An ugly aspect of Louisiana history and that of the South again made headlines this week when several members of the Ku Klux Klan were implicated in the slaying of an Oklahoma woman in St. Tammany Parish.

In a press conference Tuesday, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain said the woman, whose identity was not released, was recruited over the Internet to participate in a Klan ritual and then return to Oklahoma to find other members for the white supremacist group.

Thankfully for those the Klan would plan to harm or intimidate, it is no where near the terrorist organization it was when it wreaked havoc across the South.

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“The IQ level of this group is not impressive, to be kind,” Strain said Tuesday.

That is for sure, considering police think the group killed the very person it was hoping to initiate and then recruit for it out of state. How stupid can you be?

The Associated Press said it was not clear what rites awaited the female victim at the Klan campsite, but authorities believe the initiation had begun by the time the shooting happened. Strain said the group’s leader, Raymond “Chuck” Foster, 44, shot and killed the victim Sunday night after a fight broke out when she asked to be taken back to town.

Authorities said the group’s members called themselves the “Dixie Brotherhood.”

The fact is the Klan represents the bottom rung of society. Not only are its stereotypical members used to mock the American South by every other part of the country, today’s members are the remnants of time when law-abiding Americans were tortured for their race or lack of racial prejudices. 

The Anti-Defamation League said after a period of relative quiet, Ku Klux Klan activity spiked “noticeably upwards” in 2006, as Klan groups attempted to exploit fears in America over gay marriage, perceived “assaults” on Christianity, crime and especially immigration.

It only makes sense that what few Klan leaders remain would try to spike membership again because President-elect Barrack Obama’s father is from Kenya. Of course, they will look past the fact Obama’s mother is a white woman from Kansas.

Mark Pitcavage, director of investigative research for the Anti-Defamation League, said the Dixie Brotherhood appears to be a small, loosely organized group of people.

However, Sheriff Strain said the public should not feel threatened when the AP reported him saying, “I can’t imagine anyone feeling endangered or at risk by any one of these kooks.”

Although these Klan members may not pass a comprehensive sixth-grade test, they were dangerous enough for police to allege they killed a woman at a moment’s notice just because she was bucking their system.

That sounds dangerous, and taking this lightly would not be smart. 

STEPHENHEMELT

PUBLISHER