by Nomad
The hacker group Anonymous recently issued an announcement that it would reveal the identities of some 1000 members of the white supremacist organization, the KKK next month. The announcement read:
“After closely observing so many of you for so very long, we feel confident that applying transparency to your organizational cells is the right, just, appropriate and only course of action.”
In fact, there's been an increase in KKK recruiting and activity in the last few years. As one source notes:
Whether they are experimenting in children’s television, establishing a neighborhood watch, celebrating their white heritage by hanging nooses in their yards, or leaving informational packets to let people know that they are not the “enemy of the colored and mongrel races,” the Christian hate group has been making headlines–and is no longer content to remain a shameful, shadowy presence on the fringe of our society.
The Daily Beast recently reported that immediately following the South Carolina church massacre, KKK recruitment fliers began turning up (with candy) "planted under the cover of darkness, the fliers were distributed in California, Kansas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.Here's a map of the 160 active KKK groups in the US at this time. For an interactive version of this map, click here.
It's not far-fetched to imagine that the list would include some Republican politicians from the South. Ties between the Republican party and the KKK have been denied by GOP leaders, however a recent study about the draw a historical pattern between them.
KKK votes GOP
Research published in the American Sociological Review suggests that increases in Republican voting, across several different time intervals, were most pronounced in southern counties where the Ku Klux Klan had been active in the 1960s.
In counties where the KKK was well-established there tended to be a greater shift toward the Republican Party than where the Klan did not have large numbers. And this pattern has been true since the mid-1960s and the Democrat-led Civil Rights movement.
Interestingly even after the movement declined, the influence on party choice remained.
Therefore, it would be no great surprise to see one or two high-level Republicans, like judges, sheriffs, local officials, businessmen being outed next month.
The only question: For people like that, would being exposed as KKK member be considered a source of embarrassment for such people or a source of pride?
