Do you believe that a group should be held accountable for the actions of their kind? Groups as in religion, political parties, single-issue groups (abortion, etc.) and so on. Or do you think the bad apples are just extremists and separate?

Personally, I think extremism is just an excuse. Political correctness. Indeed some people are extremists. But I say that extremism is an excuse under these conditions:

If there is no essential core definition for the group's set of beliefs:

If people of the group are divided and have their own standards, (sects, branches, etc.) fine. They can be easily distinguished. However if everyone is going around, believing whatever they want, and there's no consensus, then there's no order. Extremism can only happen if a huge chunk of the majority are civil and the extremists are there to well, act extreme. There needs to be contrast to find extremism.

If a vast majority can be guilty prejudice, killings, violence, etc:

If you mix 97% of black paint with 3% of white paint, it's black. If everyone is acting like they've been astray, the 1% that are sane, isn't the best representative of the group.

Westboro Baptist Church= Extremism in Christianity
PETA = Not extremists in their circle. They have "crazy" beliefs and mindsets that the vast majority hold.

I find it irresponsible when people use the excuse of extremism or turn a blind eye when others of their group are being crazy. You can't let people run lose because eventually someone will NOT see them as extremists but the absolute truth.

Doing something about the group's image is far more responsible than protecting the group's image by being in denial.

Everyone has their own sets of beliefs and values. Groups are people who have almost similar beliefs, but in all, everyone is different.

If one person is acting up outside of the group, that one person should be held accountable for their actions, not the group. This is what leads to stereotyping and prejudice.

There were several extremists that try to change society-try to make the world see the higher reality that they see, but the world doesn't want to see it. If you say you are living in a computer programmed world called the Matrix and there is a higher reality that is more grim and dangerous, people will say you are crazy. And if you go on preaching that we're living in a program, you will be killed...

Examples of extremists that were eliminated:

Giovanni (Imprisoned for life for saying that the Earth orbits around the sun)
Martin Luther King
Malcolm X
Mahatma Gandhi
Joan of Arc
John F. Kennedy
Aung San Suu Kyi (Not dead yet, but under house arrest for over 11 years and heavily protected by Burmese military)