On December 24, 154, the Ku Klux Klan was created. There is, of course, nothing to celebrate here, but, like any negative phenomenon, it should be studied and conclusions drawn.
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There are three main versions of the origin of the name of this organization. You probably know one of them. According to her, "Ku Klux Klan" is the sound of a distorted rifle bolt. But there are other theories of the origin of the three K.
The second version insists that the name comes from the Greek word "kuklus", which means "wheel", "circle". According to the third version, the name came from the Latin word "kukulo" - "hood", and it is the main attribute of the clothes of the Kuklukskans.
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It is customary to distinguish three large periods in the life of the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK was born in 1865 after the American Civil War and initially was more of a circle (or, if you prefer, a secret society) of interests, which did not pose high-profile political tasks. However, more and more radical people and organizations gradually joined it, and at the time of its dissolution in 1871, according to some estimates, more than 2 million people were members.
The Ku Klux Klan experienced its rebirth in 1915. Added to the traditional enemies of the KKK were Jews, trade union leaders, federal officials, and popular rights activists. After World War II, the organization fell apart into small groups that did not have a single leadership.
The third birth in the mid-70s was marked by a new enemy: the communists and leaders of the left trade unions. Until now, both in the United States and in other countries, there are organizations using the symbols and ideology of the Ku Klux Klan. But today they are divided and do not pose a particular threat.
In the first version of the Ku Klux Klan, there was a complex subordination structure that worked extremely ineffectively, but its members wore very colorful titles: "Great Sage", "Genius", "Great Dragon", "Hydra", "Great Tyrant", "Fury", "Great Giant", "Great Magus", "Great Treasurer", "Vampire" and others.
In general, if you do not know where to get a nickname for a video game, ask the KKK member.
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Before the attack, the “first convocation” of the Klans were even generous in some ways. They sent their victim some kind of sign, such as an oak branch, orange pits, or melon seeds. This meant that the person was given a chance to leave in an amicable way or to give up their beliefs.
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Sherlock Holmes also faced the Ku Klux Klan. In the story of Arthur Conan Doyle, "Five Orange Seeds," the characters - Americans who moved to England - die under strange circumstances, having received messages in the form of orange seeds with the signature "KKK".
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In their free time from racism, the KKK members threw parties, barbecues and even went in for sports. In the 1920s, they had several baseball teams.
In 1925, a match of such a team took place against the Manrovians team, which consisted entirely of black players. The latter, by the way, won with a score of 10: 8. To avoid clashes and disputes, the match was judged by Catholic priests.
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In the 1920s, Soviet scientist Ilya Ivanov, a specialist in interspecific crosses, tried to develop a hybrid of a man and a monkey to prove the theory of evolution. For this purpose, he contacted Rosalia Abreu, a Cuban woman who owned a chimpanzee nursery.
When the KKK members found out about this, they decided not to allow the experiment and promised to attack the nursery if Rosalia accepted the offer. But this courageous woman (albeit perhaps just very curious) answered the Soviet scientist with consent. It is not known how all this would have ended, but, as often happens in our history, Ivanov fell under political cleansing, was sent into exile, where he died.
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Superman delivered a powerful ideological blow to the organization revived in the 20th century. In 1946, a series of comics was released, and then a radio series about a superman who fought the "Clan of the Fire Cross".
The Klan was easily recognizable as the Ku Klux Klan. No one wanted to become the enemy of the country's most popular hero, and it became difficult for the KKK to attract new members to its side, and many of the organization's members thought about the correctness of their actions (although they could just find kryptonite).
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David Duke, who headed the Louisiana branch of the Ku Klux Klan from 1974-1975 to make money, published How to Find and Keep the Man of Your Dreams under the pseudonyms Dorothy Vanderbilt and Dames Conrad. The book for women contained advice on fashion, cosmetics, diet and relationships.
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In 1994, in Missouri, the Ku Klux Klan applied for maintenance of a section of the highway. Among other things, this means that the organization can install its own signs on the highway. The state administration refused the application, but in 2000 the organization achieved its goal through the court. The only thing the state could do was name this section of the road as Rosa Parks, a black girl who fought against segregation. In 2012, the Klans stopped monitoring the track, and the contract with them was terminated.
Author: Yuri Sokolov