mean he would get an email with a link every time “John Huppenthal” is mentioned on the web. There’s nothing wrong with that. Google Alerts are an efficient method of keeping track of topics of interest which many people use, myself included. But the point is, it’s very likely Huppenthal visited the Stormfront website to read what was being said about him. Did that lead him to leave comments of his own using the handle Thucydides? I don’t know. None of the Thucydides comments are on the same thread with the comments about Huppenthal, which would have been a strong indication it was him. But the Thucydides comments are definitely on the website. That’s a fact.
Huppenthal lost the right to the benefit of the doubt when his hundreds of anonymous comments were discovered. If he hopes to preserve any shred of integrity, he needs to be thorough and honest about listing any anonymous commenting activity which hasn’t yet been uncovered.
This article appears in Jul 3-9, 2014.
Hup graduated with my eldest brother from Salpointe. I feel so bad for my brother, his graduating class and Salpointe in general.
Yes, there is a connection between huppenthal and stormfront.com…and I was in huppenthal’s class and I don’t remember your oldest brother. No one by that last name in class of ’72…but, you don’t have to feel sorry for Salpointe, or St. John’s, or the “Hispanic friends” of his who helped him with long division and reading, (kxci interview about MAS). Rather, feel sorry that there are people who support his views and have elected him twice to be a GroverNorquist.com pledge as a senator, and once he helped to de-fund public schools, we elected him to be our No Taxes For Public Schools because they don’t teach about God, Jesus, or Mary, phew, Stoopidintendent. Salpointe still requires 4 years of Christian instruction, but I don’t think it allows anyone, including members of the wrestling team, to take naps during class.
Funny thing about raising children in Arizona is the “we’ve been a national disgrace before, and will again” speech I used to give my children
Danny, I’m sure you’d remember my brother if I used my real name here. I try to avoid embarrassing my family, so I wear this badge of anonymity. “Gonzo” was one of the many nicknames I had in my previous life as a normal person, and it sounds quite a bit like my real last name, if that’s any clue.
(Seated alphabetically, you were probably right in front my brother)
Right on brother! !Orale, too!, Sorcrachi.
As a fifth generation Arizona Mexican-American I feel so violated and, at the same time, invisible. When our polititians and other people in power are belittling us and catering to national hate-groups supported by BIG money ONLY by voting honorable people into office will anything change. Tenemos el poder del voto…hay que aprovecharlo o callarnos y dejar que hagan con nosotros lo que merecemos por ser indiferentes.
Pam Powers too is a racist. She backed the racist TUSD School Board Member Stegeman and consistently wrote against MAS at the height of when the program was under attack. While she fancies herself a progressive, she simply is a condescending patronizing racista!
Of course there is a connection. How else would this genius get his talking points to put down the mexican american studies program @ THS. He certainly is not smart enough to think of anything to say, no matter the ignorance of the stormfront frame of mind. To John Huppenthal, a reputed Hate website like Stormfront.com, is benediction to him. It is his holy bible and Catechismal in his broken, small mind.
And, Pam Powers, what do you have to say now? Do you get your information from Loretta Hunnicutt? Or from Stormfront.com? Nice try “journalist”.
I support him 110%, enough said.
Of course you do, azpaul. The only book you haven’t burned is, The Little Red Hen. Tell us, how many times you have read, The Clansman…? We could see right through you, Huppy.
More lies from the sexists: Sean Arce and the 3 Sons incognito. Thanks for misquotes and the put-downs, as usual.
For the record, here is my recommendation on MAS.
“Yes, there are many, many anecdotal stories from individual students about the value of the MAS classes. Let’s build on the positive aspects of MAS– the impact on low-income students (see graphics below), the self-esteem-building, the small class sizes, and the high teacher involvement. No program is beyond improvement.
“What can we as a community to do ensure a quality education for all public school students? Let’s stop the name-calling, stop the incendiary e-mail blasts, stop the hype, and come together– all of us.
“On this anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, let’s make a commitment to start talking and start building a better future for all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, gender, or sexual orientation.”
pam