And that reminds me, do you remember the FORUM name of that guy who made the threats and then the police got involved? I remember thinking he was just a skinhead initially, but he got so bent out of shape over that characterization that we realized he was likely KKK instead. (I heard other death threats back then from other guys, just no incidents that the police got involved with investigating.)
That was an important lesson to me, actually. I realized that the Klan puts a LOT of value in their "story". I unintentionally insulted him by dismissing him and his motivation as a mere skinhead seeking public attention for his bad boy persona. That lesson was good preparation for many years later when I attended a Klan rally here in Saint Paul on the steps of the capitol building. They are quite skilled in using their "story" to rile up other people to get their own kind of attention. Reacting to them builds the resentment in sympathetic onlookers, increasing their odds of recruiting more people to their story. Some poor white guy with short-cut hair got harassed while trying to leave the grounds. It's likely that he wasn't even interested in the Klan but was just unfortunate enough to look like them. The government snipers on rooftops all around were keeping a close watch on the crowd that followed him away.
It was the Nigerian immigrant who disappointed me most by asking why they were allowed to speak such words, why they weren't prohibited by the government. I didn't have an easy explanation for him to illustrate that creating such a division is a line that can easily move when somebody else gets to define that line. It's better to have no lines. Let them air their stupidity; just be there to stand unmoved before them.
Enough of a distraction for tonight, I guess. Time to try to sleep.
no subject
That was an important lesson to me, actually. I realized that the Klan puts a LOT of value in their "story". I unintentionally insulted him by dismissing him and his motivation as a mere skinhead seeking public attention for his bad boy persona. That lesson was good preparation for many years later when I attended a Klan rally here in Saint Paul on the steps of the capitol building. They are quite skilled in using their "story" to rile up other people to get their own kind of attention. Reacting to them builds the resentment in sympathetic onlookers, increasing their odds of recruiting more people to their story. Some poor white guy with short-cut hair got harassed while trying to leave the grounds. It's likely that he wasn't even interested in the Klan but was just unfortunate enough to look like them. The government snipers on rooftops all around were keeping a close watch on the crowd that followed him away.
It was the Nigerian immigrant who disappointed me most by asking why they were allowed to speak such words, why they weren't prohibited by the government. I didn't have an easy explanation for him to illustrate that creating such a division is a line that can easily move when somebody else gets to define that line. It's better to have no lines. Let them air their stupidity; just be there to stand unmoved before them.
Enough of a distraction for tonight, I guess. Time to try to sleep.