The KKK is back in Orange County

Their message still is rooted in 100 years of hatred

The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a self-proclaimed white supremacist and antisemitic organization, distributed flyers in Newport Beach last weekend.  

Kudos to Mayor Brad Avery when he said, “My Council colleagues and I were disappointed to learn of the distribution of recruitment flyers by a hate group in a Newport Beach neighborhood.  Unfortunately, this is a common tactic used by some hate groups today.  We condemn the group’s ideology and assure our residents that the Newport Beach Police Department is actively investigating to determine the individual or group responsible for distributing these materials in our community.” 

This isn't the first time the White Knights have raised their ugly heads in Orange County.  Back in 2014, the organization distributed flyers in Orange.  Here's what I wrote in the OC Register and Press-Telegram.

Don't be fooled by the new-look KKK

By Denny Freidenrich

The Ku Klux Klan's method of recruiting new members may have changed with the times, but its message is rooted in 100 years of pure hatred.  Here's what a "rebooted" KKK is doing coast to coast:

It is leaving fliers on driveways tucked into plastic bags along with a membership application, the address for the KKK national office in North Carolina, a list of beliefs and three Jolly Rancher candies.  I'm sorry, but neither their credo nor the candy make the Klan's history any sweeter to swallow.

In Orange, residents received fliers last month in sealed plastic bags, according to KTLA News.

The message on the fliers was "Save our land, join the Klan" and included a phone number and the KKK's website.  The group claims it is focused on illegal immigration from Mexico.  Not surprisingly, you will hear this voice mail message if you call the telephone number on the flier:  "Always remember:  If it ain't white, it ain't right.  White power."

On a scale of 1 to 10 of things to worry about, like ISIS attacking America or the Ebola virus making its way to our shores, I'd say the Klan is a 1.  It's estimated that there are between 5,000 and 8,000 members nationwide, divided among dozens of divergent and warring groups.  What unites them is their hatred of Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, gays, lesbians and Catholics.  Who's next, Barbie lovers?

Robert Jones, the "Imperial Klaliff" of something called the Loyal White Knights sect, recently said the KKK's flier campaign is part of its "national night ride" -- a recruitment event that happens three times a year.

Jones said these drive-by, outreach efforts aren't aimed at specific people and that residents who receive a bag on their driveway "shouldn't be fearful unless they're doing something that the Klan considers morally wrong."

What does that mean?  Is it morally wrong to drive a German car instead of a Chevy?  Is it morally wrong to drink Kirin Beer from Japan instead of Coors from the Rockies?  Is it morally wrong to believe in Buddha instead of Jesus?  I'm guessing the KKK would say yes to all three.  That not only is scary, it is unAmerican.

Today's Klan may be embracing new ways of recruiting members, but the organization is fundamentally the same as it was a century ago.  Despite the Jolly Ranchers, it's no sweeter now than it ever has been.

-------

Denny Freidenrich writes from Laguna Beach.  He served as a congressional staff assistant on Capitol Hill in 1972.