WATCH: Going Viral, Powerful Ad By North Carolina Dem Comparing January 6 To the Night the KKK Bullied His Home Town

I will carry the shame of the blood of my piece of shit grandfather to my grave. Because of him I know more about the Klan than I wish to know, including that they call themselves the KNIGHTS of the Ku Klux Klan and they take their twisted religious shit seriously – just like Islamic terrorists twist the teachings of their own holy book to do the awful things they do. Terrorism under the guise of religion is despicable no matter which holy book is used to justify terrorism.

I also know something more of the Knights Templar than the average person. I joined DeMolay when I was old enough, not fully understanding at the time why my dad was so pleased but despite his not being around much it was clear he was happy I was active in that. There was never any question that one day I’d want to become a Mason myself, and for my 21st birthday his present to me was my degree fees through Blue Lodge, Scottish Rite and the Shrine. For the latter two, those trips in the car up to the “metro east” (the Illinois side of St. Louis suburbs) was the beginning of our establishing the too short (due to his death when I was 23) actual father-son relationship that had been lacking for so much of my formative years.

Yes, having gone through Scottish Rite I too am a Knight Templar. I’d later complete the process of York Rite meaning I am a Knight Templar twice! (Scottish Rite uses Old Testament teachings and York Rite is New Testament based) I think I can say with some authority that the Klan is the kind of people the original Knights Templar would have despised. They were formed to protect travelers to the holy land and became professional soldiers of their time to do so – and they extended their protection to all who were making that pilgrimage regardless of their ability to pay. Or their ethnicity. Or country of origin, and so on. Making a journey to the roots of Christianity was they believed something all who wished to do so should be allowed to do, and to also return home again safely.

I should also note that after completing Scottish Rite and my becoming a Shriner I was struck by the use of the Koran in some of the teachings, and the one quote I can recall from it which is something that has gotten lost to the Islamic terrorists who are kin the the Klan: “And if any shall ask protection of thee grant him protection that he may hear the word of the prophet. And afterwards give him passage that he may return home again safely.” (It’s been damned near forty years since I was active and my oldest sister refused to send me so much of my stuff so I can’t dig in to my things to make sure I’ve got that exactly right but it’s close)

From where I sit the Klan has again flourished like a case of the shingles in all it’s ugly, painful “glory” and the only difference is that instead of robes and pointy hoods they now wear MAGA hats and other Trump gear! And while some proudly proclaim their White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant traits make them superior beings as far as I’m concerned anyone who is part of that movement is, as much as they hotly deny it (many believing their own bullshit – “I have black friends!” for example) is racist. And sexist. And Xenophobic. Or aa Hillary Clinton so simply and accurately put it DEPLOABLE.

Positive signs can be difficult to find in recent years. However, thinking back on the incident your article cites we can look at plenty of recent examples of our side doing what needs to be done – where these ASSHOLES make a big fuss about some event they are going to hold and OUR side shows up with far more people to show the ASSHOLES aren’t actually the majority or even close to it. Show them for the pathetic LOSERS that they are. It is only by doing so again and again, by showing them there are not only more but actually far more decent people willing to show up for what is right and just that these ASSHOLE LOSERS will eventually lose heart and crawl back under their slimy rocks and be dormant for a few blessed decades.

I resent Magas turning the American flag into their sheets. The flag is not a uniform and at one time, wearing one was considered by conservatives to be a crime. Now those bozos drape themselves in stars and stripes, attach it to their vehicles and boats and leave them there until they’re dirty and tattered. Their hero even dry humped a flag to show his (dis)respect. They’re not respecting the flag, they’re denigrating it. Once again, they cloak themselves in their hypocrisy.

A cult creates its own subcultural defense, usually predicated on discrediting any information the cult feels threatened by. Lying, demonizing others, reshaping past events, digging a trench through history to the destination of your choosing, & so on are just a few maneuvers.They respond to the voice of their master. They cannot, by definition, assimilate new information that may require a shift in their belief system. That’s why unregulated industries, such as tech companies, are so dangerous. They shape minds.

Ursula, I was born at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama in 1947. My dad, a career Air Force officer, was transferred when I was three, so I can’t say I am a native! But in 2020, I went back to Mintgomery for the first time since I was a child. One stop there was the Legacy Museum, a memorial to black men, women and children who were lynched during the Jim Crow era after the Civil War. I was shocked to learn that there were still lynchings taking place in the South up to 1957 (and possibly beyond), which was TEN YEARS after I was born!!! The Legacy Museum may sound very macabre, but it certainly represents a part of our nation’s history that everyone should know about. I highly recommend going there if you ever have a chance.