A Klan to march

You don’t like them and neither do we, but it’s OK because they don’t like anyone, either. Still, if we’re allowed to publicly denounce the Ku Klux Klan, stopping only short of libel, then they have to be allowed to march in downtown Bloomington.\nIt’s an annoying and unfortunate trade-off, but the cost of protecting progressive, enlightened thought is to also protect ignorant, hate-filled garbage – such as the kind that seeps from the mouths of the United Northern and Southern Knights. The KKK faction wants to hold a rally in Bloomington this summer.\nBut just because Bloomington is obliged to entertain these disgusting, bottom-feeding racists doesn’t mean you have to attend the rally. And it doesn’t mean the local media need to give them the attention they desperately crave. All we have to do is put up with a couple dozen sheet-clad racists hollering and carrying on like the grade-school dropouts they are. It’s not like Indiana hasn’t seen that before – the Klan has long been found in this state.\nThe real question, though, is not simply whether the Knights will be allowed to protest in Bloomington. Mayor Mark Kruzan, Safe and Civil City Program Director Beverly Calendar-Anderson and Bloomington Police Department Capt. Mike Diekhoff have all made statements in support of free speech. So long as the Klan informs the city before the march and observes the city’s laws and codes, they will be allowed to walk on city sidewalks.\nThe next question is whether the Klansmen must remove their hoods – their anonymity – while marching.\nThe pointy white sheets are synonymous with burning crosses and mob lynching. Out of context, the sheets look like a third-grader’s Halloween costume, but the brutally violent history that the hoods have come to symbolize is enough to make any normal person’s blood run cold.\nThe mayor and Safe and Civil City Program director have suggested Bloomington adopt anti-mask laws. The theory is that exposing the faces of KKK loyalists will prevent many of them from attending the rally for fear of future backlash. Mayor Kruzan told The Herald-Times: “I’m sure that a proud Klansman who is truly from our community has enough pride in his KKK membership to march without a hood for his neighbors to see.” The KKK’s convictions in that regard are laughable.\nSo, Imperial Wizard Phil Lawson, do you and your dying horde have the courage? Are you brave enough to march in Bloomington without your hoods? Marching with your hoods on will only show the world how weak and pathetic your beliefs are. The old days are gone, Mr. Wizard. The KKK doesn’t frighten us anymore, especially if its members are too chicken to put a face next to their beliefs