I'm from the south and even though the ATL isn't a KKK hotspot, we've had our history with their presence. And all over the south, there are still a number of areas where they are very strong and active. There's been a lot of uproar lately about their rally's. Some people think that they should be banned and not allowed to go on. What do you think?

The general argument is that banning them from rallying in public is taking away their rights and freedoms. That even they have freedom of speech and assemble. Some even argue (I don't agree) that their rally's do not bring physical harm to anyone, they are just simply stating POV to anybody willing to listen.

What's your opinion on the whole thing? Should they have the same rights as anyone else so long as they aren't breaking any laws or should they be prohibited from spreading hate?

I hate what they stand for, but I do agree with they have the right to stand for it. I don't agree with the Christians having their "anti-gay" protests or the "anti-abortion" rallies, but I begrudgingly agree that everyone has the right to speak up for what they believe in. Just because I dont agree with them doesn't mean they should be silenced.

GrayWolf wrote:

I hate what they stand for, but I do agree with they have the right to stand for it. I don't agree with the Christians having their "anti-gay" protests or the "anti-abortion" rallies, but I begrudgingly agree that everyone has the right to speak up for what they believe in. Just because I dont agree with them doesn't mean they should be silenced.

Actually, it is a moot point whether we think they should be allowed or not. It is protected by the U.S. Constitution for a couple hundred years now that They have a right to be assholes in public.

I last encountered them in Gainesville Florida. They showed up at a gay-rights picnic in their dresses and dunce caps. The cops had to form a line because we were heckling them. They got put behind yellow police tape like a pig pen.

Twisted as it sounds, I'm more comfortable with them speaking their bullshit in public....where they look like clowns and there are witnesses to their rhetoric....than I am with the idea of them silently plotting.

A funny thing is we all go on about we have freedom of speech, it's for what you don't want to here, but we all tend to forget there's a whole other separated un-protected speech, and I wonder if what they have to say would qualify for that.

"Should KKK Rally's Be Allowed?"

On public property? Unfortunately yes. Maybe if the Supreme Court decides against those assholes of the Westboro Baptist Church it could help limit the scope a little of what or at least where these hate groups can express their “opinions”.

I say no. Fuck the "free speech" babble where they are concerned. No one should be able to spread public messages of hate targeted at certain groups, IMO that's putting certain people at risk. The KKK should be outlawed literally outlawed.

RobbieFTW wrote:

I say no. Fuck the "free speech" babble where they are concerned. No one should be able to spread public messages of hate targeted at certain groups, IMO that's putting certain people at risk. The KKK should be outlawed literally outlawed.

Works for me. Now these are the people who have a long history of killing people, they bomb churches, it's not on as grand a scale as Bin Laden and Hussein and the planes crashing but how can what they do not count as terrorism?

It's such a fine line. Freedom of speech but speech that is filled with so much hate. Even though it feels wrong to any sane person, they're protected by the same thing that protects those Westboro goons. Well unless the Supreme Court rules otherwise here in a few months or so. The KKK are not as prevalent as they once were or carrying out some of their previous behaviors with the same frequency but their message hasn't changed. They have been involved in deadly confrontations in the past, in Greensboro, NC 20 some years ago with the CWP if I remember right. My personal opinion is that they should be banned just like the Phelps freaks but then I worry where that might lead & who would be silenced next. I can't help but feel there should be some limitation on just how far these groups can go & wonder if there is a way to do it without violating the Constitution.

Freedom of speech protects the speech you hate, not the speech you love, so unfortunately I have to say yes. They should be allowed to have their rallies.

Then again, maybe it's not unfortunate. Whenever hate groups descend upon the public square and start speaking their rhetoric, it only highlights how buffoonish they are, and their message is. The more rational public tends to fire back, and the sheep-like onlookers will most likely not stand with the unpopular side. Hate groups like the Klan and Westboro Baptist Church, I think, inadvertently help the other side. They're so cartoony, OTT, and irrational in their presentation that it probably turns on a light where the fence sitting sorta-bigots are concerned; as if this to say "That is how you will look if you decide to side with these views."

Chris wrote:

Freedom of speech protects the speech you hate, not the speech you love, so unfortunately I have to say yes. They should be allowed to have their rallies.

Then again, maybe it's not unfortunate. Whenever hate groups descend upon the public square and start speaking their rhetoric, it only highlights how buffoonish they are, and their message is. The more rational public tends to fire back, and the sheep-like onlookers will most likely not stand with the unpopular side. Hate groups like the Klan and Westboro Baptist Church, I think, inadvertently help the other side. They're so cartoony, OTT, and irrational in their presentation that it probably turns on a light where the fence sitting sorta-bigots are concerned; as if this to say "That is how you will look if you decide to side with these views."

I agree.

Though the KKK are terrible to see in person. I have seen them as a kid in Chicago. And all these years later, it sticks with me.