KKK:Evidence of Fear Behind Hate

“We promise to protect the weak, the innocent, and the defenseless from the indignities, wrongs, and outrages of the lawless,the violent, and the brutal; to relieve the injured and the oppressed; to succor the suffering and unfortunate, and especially the widows and orphans of Confederate soldiers” -Oath of the Ku Klux Klan Since the 1860s, white Southerners have always held a higher status than African Americans until a great change occurred that completely turned their society upside down, leaving the whites in fear of becoming inferior to blacks and being taken over by them. For the Ku Klux Klan, the African American being “on top” was the source of that fear.

Hate and fear brought on by the infamous racist hate group dubbed the Ku Klux Klan towards African Americans has caused wrongful and brutal treatment and discrimination, and it needs to be resolved through stricter law enforcement and better acts against racial inequality. Going as far back as the late 1800s in history long ago, in the Southernmost part of America, the anti-semitic hate group Ku Klux Klan was born due to fear brought on by African Americans who gained their freedom after the Civil War had ended, and they eventually elevated to the top of society.

This immense advantage brought on to the African American community not only worried the Southern whites, but it drove them to create and spread rumors about the benefited blacks. “During times of crisis or uncertainty, people often resort to rumors, or stories circulated without facts to confirm the truth, to help them cope with anxieties and fears. Of all the rumors, racial and hate rumors are considered the most dangerous because they are divisive and create hostility that can lead to violence”(Miller 24). The issue of spreading and creating racial and hate rumors that eventually causes violent conflict and racial diversity amongst differentiating ethnicities still resides today as strong as it was in the 1860s.

The Ku Klux Klan has thus been contributing to this recurring diversity, manifesting to all of their white superiority. To help resolve this feeling of uneasiness and anxiety from the whites, specific laws were created that deliberately “swept under the rug” the fact that the blacks were actually doing well and even better than whites in the flip-flopped society. “The soldiers flagrant disregard for racial etiquette likely outraged his former master: in the South s black person was forbidden to speak to a white person unless spoken to first, let alone flaunt his freedom and his new station. To many white Southerners, this small violation of racial etiquette would have reinforced their greatest fear: the bottom rail was on top” (Miller 11).

The whites feared that since the African Americans were receiving support from the federal government on their civil rights, the whites would lose their higher-paying jobs to the blacks, and the whites would have to take their occupations. This trepidation led white Southerners to believe that the social society was corrupt and in total chaos, and it wasn’t until after the Reconstruction and the passing of a Civil Rights Act in 1866 that created racial equality. Though racial equality existed, peace was still not restored in society. White Southern pride was insulted by the idea of racial equilibrium because they felt they were being challenged in authority by African Americans.

This idea currently still resides in the minds of proud Ku Klux Klan members today, believing that the white superiority was always “on top” and should, therefore, stay “on top” and letting no black man prevail, whatsoever. The Ku Klux Klan has often been looked at as an example of domestic violence and terrorism. What they saw as a way of portraying their white superiority was a horrid impact on the world then as well as today. “The policies of Reconstruction – aiming to extend the Southern rights of blacks – had the unintended effect of pushing hundreds of resentful and anxious veterans into the Klan, which soon began instituting a systematic policy of violence in opposition to the new social order.

Former slaves were the obvious target of this terrorism, but the Klan also harassed, intimidated and even killed Northern teachers, judges, politicians and “carpet baggers” of all ilk ( Ku Klux Klan – Extremism in America). As a result if the Klan’s terrorism and violence, innocent lives of the African Americans have been broken and lost. African Americans were not the only target in these violent acts, however.

The Ku Klux Klan also tormented the Jews as well as Catholics, homosexuals, and immigrants who did not share the same views as the white superiority. More laws have been passed to help obliterate the notion of racial inequality in Ku Klux Klan hate groups such as the Force Acts that was passed around 1872 and the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, but none of them have really taken affect towards positive change in society. As a result, more hate groups affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan have branched off and spread throughout America.

“In 2009 the Southern Poverty Law Center, located in Montgomery, Alabama, counted 932 active hate groups in the United States. The known activities of these groups range from murder and other acts of violence, intimidation, harassment, and vandalism, as well as speeches, meetings, and the spread of hate propaganda through leaflets, the Internet, and shortwave radio broadcasts” (Miller 149). Today, fear and racial also continue to roam through the uses of technology and other sources of communication that aid in spreading the issue of racial discrimination.

Though several activists in history and even today who speak out against racial inequality strive to create change and reform in society, spread of hate propaganda by groups like the Ku Klux Klan hinder any change from occurring in society. Society, however, is striving to halt this racial injustice of the Ku Klux Klan by strengthening and bettering law enforcement as well as more careful monitoring of suspicious klan behavior through the use of technology by communication intelligence specialists. The Southern Poverty Law Center is an example of this striving to resolve the particular issue.

“Despite their numbers, these hate groups wield none of the power or prestige that the Ku Klux Klan held in earlier years. The Southern Poverty Law Center attributes their loss of power to American’s intolerance of hate groups and their criminal activities and to law enforcement agencies who uphold our nation’s laws. Modern historians also credit the large numbers of people who fight for educational and economical opportunities for all Americans”( Miller 150). The Southern Poverty Law Center as well as other communication intelligence specialists such as the ones in the National Security Association (NSA) are working today to help stop all types of terrorism including the kind from the Ku Klux Klan.

Though much has been done to create racial equality amongst all races through civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, not much has been resolved to help completely eliminate hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klans all throughout the United States. “Rage had kept the KKK alive for nearly 150 years – rage against those who have a different skin color or practice of different religion, and rage against those who threaten while racists’ shaky belief that there is a race better than others”(Klobuchar 85).

It is the bitter anger and hate that originates from fear that keeps the flame of the Ku Klux Klan burning. Unless the minds of the white superiority in the KKK is opened to the idea of a world with equality amongst all colors of skin and religion, the Ku Klux Klan and its numerous other brother hate groups will continue to contribute to diversity and negatively affecting society and the world as a whole.

The Ku Klux Klan has marked its prominent place in history, and it is currently still manifesting itself even to this day, proclaiming their white pride and supremacy over African Americans. It was the nature of fear that ignited their vile hate for not only African Americans, but also Jews, Catholics, gays, and immigrants. The Ku Klux Klan name will forever be known to man as a birthed creation of destruction to society.

Works Cited
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2010. Print. Klobuchar, Lisa. 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing: The Ku Klux Klan’s History of Terror. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point, 2009. Print. “Ku Klux Klan — Extremism in America.” Ku Klux Klan — Extremism in America. Anti-Defamation League, 2012. Web. 18 Dec. 2012. <http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/kkk/default.asp?LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America>. “The Official Web Page.” KKK. Indiana Historical Research Foundation, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012. <http://www.kkklan.com/>. “Southern Alliance of Klans.” Southern Alliance of Klans. N.p., 2009. Web. 18 Dec. 2012. “Spartacus Educational.” Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkkk.htm>. “Stop Hate – Ku Klux Klan.” Stop Hate – Ku Klux Klan. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012. <http://www.adl.org/hate-patrol/njs/kkk.asp>.

Bibliography
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2010. Print.