I'd actually forgive Klan mambership for someone that old. It's quite possible for a weak kid back then to get swept-up. Die-hard Klan recruiter who established his own chapter is an entirely different matter.
I’d actually forgive Klan mambership for someone that old. It’s quite possible for a weak kid back then to get swept-up. Die-hard Klan recruiter who established his own chapter is an entirely different matter.
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My favorite aunt passed away a few years ago; she was effectively a grandmother to me. I took her to see ‘Places in the Heart’ when it came out, and she loved it. She FREAKED when the Klan came into the picture. I asked her about it because I assumed the Klan was no threat to poor whites - which we were - and she had shown signs of real distress.
According to her, they were viewed in the same light as gangs are in blighted cities. They were hated and feared by ALL who were vulnerable. She said that mostly what they did was get drunk and raised hell without regard to who was in the area. Her descriptions made them sound like a biker gang on a tear.
She was a contemporary of Byrd. She had no respect for the Klan and viewed them as basically straight up thugs and no accounts.