Thread: Could the KKK rise to power again?

In these times of civil unrest, much of the blame for what is wrong with the country is being placed at the feet of Obama, an African American. Could this cause a resurgence of organized racism in America?

At first, the Ku Klux Klan focused its anger and violence on African-Americans, on white Americans who stood up for them, and against the federal government which supported their rights. Subsequent incarnations of the Klan, which typically emerged in times of rapid social change, added more categories to its enemies list, including Jews, Catholics (less so after the 1970s), homosexuals, and different groups of immigrants.



In most of these cases, these perceived enemies were minority groups that came into direct economic competition with the lower- and working-class whites that formed the core constituency of the Klan in most of its incarnations.

http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/kkk/...ked=4&item=kkk



Since many middle class whites feel their rights are being trampled in favor of these minority groups, will they rebel and go back to the tactics of terror that the KKK and other racist groups have used in the past?

The Washington State Klan during the 1920s was part of the second of three waves of KKK activity in America. The second KKK was founded in 1915 and gained significant membership immediately following World War I. Though short-lived, it was a powerful anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-radical, white supremacist organization that promoted "100 percent Americanism." The second KKK claimed over 4 million members across the country; briefly dominated state legislatures of Colorado, Indiana, and Oregon; and in 1924 shaped presidential politics and helped pressure politicians to pass the most severe immigration restriction in the history of the United States. Following immigration restriction and a series of leadership scandals, the second KKK collapsed and was largely moribund by 1928.



The second KKK was a mass movement that invoked the memory of and built upon the first KKK, which was a terrorist organization founded by white supremacists in the U.S. South. The first KKK's violent "night riding"-- in which hooded vigilantes used lynchings, whippings, and torture to intimidate recently freed slaves and their white allies -- played a crucial role in the disenfranchisement of African Americans at the end of the Civil War in the 1860s and 1870s and laid a foundation for the rise of Jim Crow segregation in the 1890s and 1900s. The second KKK also helped train some of the leaders who later formed the third KKK, a mainly Southern organization that rose up in the decades after World War II to murder and terrorize people in African-American communities, particularly civil rights movement activists. Klan members' hoods, white robes, and burning crosses made them icons of American white supremacy and terrorism, and their legacy haunts us to this day.

http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/kkk_intro.htm



Could the KKK or similar groups rise to power again in the current political environment?

By God, you're right!



Obama is doing everything conservatives have always hated, why do they hate him so much?



Must be because they're racists.

[quote name='Blueneck' date='30 August 2009 - 09:26 AM' timestamp='1251638771' post='13622']

In these times of civil unrest, much of the blame for what is wrong with the country is being placed at the feet of Obama, an African American. Could this cause a resurgence of organized racism in America?







http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/kkk/...ked=4&item=kkk



Since many middle class whites feel their rights are being trampled in favor of these minority groups, will they rebel and go back to the tactics of terror that the KKK and other racist groups have used in the past?







http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/kkk_intro.htm



Could the KKK or similar groups rise to power again in the current political environment?





[/quote]



That's already happening.. most have just shunned the sheets and donned teabags.

Right on, Insklinger, en re tea bags. Good thread, Blueneck...an apt analysis. Of course the NEW improved Klan will need a make-over because all the reactionaries claim to be so distant from their fathers "Ku."



Maybe a name change? Corporate sponsorship, maybe? Kleenix Klan? I dunno. But yeah, we could see a new subtler white pride movement emerge in order to make sure Mexicans and Blacks don't prove that a more equitable society raises all boats.

Oh...and wait for it...



Who wants to bet which right winger will be the first to post a picture of current Robert Byrd PHOTOSHOPPED into a Klan robe?

Obama is wrong on everything, I mean what a sham. Knowing that doers not make people racist, but it gives the libs an easy answer, see we don't despise Obama for giving trillions to the banks, for raising the national debt to biblical proportions, for failing his promise to end the war, for none of the real issues, it's cause he black. The problem is, there are actually idiots that believe this nonsense and continue to write this pud, this stain a blank check.

I wouldn't be surprised if racial tensions increase. Both parties, but especially the Dems, are often eager to exploit class/race differences for their own agendas. It is just another effort to change the subject and divert attention from the actual policies.



The sad thing about the continual playing of "the race card" is it inevitably desensitizes people to real and valid claims of racism. Al Sharpton crying "Wolf !!!" just doesn't pack much of a punch anymore.

[quote name='Davocrat' date='30 August 2009 - 10:16 AM' timestamp='1251641804' post='13641']

Oh...and wait for it...



Who wants to bet which right winger will be the first to post a picture of current Robert Byrd PHOTOSHOPPED into a Klan robe?

[/quote]



Careful folks. No Ku Klux Klan jokes allowed per the management. Just got this note from Political Hotwire himself...

This thread is to discuss the Ku Klux Klan. It's not to discuss whowill do what, or more specifically to throw out snide remarks. Pleaserestricts these to R&R, thanks

A warning has been added to your account

PH, it's a fact. Whenever the KKK is brought up on this forum, someone dusts off the Byrd in Robe (photoshopped) photo. The CURRENT debate on this subject usually involves the right saying Obama is a "Nazi" so I think my comment is relevant.