Where is the Klan Now
Most KKK members reside in the more southern rich states. They reside in states that are more conservative than liberal. And the number of KKK-based groups spiked in 2017 after a decrease. In Mississippi, there are 5 groups, Alabama 4, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, 3, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia have 2. And Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Washington only have 1. This adds up to a total of 42 groups in the US. Not to mention that within every KKK group there are approximately 50-100 people per group.
Even though it is 2022 and it’s been five years I still find it baffling that a hate organization is still around. It’s really weird and makes you wonder if America is ever going to get out of racism. Even though the group isn’t as active as how they were in the 1960s-1980s knowing that the government hasn’t done anything about it or forced them to disband and probably never will force them to is scary. It is as if the government doesn’t care about people of color at all.
I feel like in order for someone to really be a part of the KKK they need to have a mind that is forever closed off. And those people, the people who aren’t willing to change, terrify me. It’s as if they don’t want to let go. They want to continue to hold onto/ manifest a world full of hatred and racism. It’s also bothersome how some young adults who weren’t even born in that time frame are part of those groups. Romanticizing a life that they never lived, but were taught. This brings me to the next point.
Racism is a learned behavior. A child is brought to the world knowing nothing, but if they are exposed to the behaviors of someone who plays an active role in their life then it’s only natural for the said child to follow in those footsteps. They presumed that if someone they looked up to acted like that then it was okay. I just find that in order to teach a whole generation how to resent a specific race for existing is draining. How is one person going to go on their entire life hating and hate crime, I guess some people, the KKK, live for that and see that as the main reason for their existence.