Someone burned a cross in the yard of an interracial couple in Indiana.
Since this is the pit: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
I hope people don’t paint all Hoosiers with the same brush. Some of us are horrified and repulsed by this.
I’m trying really hard not to. People Pit Texas and Florida all the time, but I sometimes get the feeling that Indiana is the most backwards and racist state in the union. It seems like it resides in the deepest of the deep south when it comes to enlightenment.
I’m glad you’re not all like that. I mean, I know you’re not. But sheesh.
Speaking for myself I would never do such a thing. I will give you my theory on how to deal with assholes who perpetrate shit of this nature though. It’s called the “catch and release” method. Although I’m sure you’re familiar with it from fishing, my method varies in that after I release them, their generally slightly worse for wear.
In Indiana’s defense, regarding another common target of discrimination, state universities in Indiana (or, at least, Purdue) does offer employment and therefore benefits to domestic partners of any gender… while Michigan just struck that down.
We think of the Ku Klux Klan as a Southern organization, but I recall reading (no cite) that back in the 1920s, when the Klan was politically important and staged rallies in Washington, Indiana and Illinois were major centers of Klan activity.
Yes. My grandmother was in the Klan. They played euchre on Tuesday nights.
You can’t even say… well, Indiana borders on KT. Elkhart is about as far north as you can get in Indiana.
Still, I don’t see any reason to tar an entire state, or even part of a state, for the actions of a few individuals.
Yeah, but the Nazis drove them out of Illinois.
I learned that a few years ago. I was really shocked at the location, and even more shocked at how infuential they were. As fucked up as we may think this country is today, it’s amazing how much more so it was back then.
Certainly not, and I know some awesome people from there. But I’m still surprised at some of the things I hear about it.
I have read that even now there’s more Klan in Ohio than any Southern state.
Having been up North often, I think it’s because Southerners actually see black people on a day to day basis. In Pennsylvania, where my mom’s family is, they’re there but they don’t go to the same schools, shop at the same stores, or visit the same movie theaters. I’ve never seen such de facto segregation anywhere in the South.
The history of the klan in Indiana in the 20s is fascinating. It really was more like an Elks club than anything else. If you read their publications from the time it is clear they were more worried about Catholics than blacks or anyone else. There is no evidence that the klan ever lynched anyone in Indiana. Its main raison d’etre was political. It pretty much controlled state politics in the mid-20s. Most politicians were in the pocket of the Indiana Grand Dragon, D.C. Stephenson. Then Stephenson got himself in a world of trouble when he basically kidnapped a young woman, forced her on a train to Chicago, and did god knows what to her. When they got back to Indianapolis the woman killed herself. (The wiki article states she was raped, but it is uncited and I don’t believe any evidence has ever been presented to back that up. Of course it is very likely, but whatever actually happened went to the grave with Oberholzer). Stephenson regarded the whole trial and conviction for second-degree murder with contempt, confident that the governor would pardon him, as he was on Stephenson’s payroll. When Governor Jackson refused to pardon him, Stephenson released a bunch of records that ended up putting Jackson himself in prison.
After all this unseemly activity, the klan died a very quick death in Indiana.
Yep. Grandma is still worried about Catholics.
As someone who is from North Idaho, I share your frustration. All it takes is the actions of a few assholes to ruin the name of everyone from a region. I can honestly say that I’ve encountered far more racism in Washington, D.C. (where I lived for seven years) and now here in Maryland than I ever encountered in North Idaho. But for many people North Idaho=Aryan Nations. So I feel your pain, DCMS.
In Idaho’s defense, it’s my understanding that few, if any, Aryan Nations members are local. Plus now that Butler is gone it’s only a matter of time before they all turn to “leaderless resistance”.
[chris rock]
In every town, there’s two shopping malls: The one where the white people go, and the one where the white people used to go!
[/cr]
You seem to be one of the few who understand this. Butler certainly wasn’t local (or at least as locals define themselves). He was from California. I don’t think he really drew many skinheads from local North Idahoans. Of course, I don’t recall ever seeing a skinhead when I lived there. But the few who were there were good for the news and that’s what gave North Idaho its image.
I doubt many people know he’s gone. A few years ago an organization I was involved with was having a conference there. I was talking to a black lady about it and she was aghast we’d have a meeting in North Idaho. “Don’t you know that’s home to the largest Nazi group in the country?” she asked. I explained to her that the Aryan Nations had relocated to Pennsylvania, Butler was dead, and even when he was alive and active there were maybe 10 or 20 active members of the AN in North Idaho.
KY perhaps? 
Well, that’s true everywhere. 
Yes, Rock was not, in that bit, referring to Indiana or any particular state or region.