Re: Neo-Nazi Teenagers
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Originally Posted by Kliro
A little bit off topic but - someone told me the other day that the NRA (National Rifle Association) was founded two years after the KKK ended, he seemed to think the two were closely interlinked.
Anyone know anything about that.
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As with everything else he puts in, it is heavily distorted.
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Fact: The NRA was founded in 1871 -- by act of the New York Legislature, at request of former Union officers. The Klan was founded in 1866, and quickly became a terrorist organization.
Fact: The Klan Act and Enforcement Act were signed into law by President Ulysess S. Grant. Grant used their provisions vigorously, suspending habeas corpus and deploying troops; under his leadership over 5,000 arrests were made and the Klan was dealt a serious (if all too short-lived) blow.
Fact: Grant's vigor in disrupting the Klan earned him unpopularity among many whites, but Frederick Douglass praised him, and an associate of Douglass wrote that African-Americans "will ever cherish a grateful remembrance of his name, fame and great services."
Fact: After Grant left the White House, the NRA elected him as its eighth president.
Fact: After Grant's term, the NRA elected General Philip Sheridan, who had removed the governors of Texas and Lousiana for failure to suppress the KKK.
Fact: The affinity of NRA for enemies of the Klan is hardly surprising. The NRA was founded by former Union officers, and eight of its first ten presidents were Union veterans.
Fact: During the 1950s and 1960s, groups of blacks organized as NRA chapters in order to obtain surplus military rifles to fight off Klansmen.
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http://www.hardylaw.net/Truth_About_Bowling.html
But of course, the NRA is just an extension of the KKK isn't it... Hmmm. The NRA has many black members, including James Earl Jones. So basically, no the NRA isn't racist, and it has nothing in common, in relation, or at all to do with the KKK.
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(btw - are they allowed to sing stuff like that? I know America has freedom of speech, but could it be classed as incitement?)
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Good question. I don't think they do have laws like incitement. The first amendment (which defines that laws against free speech are unconstitutional, and therefore illegal), is taken very seriously by many Americans, which formed the basis of the birth of their country from British rule/oppression. Pity Michael Moore doesn't.
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Oh, and if you want something a bit more current: Until 2003, Charlton Heston was president of the NRA. He was a personal friend of Dr Martin Luther King, no less, and campaigned with him during the Black civil right's struggle in the 1960s. But according to Michael Moore he is actually a fanatical racist. Hmmm. |
