news which surprises no one

The Klan is growing:

New York, NY, February 6, 2007 � The Ku Klux Klan, which just a few years ago seemed static or even moribund compared to other white supremacist movements such as neo-Nazis, experienced "a surprising and troubling resurgence" during the past year due to the successful exploitation of hot-button issues including immigration, gay marriage and urban crime, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

The League, which monitors the activities of racist hate groups and reports its findings to law enforcement and policymakers, has documented a noticeable spike in activity by Klan chapters across the country. The KKK believes that the U.S. is "drowning" in a tide of non-white immigration, controlled and orchestrated by Jews, and is vigorously trying to bring this message to Americans concerned or fearful about immigration.

"If any one single issue or trend can be credited with re-energizing the Klan, it is the debate over immigration in America," said Deborah M. Lauter, ADL Civil Rights Director. "Klan groups have witnessed a surprising and troubling resurgence by exploiting fears of an immigration explosion, and the debate over immigration has, in turn, helped to fuel an increase in Klan activity, with new groups sprouting in parts of the country that have not seen much activity."

Given the similarities of beliefs with the far right, this was fairly easy to predict. The article goes on to note:

The troubling Klan resurgence has manifested itself in a number of ways:

* Longstanding groups have increased their activity and experienced a rapid expansion in size.
* New groups have appeared, causing racial tensions in communities previously untroubled by racial issues. They hold anti-immigration rallies and recruitment drives and distribute racist literature with a new emphasis on the immigration issue, and Hispanics.
* Klan groups have become more active in parts of the country that had not seen much activity in recent years, including the Great Plains States such as Iowa and Nebraska, and Mid-Atlantic states such as Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
* Klan groups increasingly are cooperating with neo-Nazi groups, especially the Minnesota-based National Socialist Movement.
* The Klan has adopted new publicity tricks, such as sending racist fliers to school teachers during Black History Month, and has embraced the Internet as a means to spread anti-Semitism and racism. One group, the Empire Knights of the KKK, runs an Internet-based radio station, dubbed "KKK Radio," which broadcasts white power music and racist and anti-Semitic propaganda.

Reading this reminds me of an incident I wrote about in late 2005. The Klan held a rally for the marriage amendment in TX but some of the "regular folks" who also wanted to ban same-sex marriage were just mortified that the Klan was there and that they were on the same side. One person was quoted as saying that he didn't want to be linked with the Klan. Because, what, it makes you see just how ugly your SAME BELIEFS are?

Anyway, the full ADL report is available at the link above, as is a state-by-state listing of local chapters, and a list of states that are 'notable' for growth & activity.