The New and Improved KKK?

I guess everyone deserves a second chance, right? We all deserve the opportunity to make amends and wipe the slate clean. We should open our hearts and give others the benefit of the doubt. Isn’t that what Jesus would do? Well, maybe, but I think even Jesus was coughing up his dinner when he saw the Ku Klux Klan counter protesting the protests of the members of the Westboro Baptist Church at a recent funeral of a soldier.

The KKK grand dragon or wizard or whatever the hell his asinine title is, Dennis LaBonte, has said the KKK is not a hate-mongering group. Yes, those cross burnings and lynchings through the years were just a way of welcoming new people to the neighborhood I guess. Anyway, LaBonte, who claims to be an armed forces veteran, told the media that it was a shame that soldiers’ funerals were disrupted by the religious whacko zealots from Westboro. I am paraphrasing that statement but you get the idea.

I cannot believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but here they are: I agree with the wizard guy when he said that it was a shame that the lunatics from the Westboro Baptist Church intrude on people’s grief, and it’s a shame that our constitution has to protect their cold-hearted hate. So, I am wondering: Did hell freeze over and no one told me? Did the rapture really happen and the KKK being nice is the first sign that the end-of-world is at hand? Honestly, I am not sure which is weirder: the idea that the KKK is showing some kind of non-murderous heart or that I am saying something positive – sort of– about the organization, which according to the head wizard, is misunderstood and non-hate-mongering.

So, I have to wonder if the KKK is reforming. I wonder if they are trying to gain credibility by going legit much like the mafia families did years ago to get the FBI off their backs. Maybe the KKK knows that if they pretend to be good guys, others might forgive their past transgressions. Is it possible that the KKK might one day abandon their robes and become open-minded members of society who think that everyone in this country deserves the same, fair chance at the “American Dream” without fear of prejudice or physical harm? NOOOOOO! The KKK could give a crap about anyone but the white man. Just because they protested at a soldier’s funeral doesn’t mean they have donned a new cloak of honor.

What is really scary about this Westboro Baptist-KKK thing is that neither side recognizes their evil. They both drape themselves in the bible and God and think that somehow the Big Being upstairs approves of the venom they spew. They both know the bible verses and they claim to know how God thinks, and they believe if hatred and murder are needed to prove God’s point, then so be it.

This whole KKK thing got me rattled. To me it’s like having Hitler yell at Idi Amin for not being nice. It’s unnerving, weird and just plain creepy. If the KKK really wants to improve their image, they should ditch the hoods. Nothing says lack of trust like a hat that covers one’s entire face. If you are truly into reform, KKK people, and truly want to show a kind heart, let the world see the real you, and maybe bring some cake to the next cross burning. Bakery items always show you care.

photo by Lee.Ekstrom