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June 06, 2005
In Case You Thought the KKK Was A Thing of the Past..
This post is from my friend Lisa. I'm proud to share status as a KKK "undesirable" with her.
Friday was a nice day. I decided to ride my bike to the library. On my way back, as I was pulling into my driveway, I saw a flyer in a plastic bag, weighted down with a rock. I assumed it was just another local kid soliciting customers for his lawn service, until I spied the word, “klan.”
I picked it up, the optimist in me still somehow hoping it was an ad for the protest against the upcoming Klan exhibit. Of course, I was wrong. I don’t know if someone knew I was white and targeted me with the invitation, or if my whole diverse, minority white neighborhood was spammed. I thought about my Black and Hispanic neighbors, and wondered if they’d also had the misfortune to find this garbage in their driveways as well.
My first impulse was to ball it up and throw it away. But I decided to read it instead. Despite the author’s efforts to appear reasonable and logical, there is just no way in which I can comprehend their twisted version of reality.
“If you’re concerned about the welfare and future of the White Race and America, you are invited to attend a great event.”
Sure, I’m concerned about the future, but with the human race, not the white race. I don’t cheer for any race to progress in spite of another. Can’t we all progress together?
The exhibit will include “Klan artifacts and collectibles from the 1870s to modern date.” Gee, can I see original nooses and burnt crosses?! These people make me want to change my race so I don’t feel so dirty just by visible resemblance.
“The White Camellia Knights of the Ku Klux klan reserve the right to refuse admittance to anyone into this function deemed “undesirable.””
Since my reality is the inverse of theirs, I’ll be proud to attend the event and stand alongside the rest of the undesirables. Actually I am an undesirable as well. I’m a straight, white, proponent of race mixing, friend of homosexuals, and supporter of separation of Church and State.
Now, I had known about this event for a while, and I was not planning to attend, because it is a long drive from my home of Texas City. However, now that I have gotten a personal invitation, I think I will have to accept. Do you think I should RSVP?
After I sat here reading this nonsense, I called my “undesirable” friend Lyn. Then I went to check the mail, and my “undesirable” neighbor called me over to chat. Then I came inside, and the phone rang. It was a man who is the son of immigrants from Colombia, who will be escorting me to the mixed-race wedding of my best friend. Among the invited guests will be my white brother and his black wife, along with my gay friend and his boyfriend.
As I thought about the range of people I have in my life on a regular basis, in the context of the invitation, I had two thoughts. One, naturally was disgust that there are still people in this world who use the word pride as a euphemism for hate. But secondly, because all the “undesirables” in my life give my life a richness that those pathetic, hate-filled Klansmen will always lack. What sad, bland, boring, colorless lives they must lead. I won’t hate them. I pity them instead. Hate takes too much energy. I prefer to use my energy to enjoy my colorful life instead.
If you want to attend the counter demonstration, you will find many "undesirables" there, possibly including myself:
Attention Activists and Socially Aware people of Houston:
The widely known racist group
THE WHITE CAMELIA KNIGHTS of the KU KLUX KLAN is having a large meeting of people from all over the U.S. at the
Tomball Civic Center(221 Market St) (281-255-6221) on Sat. June 11 at 12 noon.
Join Houston Anti-Racist Action in combatting prejudice and fascism.
Posted by Lyn Wall at June 6, 2005 02:54 PM | Permalink
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Comments
Everyone who is opposed to the Klan and racism is encouraged to participate in the protest on Saturday, June 11. The event begins at 11 am in the open space at the corner of S. Cherry St and Market St in Tomball. There will be speakers, music, and poetry. This event is being organized by the United Concerned Neighbors, an ad hoc coalition that sponsored a safe, successful protest against the Klan in Santa Fe in April 2003. For more information, please call (832) 692-2306 or (281) 935-9248.
Posted by: Dr. David Michael Smith at June 6, 2005 07:08 PM
Chilling as that flyer is, one part of it made me laugh... the disclaimer at the bottom.
Posted by: Mike Chappell at June 8, 2005 09:17 AM
Yeah, I have to admit that made me chuckle too! I think my exact words were, "Good grief!"LOL
Posted by: Lisa at June 8, 2005 05:32 PM
At first I thought the disclaimer might be tongue-in-cheek, but you've got to figure that anybody whose hobby is dressing up in a sheet to go hate on his neighbors isn't likely to have a subtle sense of humor.
Posted by: Mike Chappell at June 9, 2005 11:40 AM