This Week in Racism - Has the Ku Klux Klan Gone Soft?

Welcome to another edition of This Week in Racism. I’ll be ranking news stories on a scale of one to RACIST, with “one” being the least racist and “RACIST” being the most racist.

–Last Sunday's anti-Semetic shooting rampage in Kansas, which saw three people lose their lives at the hands of Frazier Glenn Cross, not only ruined my ability to love Kelsey Grammer for about five minutes but also reminded the world that there are some people out there who just plain don't like Jews. Cross has a long history of racist behavior and ran the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1980s, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

I assumed that the Klan would come out in support of one of their alumni graduating from mere kook all the way up to official homicidal maniac status. The exact opposite happened. Frank Ancona—referred to as the "imperial wizard of the Traditionalist American Knights of the KKK" by USA Today—condemnedCross's actions. Ancona called the shooting spree "an act of hate" and said, "We've had a few members who have become bad apples, and the whole organization is overall cast in the same light." USA Today reported that the Klan does background checks on all prospective members and that they see themselves as a "white Christian group" rather than a terrorist hate organization.

While the KKK is publicly condemning hate, an elected official in the town of Marionville, Missouri, is feeling a bit more sympathetic. Marionville's mayor, Dan Clevenger, is quoted telling KSPR-TV that he "kind of agreed with [Cross] on some things, but I don't like to express that too much." Clevenger went on to say that Cross "was always nice and friendly and respectful of elder people, you know; he respected his elders greatly. As long as they were the same color as him." An important distinction to make, Dan. Thanks.

Clevenger has a history of making anti-Semetic statements, but with the media bearing down on the Kansas City area, a backlash was inevitable. Jessica Wilson, a Marionville Alderwoman, resigned to escape the intense opinions on both sides of what should be a fairly cut-and-dried issue. Of course, in a town where the last mayoral election was decided on a vote of 180 to 149, voices carry.

What kind of a world is it where the KKK sounds reasonable, and an elected mayor is publicly sympathizing with a violent lunatic and be comfortable coming off as totally RACIST?

James Meredith statue at the University of Mississippi. Photo via Wikipedia Creative Commons.

–In this super exciting fun-time world of kooky racist shit, a fraternity on the campus of the University of Mississippi thinks it's totally chill to put a noose around the neck of a statue of the school's first black student. Sigma Phi Epsilon's chapter at the college has been closed after members of the fraternity were accused of defiling a statue of James Meredith. Three members of Sigma Phi Epsilon expelled for their part in the incident. I want to believe that the KKK could soften their rhetoric and fade into the background of American society, but as long as incidents like these continue, it's difficult to believe people like "imperial wizard" Fran Ancona. The Klan trying to seem reasonable could be a great way for them to draw attention away from the cultural influence they have on the communities like this one.  RACIST

This baby might really hate Korean people. Photo via Wikipedia Creative Commons.

–I'd like to think that people learn to be shitty to each other after years of watching political debate shows and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but what if you're a racist as soon as you pop out of the womb? A report from the University of Washington claims that babies can be racist. Babies, the second cutest thing in the world after a small cat lying on its back, could be predisposed to growing up to be the next Frazier Glenn Cross.

The study set up an experiment where 15-month old toddlers observed an adult either evenly or unevenly share a collection of four toys with other adults. The babies chose to play with the experimenter who evenly shared their toys 70 percent of the time, but there's a major caveat. Time magazine said:

When the two adults who were receiving the evenly or unevenly divided toys were of different races and the race of the one who got more toys matched the babies’ own, the 70 percent preference for the fair distributor dropped and the share of babies wanting to play with the unfair one rose. The implication: unfairness is bad, unless someone from your clan is getting the extra goodies.

Do babies actually have a racial preference? I suppose asking them is out of the question, but perhaps it's time to consider actively teaching tolerance a bit more in our schools. Maybe people like Frazier Glenn Cross and other KKK members don't learn to hate, but rather are just never taught not to. 5

The Most Racist Tweets of the Week:

dont give me none of that if youre white u cant say nigger kill yourself nigger

— nicole (@_homogay) April 18, 2014

I'm about to call TWC again. If I get another bushy eyebrow having middle eastern bomber or a wetback I'm hanging up.

— BRAKAKA SWEG BITCH (@oXtacys) April 18, 2014

shut up u fucking dune coon

— creampie cutie (@toothybj) April 17, 2014

active member of KKK > active member of buzzfeed community

— stephanie browne (@stephaniebrowne) April 18, 2014

Take your prayer rug, roll it back up & shove it up your ass you worthless sandnigger!

— Dr. WhitePower (@THERACISTDOCTOR) April 16, 2014

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