You can blame it on the times, I suppose. Gay marriage, the immigration problem, that thing with the Islamists, globalization, any number of reasons but the outcome is the same - there's a resurgence being staged by the Ku Klux Klan.
According to the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, Klan membership is up - somewhere between 5,000 and 8.000 in some 180 chapters. Worse than that, however, is that the Klan is getting much more active and is spreading into new territory with new chapters in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The Christian Science Monitor reports that, "...it is the increase in activity, including rallies, recruitment drives, and distribution of racist literature, and the partnering with skinheads, neo-Nazis, and other kinds of hate groups, that civil rights groups find troubling.
"As it did from its founding, the KKK views itself has having a religious dimension. Members see "lighting" a cross as a symbol of faith. Today, Christian Evangelicals are much more likely than mainstream Protestants or Roman Catholics to believe that "newcomers threaten traditional American customs and values," according to the Pew Research Center.
"It is this trend in attitudes that the Klan hopes to use in recruiting new supporters among those opposed to US immigration policies and practices, according to Klan leaders and expert observers.
"'While we generally think of it as a white supremacist organization, the Klan at its peak was virulently anti-immigrant, particularly with regard to Catholic immigrants, Irish, and southern European,' says Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
"But, he adds, 'The whole nature of hate group membership has changed with the advent of the Internet. You can take bits and pieces from whatever group you like without necessarily becoming a card- carrying member.'"
2 comments:
If one reads "American Facists", we can see clearly where this is all heading. We better get ready to defend our Southern border to prevent the hatred from spreading North. The first steps would be to stop the "Americanizing" of our culture via an American dominated media. WE need to restrict American networks - particularly American "news" networks. We need to open up to more foreign networks (European, Asian).
We need to start building better trade links with other parts of the world. The American Empire (and economy) are in the start of a downward spiral and we don't want to be caught in the undertow. As the economy in the US worsens we will see more hate groups pop up as desperate people reach out for help. We'll see more poverty and unemployment, and more folks joining fringe religious sects (which can be fronts for hate groups).
The mindset that creates this environment takes long-term exposure to a neo-con media in order to develop. We need to watch for this in our increasingly privatizing media - which seems to be falling under foreign control far too much.
I'm hoping to pick up a copy of Hedge's latest book this weekend. If you thought American Fascists was worthwhile, you should try to get his previous work "War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning." Don't let the title put you off, it's an excellent work.
Post a Comment