The source for the above:
Ku Klux Klan - A History of Racism and Violence (6th Ed., 2011) --
(Website Version)
https://www.splcenter.org/20110228/k...history-racism
(PDF Version)
https://www.splcenter.org/sites/defa...-of-Racism.pdf
The essay has these paragraphs following a bit after the previously quoted passage:
Quote:
Soon after the founders named the Klan, they decided to do a bit of showing off, and so disguised themselves in sheets and galloped their horses through the quiet streets of tiny Pulaski. their ride created such a stir that the men decided to adopt the sheets as the official regalia of the Ku Klux Klan, and they added to the effect by donning grotesque masks and tall pointed hats. They also performed elaborate initiation ceremonies for new members. Similar to the hazing popular in college fraternities, the ceremony consisted of blindfolding the candidate, subjecting him to a series of silly oaths and rough handling, and finally bringing him before a “royal altar” where he was to be invested with a “royal crown.” the altar turned out to be a mirror and the crown two large donkey’s ears. Ridiculous though it sounds today, that was the high point of the earliest activities of the Ku Klux Klan.
Had that been all there was to the Ku Klux Klan, it probably would have disappeared as quietly as it was born. But at some point in early 1866, the club added new members from nearby towns and began to have a chilling effect on local blacks. The intimidating night rides were soon the centerpiece of the hooded order: bands of white-sheeted ghouls paid late night visits to black homes, admonishing the terrified occupants to behave themselves and threatening more visits if they didn’t. It didn’t take long for the threats to be converted into violence against blacks who insisted on exercising their new rights and freedom. Before its six founders realized what had happened, the Ku Klux Klan had become something they may not have originally intended — something deadly serious.
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As with many aspects of life, it isn't what someone or something starts out as that's ultimately important, it what they are or have become that really matters; I'm sure Nazism just started with a bunch of guys bitching over beers; if that was all they did, no one would care...
On the other hand, a bunch of guys in New England bitched over ales and decided to to do something positive about their gripes and, in the end, we have our nation. Don't know about you, but I'm more impressed with the New Englanders than I could ever possibly be with those "silly" ex-Confederates and their sympathizers...
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