Talk:John Tanton

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This post seems to violate neutrality.[edit]

My familiarity with Mr. Tanton's work is mostly passing, and I don't share any particular allegiance to him one way or another. My personal political views tend towards more pro-immigration and are opposed to any form of eugenics, for what that's worth. Abiding by the principle of "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," this article lacks the measured and objective tone that Wikipedia should be known for. If this were a court of law, most of the descriptions of Mr. Tanton would be rejected as, at best, hearsay, and worst, defamation.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, for whatever its merits, must not be given any more weight than other organizations lest Wikipedia risk engaging in the practice of selective commentary and not as a neutral provider of information. In an effort to find more about this person, I decided to look at what he actually said. His own publications are completely the opposite of how he is described in this article. For example, he states plainly that he is more than ok with "diversity." A white supremacist simply would not be; that's kind of their thing.

Now, you may argue that he is not credible and merely attempting to deceive, but that is to be left to the "jury" of our peers, namely our readers. Before I embark on an effort to re-write this article to be more fair and accurate, I want to make sure the original writers and editors have a moment to comment on the record.

My specific recommendations would be (1) to make it clearer that "white supremacist" is an accusation leveled as a form of "guilt by association" by one organization and explicitly denied by the man himself; (2) to describe his activities as "immigration restrictionist" rather than "anti-immigration" since that is misleading and doesn't capture the nuances of his opinion; (3) drop the "white nationalist" description from the top.

For those of you genuinely concerned with white nationalism and believing, contrary to my own opinion, that Wikipedia should be providing editorial insight and not attempt neutrality, the over-use and misapplication of that label dilute its value and creates an increasing insensitivity to the label. Don't cry wolf. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aharburg (talk • contribs) 17:37, 19 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]