Will KKK fade into history?(Klan to march in county that convicted Killen)

[Maddy McCall]

snip/

Mississippi has six Klan chapters, according to the figures kept by the center. Tennessee has the most with 13, followed by Ohio with 11. Of the Southern states, South Carolina has the least with three.

One of Mississippi's chapters, the Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Petal, is planning a Nov. 12 rally in Philadelphia to protest the recent conviction of Edgar Ray Killen for the 1964 killings of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman. Killen is now serving 60 years in prison after a Neshoba County jury convicted him of three counts of manslaughter.

Imperial Wizard Richard Greene, who had urged Klansmen to stay away from Killen's trial, is hoping for a big turnout for the rally: "The Klan is far from dead. All this show trial did was wake a sleeping tiger."

Deborah Posey, a member of the Philadelphia Coalition, which pushed for justice in the trio's killings, said the Klan is coming to save face since many Klansmen stayed away from the trial. "The last time there was a Klan rally in Philadelphia, maybe five showed up," she said. "They may show up bigger now because of the trial....We're not hiding our past anymore, and we're dealing with it," she said. "I am very proud of my city, very proud of the people on the jury who were willing to state the truth, admit there was a wrong done here and bring justice. I was glad there wasn't a change of venue because Neshoba Countians needed to bring justice. For 40 years, we had our heads in the sand."

snip/

Much more to read in this very interesting article: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050715/NEWS01/507150366/1002

[WildClarySage]

1. sleeping tiger? not.

[xultar]

2. No the KKK will never fade. They exist for times like this.

They will get stronger.

[gratuitous]

3. I'm of two minds on this kind of thing

I'm guessing that the actual public turnout for the proposed rally will be countable on the fingers of two hands in a maladroit's wood shop. As such, counter-demonstrators should show up in heueueueuege numbers to point and laugh at the superannuated bigots.

But I also think that for every inbred jackass showing up in white robes in Philadelphia to celebrate its shameful heritage as Killnigger, Mississippi, there are going to be a large number of sympathizers, fellow travelers and closet assenters -- both locally and in the country at large. And since these knuckleheads are basically advocating for the violent overthrow of the United States government, I'm inclined to think they should be accorded the same respectful and gentle treatment meted out once upon a time to their past victims at the Edmund Pettis Bridge.

[Fenris]

4. The Klan may weaken, but it will never disappear.

It survives to poison men and women in each successive generation.

[The Stranger]

5. It has only morphed into certain aspects of extreme

Christian Fundamentalism and shows on late night a.m. radio.

[onehandle]

6. The modern Klan lives in Republican Grassroots Organizations.

The Southern Strategy is alive and well.

[jaysunb]

9. You nailed it !!

:toast:

They aren't going away, just the opposite, they're getting stronger, sans the sheets.

[WhiteTara]

15. oh so unfortunately true n/t

[Maddy McCall]

16. Council of Conservative Citizens...

nothing more than the "uptown Klan."

[classysassy]

7. KKK

issue those boys and girls desart tan sheets and send them to Iraq,they would make good targets for the black troops and the Iraqi people.

[WhiteTara]

14. LOL and

welcome to DU :hi:

[are_we_united_yet]

17. The imaginative minds at DU!

:)

[Ian David]

8. If six people show up, I bet two of them are Sheriff Bart and The Waco Kid

[FredScuttle]

13. LOL

"How many times have I told you to wash your hands after a weekly cross burning?"

[mondo joe]

10. They might consider hiring Santorum's gay black communications

director to do some PR for them.

He'd certainly consider taking the job!

[Lilli]

11. They went underground years ago to infiltrate business and

politics. They havent gone anywhere.

[flaminbats]

12. but wait..the Klan opposes terrorism

Cross burning is freedom of speech, but flag burning should be a crime.. :crazy:

[leftofthedial]

18. Who needs the KKK anymore

when you have the repuke party and the christian fundies?

[Piperay]

21. Yeah, really!

The KKK has become part of the establishment, their administration is in office and they have everything they ever wanted.

[DanCa]

19. People like this make me sick

My god have you ever seen the star trek episode with frank gorshin painted as half black on one side and half white on the the other? Thats how loony and evil this whole thing is. How can people treat people bad based on skin color and orientation is beyond me.

[Piperay]

20. They need to GIVE IT UP

for God's sake! This is the 21st century and they are dinosaurs, they need to get on with their lives doing something useful, geesh!