# KKK resurgence in the U.S. is a disturbing trend **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 7, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997 "2007-03-07T20:43:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/1 "2007-03-07T20:43:06Z")
This is a parody of [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=411188&page=1&pp=50) thread. [Link](http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18037867&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18038&rfi=6). So long as the Bible supports [this](http://www.kkk.bz/jesus_christ_warned_his_disciple.htm), consider me a sworn enemy of Christianity. not really 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/2 "2007-03-07T21:04:11Z")
That site hurt my eyes. And I didn’t more than two sentences in before it filled my brain with stoopid. What was the gist of it? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/3 "2007-03-07T21:18:52Z")
I wasn’t aware that the KKK was in charge of the U.S. government, in the way theocrats are in charge of Iran and Saudi Arabia. I didn’t know they could carry out judicially sanctioned executions and lashings the way the lunatics in those two countries can. Thanks for pointing that out, that certainly is disturbing! ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/4 "2007-03-07T21:25:26Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] I wasn’t aware that the KKK was in charge of the U.S. government, in the way theocrats are in charge of Iran and Saudi Arabia. [/QUOTE] And that changes my point that it’s wrong to judge an entire religion based on the actions of one fringe group because…? Yeah, let’s find as many non-germane differences between my parody and the original thread as we can: I know! KKK starts with a “K” and Saudi Arabian government starts with an “S”. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/5 "2007-03-07T21:52:38Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] Yeah, let’s find as many non-germane differences between my parody and the original thread as we can: I know! KKK starts with a “K” and Saudi Arabian government starts with an “S”. [/QUOTE] Actually, the country’s convention long form name is _Kingdom of Saudi Arabia_, which, uh, you know… begins with a “K”. Just sayin’. I’ll head back to GQ now. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/6 "2007-03-07T21:57:31Z")
And they wear white robes! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/7 "2007-03-07T22:04:03Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] And that changes my point that it’s wrong to judge an entire religion based on the actions of one fringe group because…? [/quote] Do Saudi courts constitute a “fringe group” ? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/8 "2007-03-07T22:04:56Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] And that changes my point that it’s wrong to judge an entire religion based on the actions of one fringe group because…? Yeah, let’s find as many non-germane differences between my parody and the original thread as we can: I know! KKK starts with a “K” and Saudi Arabian government starts with an “S”. [/QUOTE] Oh, for heaven’s sake. The point is that the fringe groups of Christianity–The KKK, Fred Phelps, The Dominionists, etc.—are in fact fringe groups. While the KKK’s immigrant bashing upswing is indeed disturbing, their political power is almost zero. In Iran and Saudi Arabia the “fringe groups” are in charge of the country, which makes them not fringe groups at all, but mainstream. Lunatic Islamists used to be in charge of Afghanistan and are making a comeback. Islamist radicals have a great deal of influence in Pakistan, Egypt and many other countries. They are not on the fringe at all. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/9 "2007-03-07T22:07:40Z")
The URL of that site is: [http://www.kkk.bz/jesus\_christ\_warned\_his\_disciple.htm](http://www.kkk.bz/jesus_christ_warned_his_disciple.htm) with ‘bz’ being the 2 letter country abbreviation for Belize. Does this mean the Klan has had to deal with “furriners” to get their website going? Or maybe (as I’ve heard) the one thing that brought the KKK to a grinding halt was lawsuits brought against it. Maybe the Klan is joining in the “offshore account” bullshit that everyone is trying to get away with these days. Well, I will _not_ be spending my vacation dollar in Belize. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/10 "2007-03-07T22:12:36Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Do Saudi courts constitute a “fringe group” ? [/QUOTE] Um, yes. What are you saying? That out of 1.79 BILLION Muslims in the world, that Saudi judges are representative of the entire religion? Are you people fucking serious? ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/11 "2007-03-07T22:16:16Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] Oh, for heaven’s sake. The point is that the fringe groups of Christianity–The KKK, Fred Phelps, The Dominionists, etc.—are in fact fringe groups. While the KKK’s immigrant bashing upswing is indeed disturbing, their political power is almost zero. In Iran and Saudi Arabia the “fringe groups” are in charge of the country, which makes them not fringe groups at all, but mainstream. Lunatic Islamists used to be in charge of Afghanistan and are making a comeback. Islamist radicals have a great deal of influence in Pakistan, Egypt and many other countries. They are not on the fringe at all. [/QUOTE] For heaven’s sake yourself. Islam is not a country. It is a worldwide religion. If you want to criticize a radical government, go ahead. That’s not the same as condemning Islam. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/12 "2007-03-07T22:21:21Z")
[QUOTE=wolf\_meister] The URL of that site is: [http://www.kkk.bz/jesus\_christ\_warned\_his\_disciple.htm](http://www.kkk.bz/jesus_christ_warned_his_disciple.htm) with ‘bz’ being the 2 letter country abbreviation for Belize. Does this mean the Klan has had to deal with “furriners” to get their website going? Or maybe (as I’ve heard) the one thing that brought the KKK to a grinding halt was lawsuits brought against it. Maybe the Klan is joining in the “offshore account” bullshit that everyone is trying to get away with these days. Well, I will _not_ be spending my vacation dollar in Belize. :mad: [/QUOTE] Gee, you’re right. It was pretty silly of me to judge all of Christianity based on that one fringe group. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/13 "2007-03-07T22:26:42Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] Um, yes. What are you saying? That out of 1.79 BILLION Muslims in the world, that Saudi judges are representative of the entire religion? Are you people fucking serious? [/QUOTE] They’re certainly representative of the Muslim government of Saudi Arabia, which makes me actively resist any attempt for Sharia law to spread to my relatively utopian and un-barbaric home of Canada (it’s been tried a few times recently). I am fucking serious that this example, among others, makes me distrust any Muslim attempt to blend religion and law (not limited to Muslims, incidentally, but extended to fundamentalist Christians and Jews). So, yes, I’m judging and mistrusting an entire faith based on what happens when those among them who are sufficiently determined to gain political power and write laws get a chance to do so. You don’t like it, you can go fuck yourself. As for the great mass of moderate Muslims who (I hope) see this travesty as the bullshit it is, they don’t need me to judge them, except for not being outraged enough to rise up in revolt and have all the mullahs hanged. ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/14 "2007-03-07T22:40:28Z")
And damnit! I really want one of those little Hummelesque/Lladro on a shitpile of psilocybin figurines. Dunno what I’d do with it, but I still kinda want one. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/15 "2007-03-07T22:54:35Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] They’re certainly representative of the Muslim government of Saudi Arabia, [/QUOTE] Excuse me, was that the question I asked you? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/16 "2007-03-07T23:00:36Z")
**lowbrass** , what is your definition of a fringe group? It would seem to me that radical Islam is pretty far from the fringe in the Muslim world. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/17 "2007-03-07T23:10:03Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] Excuse me, was that the question I asked you? [/QUOTE] Well, you lied in response to mine about whether or not Arab courts are a fringe group when you said “yes”. I simply explained why they weren’t, representing as they do the government of what is arguably (if not obviously) the nation of greatest importance to Islam. Fortunately, once Muslims get out of repressive environments like that one, they tend to embrace western-style rule of law and freedom, still the best games in town. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/18 "2007-03-07T23:12:20Z")
The KKK, though its nose peeks up through the slime layer at times, has been a joke and without influence even on a state level for decades. When a _former_ KKK leader (David Duke) ran for Senate as a Republican years ago, fellow GOP members fell all over themselves to attack him (he lost). Christian leaders of whatever stripe have denounced the KKK. I know that all of Islam does not act like the people in the linked thread. What’s disturbing is that they remain in power. “Moderates” make excuses and/or are reluctant to disavow them. Bad analogy, OP. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/19 "2007-03-07T23:14:12Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] What’s disturbing is that they remain in power. [/QUOTE] Fascists or their equivalent are kinda difficult to get rid of when they’re at the top. Are the SLORC representative of the Burmese people? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997/20 "2007-03-07T23:19:19Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Fascists or their equivalent are kinda difficult to get rid of when they’re at the top. [/QUOTE] Well, Klan-types and those of similar views did hold power in a number of southern U.S. states for a very long time. Getting rid of them was, to understate it grossly, tricky. I’d like to see a similar process in an Islamic nation that doesn’t just end up replacing oppression with equal or greater oppression. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kkk-resurgence-in-the-u-s-is-a-disturbing-trend/394997.md?page=2)