Hate, Guns, and Math

I watched Gangland on the History Channel yesterday and they were profiling the Imperial Klans of America. Did you know that the Ku Klux Klan was now incorporated? I thought they were defunct but now they are more legit than ever. Out of curiosity, I waltzed over to their website (http://www.kkkk.net) to see what type of hate they were up to these days. Per the history page, the KKK was started in December of 1865.

"The Civil War had officially ended in April of 1865 when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, VA. The rest of 1865 until 1877 were known as the period of Reconstruction, during which former Confederate States were under Union Army occupation until new state legislatures could be elected. The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution formally ended slavery throughout America and the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution (both ratified in 1865) granted voting rights and citizenship to former slaves. Radical Republicans in the US Senate and House of Representatives were determined to "punish" the former Confederacy and "denied citizenship" to any White male who had supported the Confederacy during the War Between the States. Much of the South was in ruin, as most of the fighting has taken place on Southern soil. Confederate money was "worthless" and many people were "broke". This was a "terrible time" for White people!"

A terrible time for White people, eh? Imagine how terrible it was for slaves but I digress. This morning, I watched Minister Louis Farrakhan deliver his annual speech in Chicago. I was a little apprehensive about tuning in because of all of the preconcieved notions that I have about The Nation (another post for another day). At any rate, listening to the speech made me think of the state of race relations in this country. Interestingly enough (watch me tie this all together), the Minister began to quote statistics about the dismal economy. He also quoted statistics about the number of guns being sold and the fact that the gun industry is having a hard time keeping up with the demand for bullets. Say what?! Why is there such a demand for guns and bullets?

So let me do the math:
Black people advance + White people feel broke + guns = militias

Using the above formula, let's substitute the variables with actual values.

Formula for the creation of the KKK
Black people advance = end of slavery
White people feel broke = no more White riches due to the free labor of slavery
guns = guns
militias = creation of KKK

So...

end of slavery + no more White riches due to the free labor of slavery + guns = creation of KKK

You gotta love this formula! Using the points spoken in Farrakhan's speech, let's plug in another set of values.

Formula for the creation of tea party movement
Black people advance = election of Black president
White people feel broke = bank failures leading to economic meltdown
guns = guns
militias = creation of tea party

So...

election of Black president + bank failures leading to economic meltdown + guns = creation of tea party

Whew! All that simple math makes my head ache. Do we see a pattern here? I was a little confused last year when angry White men on Fox News were complaining about Obama infringing upon their rights to purchase guns. Who said anything about guns? Why were they more concerned about guns than healthcare or unemployment? Ahhh...Now I get it. Whenever the powers-that-be feel a power shift occurring, they "cling to their guns or religion." There's no better way to regain power than dusting off the old Smith and Wesson.

I do not agree with Farrakhan on all things but he is on to something here. The nation should keep its eyes open because if we do not learn from history, we are bound to repeat it. The increased number of militias being formed as of late should be alarming to EVERYONE, not just African Americans. We can look back on the history of the KKK, Black Codes, Jim Crow, and institutionalized racism and see where it all started. We had better be proactive about the storm brewing in this country right now or else history may repeat itself. Do with that what you may.

Ebony Ynobe is the editor-in-chief of the The Ebony Digest. To have Ebony's commentary delivered to your email, click here.


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