KKK Hatred and Lunacy in Richmond, Virginia

“The law abiding citizens of your community can sleep in peace tonight know the Klan is on the prowl.”

There are many days I truly wish circumstances were different and that I was in a position to just get the Hell out of Virginia.  The backwardness and bigotry can simply overwhelm one at times.  Then of course, there is the total absence of any legal protections for LGBT citizens in this backwater state to constantly remind one that they are indeed a third or fourth class citizen.  

A recent bigotry eruption in the Richmond area - which by Virginia standards is relatively progressive -serves to remind minorities and LGBT Virginians that we are in fact surrounded by knuckle dragging Neanderthal racists more than we like to believe.  What happened?  The Klu Klux Klan has been on a recruiting drive in the Richmond suburbs and has been dropping leaflets that extol racism (see image above).  What is really scary is that these bigots see themselves as "non-violent Christians" who only seek to "protect the rights of white people."   WTVR-TV has details.  Here are some highlights:

The Ku Klux Klan call themselves the invisible empire, but they have certainly been reaching out to Richmond area residents, some who have received recruitment flyers twice within two months.

Two men who profess to be members of the Virginia Ku Klux Klan spoke with CBS 6.

The man wearing the green robe said he’s the head of the state network, known as the grand dragon. The other is a regional head. They said there has been a surge of interest in the KKK since President Obama’s first term.

“Since Obama’s first term our numbers have doubled and now that we’re headed to a second term it’s going to triple, this is going to be the biggest resurgence of the Klan since 1915,” said one of the Klansmen interviewed.

The Klansman have been handing out flyers in a Mechanicsville neighborhood, and neighbors who received them have contacted CBS 6.

The Klansmen said that they’re white separatist, non-violent Christians whose mission is protect the rights of white people lawfully, the same way the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People does for African-Americans.

Local NAACP director King Salim Khalfani said that the KKK history suggests there is more hate behind what they call a separatist philosophy.  “They have a history of terrorism, torture, murder…,” said Khalfani.

Khalfani said his group is aware of a rise in KKK activity, specifically since November’s election. He said the recruiting is no surprise but that it comes with false advertising about who they really are.

“Be honest, I respect people who are honest, but it’s harder to recruit when you say it like it is,” he said.

Civil rights historian Brian Daugherity agrees with Khalfani that the KKK should be classified as a hate group, but said that today’s Virginia KKK is likely not as involved in the violent and criminal activities of decades past.  Still, for most Virginians, the flyers stir a sour memory.  “I think most Virginians think this was a long time ago and the current activity is uncomfortable,” said Daugherity. “It’s disturbing, it’s scary.”

However, the plan is to continue recruiting in central Virginia, and to remain invisible except to those who share their beliefs.  “Being a Klansman isn’t something you just do on the weekends, you live twenty-four seven for the Klan,” said one of the Klansmen interviewed.

What is even more frightening is the reality that the majority of the GOP members of the Virginia General Assembly likely share the views of the Klansmen interviewed.  They certainly favor restrictions on minority voting and will likely once again prove that they are the enemies of LGBT rights and want to control women's bodies.  Yet in the next breath, they wonder why Virginia has difficulty recruiting progressive businesses, particularly in rural areas where the majority of residents share the beliefs of the men interviewed by WTVR.