November 5, 2014
The New Improved KKK: Now with Blacks, Jews and Gays?
Bobby McGuire READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Have you ever wanted to belong to a club that would never in a million years have you for a member? Your dream could soon become a reality.
In a move as bizarre as a vegan takeover of the Oscar Meyer Company, a Montana representative of the KKK started an inclusive off-shoot group called the Rocky Mountain Knights. According to Great Falls Tribune, although it is unclear how many members this new klan group currently has, the organization says it will not discriminate against people because of race, religion or sexual orientation.
The brainchild of the Rocky Mountain Knights is John Abarr, a former candidate for Montana's U.S. House seat, who according to HuffPo, dropped out of his 2012 congressional race due to backlash stemming from his involvement with the KKK. Abarr's once staunchly held white supremacist opinions have evolved over the past two years. Last year he met with members of the NAACP in Wyoming, which inspired him to organize a peace summit planned for 2015 that will involve religious groups and the NAACP.
According to Associated Press, in 2013, Abarr, who has been an active KKK organizer for many years, filled out an NAACP membership form so he could get the group's newsletters and some insight into its views. He said he paid a $30 fee to join, plus a $20 donation.
"The KKK is for a strong America," Abarr said. "White supremacy is the old Klan. This is the new Klan."
Of his association with the NAACP, Abarr said "I thought it was a really good organization," adding "I don't feel we need to be separate."
None of this is appealing to representatives from both the KKK and the NAACP.
Jimmy Simmons of the NAACP, who met with Abarr last year, supports the idea of an all-inclusive fraternal organization but has concerns about the brand.
"The use of the letters KKK instills fear in people," Simmons said.
"That man's going against everything the bylaws of the constitution of the KKK say," said Bradley Jenkins, imperial wizard of the United Klans of America. "He's trying to hide behind the KKK to further his political career."
Of the newly founded Rocky Mountain Knights, Abarr promises that this kinder, gentler and infinitely more colorful incarnation of the KKK, which will be an open and non-discriminatory group, will still hold fast to some Klan traditions. Members will still take part in secret rituals. Hoods and robes will still be required attire, which could pose a problem for gay members opposed to wearing white after Labor Day.