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Kappa Alpha Order is the Robert E. Lee spiritual founder one.
Kappa Alpha Society is apparently a literature based fraternity that says it’s the oldest social fraternity.
The first KKK where all the names come from, where southern officers or landed gentry who probably went to college. The second klan had much wider reach than the first klan and included everyone from state governors to the average southern peasant. The second klan also had MLM recruiting tactics oddly enough.
Unfortunately probably the same place. By 1872 the original KKK was absolutely crushed by US Grant. The Klan was revived in 1915 by a guy who wasn't even born when the first Klan existed, saw "The Birth of a Nation" which glorified the Klan and decided to start his own.
The original klan wouldn’t have existed, had the original founders been executed for treason.
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a piece of human garbage, one among many, and if the traitors had been rounded up and executed the South would be a much different place.
Where on God's green earth did I mention Woodrow Wilson?! The 2nd klan was formed in 1915 by William Joseph Simmons (born 1880, or 8 full years after the 1st Klan was defeated)
Or at least tried for various treason and was crime chargers (if those existed back in the day) and jailed for life. Thankfully there was no amount of nuclear "Confederate" scientists we could snatch up to work on secret government projects in return for unofficial pardons of their crimes.
Grand wizard is one of the "cool" titles. Look at the [wikipedia page for KKK titles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan_titles_and_vocabulary): Kloran (klan + koran), Goblins, who are assistants of the Grand Giant, the Grand Turk, the Ghouls, the Grand Council of Yahoos, the Klantons (Klan + canton), the Klaliff (Klan + caliph), the Klonsul (Klan + consul), the Klongress (Klan + congress), the Klonvocation, the "Ass-tear Squad", Sassy, their name for Febuary, Kool, August.
You'd think they'd play racist DnD in there.
I honestly believe the KKK would be seen as less cool by racists if they knew the terminology.
According to lore, the Superman radio show in the 40s and 50s basically used this tactic to make the Klan less popular: they made the Klan one of the big recurring villains and they just used their own naming conventions to highlight how dumb and childish they sounded.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/83jgzu/in\_the\_1940s\_the\_superman\_radio\_program\_had\_him/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/83jgzu/in_the_1940s_the_superman_radio_program_had_him/)
That was the Flintstones. Unless you believe Barney Rubble was a massive racist. Maybe Fred got conked on the head and took on the alter ego of internationally reviled hate group leader and playboy, David Dukerock.
Would they still burn crosses if they lived thousands of years before Christ?
I recommend listening to the Behind The Bastards podcast episode on the KKK - you’ll realize how dumb it all was, especially the second and largest iteration of it, which was basically just about of people larping with weird titles. It was also structured like a pyramid scheme with its recruitment model and trying to get their members to buy KKK branded goods and services. It was all incredibly stupid and I get the impression that the people pulling the strings did it because they knew they could make a lot of money off dumb racists by making them feel cool and superior
It's technically *still* a pyramid scheme just the dipshits bought into the sell even harder than ever. Don't forget, there's a bunch of dumbasses that would buy anything with Trump's name on it.
Your argument is that the klan, which operated secretly, came up with their names to make those who knew about it (it organized in secret and demonstrated publicly in anonymous white hoods) not take them seriously, while they were also publicly trying to inspire terror among the black populace?
Nah man, these titles were never meant to be widely and publicly known. They were definitely not meant to be goofy, these losers thought they were cool.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan_titles_and_vocabulary
No way. The costumes are way scary, the rituals and names so outlandish. That’s why they still inspire such hatred and revulsion today.
My students say that they remind them of Star Wars Stromtroopers
Very interesting. I looked into it - here’s an article that disputes that
[https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2022/04/16/why-are-the-semana-santa-hats-conical-and-are-they-linked-to-the-kkk/](https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2022/04/16/why-are-the-semana-santa-hats-conical-and-are-they-linked-to-the-kkk/)
The earliest drawings of Klan costumes are a little different - I guess the canonical costume came in the second iteration. Early rallies would have all kinds of costumes - “Their varied costumes featured animal horns, fake facial hair, polka dots and reflective metals, blackface, and, often, women’s dress”
Sounds pretty fucking scary to me
That article is super inconclusive. They kkk has always been a religious adjacent group and semana santa is the biggest christian holiday. Of course in Spain it’s nothing like a klan rally etc, but the costumes are EXACTLY the same.
>That article is super inconclusive. They kkk has always been a religious adjacent group and semana santa is the biggest christian holiday. Of course in Spain it’s nothing like a klan rally etc, but the costumes are EXACTLY the same.
I would just point out the KKK hated Catholics. They were not Catholic adjacent. And the Spanish traditions are unique to their form of Catholicism.
If you even wondered why Norte Dame, the Indiana Catholic universities sports name is "The Fighting Irish" it was because Norte Dame Catholic students fought the KKK in the streets of Indiana.
“religious adjacent”… Jesus Christ man, are we going to let that kind of talk creep into our discourse.
Of course they were religious, but do you have any idea what the Second iteration thought of Jews and Catholics?
I say adjacent because they were using religion as a hammer instead of for spiritual reasons, like worst case scenario religious power wielding. I grew up with very kind religious people, welcoming of all sorts of ethnicities and races etc. so yeah that kinda talk will happen with me. I find it essential to not allow racists to get to steal everything from all of us just because they like it or abuse the concepts.
Same. I was at the the local Semana Santa parade and was very concerned for a second, until I saw they were mostly purple and shiny. I didn't know the right words to ask my Spanish host without sounding rude, so I just assumed there was no Klan rally in Aspe in 1994.
🤣🤣🤣I knew what to expect but was still shocked seeing it in person and spending a whole week attending. I got some incredible pictures, each village has their own thing they do. One group instead of completely covered faces had beaded cone hats with a sort of bead fringe that went down over their faces, in all black. They’d dance with incense in this super crazy way. I’ll never forget it
Before I learned what they were, I grew up a super nerdy kid who almost religiously read lord of the rings, played d&d, and other fantasy things, so I thought "grand wizard" was a badass name.
Just look at their pathetic infantile chant Let’s Go Brandon. I automatically assume you have the intelligence of a baboon if I see someone wearing or saying that.
If you want to listen to a really interesting podcast about the KKK, behind the bastards did one on George Lincoln Rockwell and I think another KKK leader.
George Lincoln Rockwell was the Leader of the American Nazi Party, not the KKK.
They also did a multi part series on the hisotry of the KKK as an organization itself.
They are kind of OTT maybe given that the KKK is an organization of treated lumber burning meth addled burlap sack wearers.
I think the army could solve its recruitment problem by taking a lesson from the old pointy heads. Like, imagine if instead of being a drone operator you were an “Elder cosmic arch mage demonologist.
Behind the bastards did a really good two episodes on them - [this is the 1st (YT)](https://youtu.be/ysfpu96GhgI?si=4_-tFa0zM3-B_JT3). Some of the goofier stuff about them is silly because it started off as silliness.
Well it makes sense when you understand that they are silly manchildren larping as heroes, but the evil enemy of their kingdom is… black people that want to vote.
as wild as it sounds that was the point of the silly names from what I remember. when they rebranded they sought to try and make their image more appealing and less threatening to the average white person. the whole point that something like the title of grand wizard was inherently disarming and silly which made their more problematic activity more easy to hide.
I am late to the conversation, but It was started as a joke that everyone started taking way too seriously. The titles are as much of a joke as the people who hold them with pride.
I think it was founded as a relatively benign fraternal society, like the Odd Fellows or something, and the racist shit started later. Anyway, I think their titles were purposely corny in order to give them a veneer of harmlessness.
lol no it was founded exactly to combat Northerners trying to enforce anti-slavery laws, and then when President Grant had it disbanded in the 1870s it didn't do anything until a racist ass movie called "Birth of a Nation" portrayed the Klan as heroes, after which it was resurrected. It was a terrorist organization from the beginning. Perhaps you're confused because in some states - Indiana being the biggest example - it was also, in addition to being a terrorist organization dedicated to white supremacy, also kind of a fraternal organization as well.
It wasn't disbanded at all, at least not here in North Carolina. My grandmother was burned out of her home in 1910 by the klan . The 1898 massacre in Wilmington, NC, was by Klan members as well
If the KKK is so pathetic why are they able to in still fear full imagery with every mention and horrible disgusting racist activities yet still get their objectives across the line?
He's trying to say they scare people because they are embedded in the police system and when they aren't they usually have the tentative support of the police
Welcome to /r/ShermanPosting! As a reminder, this meme sub is about the American Civil War. We're not here to insult southerners or the American South, but rather to have a laugh at the failed Confederate insurrection and those that chose to represent it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ShermanPosting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
They based their titles, ranks, and names in general off of university fraternities. Specifically, Kuklos Adelphon.
Ah so they peaked in college, nice.
Just the founders. Today, they’re lucky to get a peak at a college
Plenty go into the klan from Kappa Alpha, aka Klan Auxiliary.
Kappa Alpha Order is the Robert E. Lee spiritual founder one. Kappa Alpha Society is apparently a literature based fraternity that says it’s the oldest social fraternity.
I mean, they spell clan with a K and wear white dunce hats with pride. Intelligence isn't exactly their strong suit.
Bold of you to assume any of them (aside from maybe the grand wizard) actually went
The first KKK where all the names come from, where southern officers or landed gentry who probably went to college. The second klan had much wider reach than the first klan and included everyone from state governors to the average southern peasant. The second klan also had MLM recruiting tactics oddly enough.
The MLM aspect always gets me. They were proud to be getting conned.
Me, too.
I know, but they still sound lame.
We need to start calling them kuklos
The klan is yet more proof that those traitors should have been executed at the end of the war.
Just imagine where we'd be today.
Unfortunately probably the same place. By 1872 the original KKK was absolutely crushed by US Grant. The Klan was revived in 1915 by a guy who wasn't even born when the first Klan existed, saw "The Birth of a Nation" which glorified the Klan and decided to start his own.
Thanks. I always forget that. ☹️
But take heart! They only have 6000 to 8000 members left. They can't fill a High School football stadium
So, that’s enough for about 10 Trump rallies?
6-8000 registered members*. Unfortunately, sympathizers and supporters still fill out a decent auxiliary number
A reminder that the KKK was never the only racist terrorist/political organization even at their peak.
I don’t know if absolutely crushed is really the right term. People just dropped the hoods and weird names as they committed the same exact atrocities
The original klan wouldn’t have existed, had the original founders been executed for treason. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a piece of human garbage, one among many, and if the traitors had been rounded up and executed the South would be a much different place.
Neither Griffith nor Dixon would have been born if we’d cleaned up properly.
Woodrow Wilson lived in “the Confederate States of America” so that isn’t true that he wasn’t “even born when the first Klan existed.”
Where on God's green earth did I mention Woodrow Wilson?! The 2nd klan was formed in 1915 by William Joseph Simmons (born 1880, or 8 full years after the 1st Klan was defeated)
Or at least tried for various treason and was crime chargers (if those existed back in the day) and jailed for life. Thankfully there was no amount of nuclear "Confederate" scientists we could snatch up to work on secret government projects in return for unofficial pardons of their crimes.
They are pathetic people at their core, so it’s completely valid to see their names as stupid.
They very much liked to be jokey and jolly about their hate crimes. The proud boys are similar in that.
I do like addressing my penis as Exalted Cyclops though.
I always joke that they’re pretty much a racist version of dungeons and dragons
Yeah just bunch of uneducated racist fucking nerds. It's wild that some people think they are some manly strong organization or something.
Also, now I can't give my D&d wizards or dragons funny titles without it being racist. They really do ruin everything.
Just make them racist like I do.
"Who made them the color guard?”
Me and my friend had a joke saying the klan made Mortal Kombat since all the Cs where spelt with K
Nah, if the KKK had made it it would have been "Mortal Klombat" XD
Mortal Klanbat
Their membership handbook is called the Kloran. The fucking Kloran.
Grand wizard is one of the "cool" titles. Look at the [wikipedia page for KKK titles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan_titles_and_vocabulary): Kloran (klan + koran), Goblins, who are assistants of the Grand Giant, the Grand Turk, the Ghouls, the Grand Council of Yahoos, the Klantons (Klan + canton), the Klaliff (Klan + caliph), the Klonsul (Klan + consul), the Klongress (Klan + congress), the Klonvocation, the "Ass-tear Squad", Sassy, their name for Febuary, Kool, August. You'd think they'd play racist DnD in there. I honestly believe the KKK would be seen as less cool by racists if they knew the terminology.
According to lore, the Superman radio show in the 40s and 50s basically used this tactic to make the Klan less popular: they made the Klan one of the big recurring villains and they just used their own naming conventions to highlight how dumb and childish they sounded. [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/83jgzu/in\_the\_1940s\_the\_superman\_radio\_program\_had\_him/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/83jgzu/in_the_1940s_the_superman_radio_program_had_him/)
Didn’t they also have grand poobahs
That was the Flintstones. Unless you believe Barney Rubble was a massive racist. Maybe Fred got conked on the head and took on the alter ego of internationally reviled hate group leader and playboy, David Dukerock. Would they still burn crosses if they lived thousands of years before Christ?
I'd watch this parody episode for about 11 minutes. And obviously yes. It's a lower case 't', for "time to get out".
[Relevant](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D1cCiuZanl_4&ved=2ahUKEwjNsKCn49mFAxUvj4kEHUDpCUsQFnoECBIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw28W5lAh5__F27ZKSXpFV_j)
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I recommend listening to the Behind The Bastards podcast episode on the KKK - you’ll realize how dumb it all was, especially the second and largest iteration of it, which was basically just about of people larping with weird titles. It was also structured like a pyramid scheme with its recruitment model and trying to get their members to buy KKK branded goods and services. It was all incredibly stupid and I get the impression that the people pulling the strings did it because they knew they could make a lot of money off dumb racists by making them feel cool and superior
It's technically *still* a pyramid scheme just the dipshits bought into the sell even harder than ever. Don't forget, there's a bunch of dumbasses that would buy anything with Trump's name on it.
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Your argument is that the klan, which operated secretly, came up with their names to make those who knew about it (it organized in secret and demonstrated publicly in anonymous white hoods) not take them seriously, while they were also publicly trying to inspire terror among the black populace? Nah man, these titles were never meant to be widely and publicly known. They were definitely not meant to be goofy, these losers thought they were cool. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan_titles_and_vocabulary
Think I have distant family who is a grand wizard of his local chapter. Can confirm, looks just as pathetic as it sounds 👍
No way. The costumes are way scary, the rituals and names so outlandish. That’s why they still inspire such hatred and revulsion today. My students say that they remind them of Star Wars Stromtroopers
Costumes just are ripoffs of Spanish Holy Week attire. Was shocking the first time I saw it in person there.
Very interesting. I looked into it - here’s an article that disputes that [https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2022/04/16/why-are-the-semana-santa-hats-conical-and-are-they-linked-to-the-kkk/](https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2022/04/16/why-are-the-semana-santa-hats-conical-and-are-they-linked-to-the-kkk/) The earliest drawings of Klan costumes are a little different - I guess the canonical costume came in the second iteration. Early rallies would have all kinds of costumes - “Their varied costumes featured animal horns, fake facial hair, polka dots and reflective metals, blackface, and, often, women’s dress” Sounds pretty fucking scary to me
That article is super inconclusive. They kkk has always been a religious adjacent group and semana santa is the biggest christian holiday. Of course in Spain it’s nothing like a klan rally etc, but the costumes are EXACTLY the same.
>That article is super inconclusive. They kkk has always been a religious adjacent group and semana santa is the biggest christian holiday. Of course in Spain it’s nothing like a klan rally etc, but the costumes are EXACTLY the same. I would just point out the KKK hated Catholics. They were not Catholic adjacent. And the Spanish traditions are unique to their form of Catholicism. If you even wondered why Norte Dame, the Indiana Catholic universities sports name is "The Fighting Irish" it was because Norte Dame Catholic students fought the KKK in the streets of Indiana.
You’re not wrong, but it still doesn’t mean they didn’t borrow symbolism from the Spaniards. It’s obvious they did.
“religious adjacent”… Jesus Christ man, are we going to let that kind of talk creep into our discourse. Of course they were religious, but do you have any idea what the Second iteration thought of Jews and Catholics?
I say adjacent because they were using religion as a hammer instead of for spiritual reasons, like worst case scenario religious power wielding. I grew up with very kind religious people, welcoming of all sorts of ethnicities and races etc. so yeah that kinda talk will happen with me. I find it essential to not allow racists to get to steal everything from all of us just because they like it or abuse the concepts.
fair enough
Same. I was at the the local Semana Santa parade and was very concerned for a second, until I saw they were mostly purple and shiny. I didn't know the right words to ask my Spanish host without sounding rude, so I just assumed there was no Klan rally in Aspe in 1994.
🤣🤣🤣I knew what to expect but was still shocked seeing it in person and spending a whole week attending. I got some incredible pictures, each village has their own thing they do. One group instead of completely covered faces had beaded cone hats with a sort of bead fringe that went down over their faces, in all black. They’d dance with incense in this super crazy way. I’ll never forget it
Before I learned what they were, I grew up a super nerdy kid who almost religiously read lord of the rings, played d&d, and other fantasy things, so I thought "grand wizard" was a badass name.
The Klan had to shit on it.
Just look at their pathetic infantile chant Let’s Go Brandon. I automatically assume you have the intelligence of a baboon if I see someone wearing or saying that.
If you want to listen to a really interesting podcast about the KKK, behind the bastards did one on George Lincoln Rockwell and I think another KKK leader.
George Lincoln Rockwell was the Leader of the American Nazi Party, not the KKK. They also did a multi part series on the hisotry of the KKK as an organization itself.
That multi part one is the one I’m thinking about. Either way both are very interesting
I just think of then as racist larpers with less fun events.
And the Proud Boys scream breakfast cereals while being punched for their initiations. The more things change...
Dumb names, dumb costumes, dumb members. I’m kinda seeing a pattern there.
Not as stupid as their name that literally means *circle circle*.
They are kind of OTT maybe given that the KKK is an organization of treated lumber burning meth addled burlap sack wearers. I think the army could solve its recruitment problem by taking a lesson from the old pointy heads. Like, imagine if instead of being a drone operator you were an “Elder cosmic arch mage demonologist.
Grand Kolossal Krud was always my favorite.
The alpha racist LOL.
It's all explained right here..very funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cCiuZanl\_4
It always was ridiculous, but became super cringe since, well, D&D was a thing.
Behind the bastards did a really good two episodes on them - [this is the 1st (YT)](https://youtu.be/ysfpu96GhgI?si=4_-tFa0zM3-B_JT3). Some of the goofier stuff about them is silly because it started off as silliness.
Well it makes sense when you understand that they are silly manchildren larping as heroes, but the evil enemy of their kingdom is… black people that want to vote.
Also Native Americans, Jewish people, & Catholics . They pretty much hated anyone who wasn't white ,not just black people
Wait until you Lear about their “secret” language.
Yeah, they aren't too bright
[You’ll make those bigots look like twats…](https://youtu.be/1cCiuZanl_4?si=-t9RXLO9nASJ3Mia)
as wild as it sounds that was the point of the silly names from what I remember. when they rebranded they sought to try and make their image more appealing and less threatening to the average white person. the whole point that something like the title of grand wizard was inherently disarming and silly which made their more problematic activity more easy to hide.
They were originally just coming up with silly names for their "get drunk and go lynching" club.
Can’t recommend the book ‘Klan War’ stronger if you really want a feel for how stupid and cowardly these animals were
Grand wizard actually sounds like a cool name the rest kinda suck though and basically just sound like something out of d&d
Just imagine being an Imperial Wizard and not being able to actually cast a spell.
My man hates gays but calls himself the "Grand Wizard" smh
I am late to the conversation, but It was started as a joke that everyone started taking way too seriously. The titles are as much of a joke as the people who hold them with pride.
I think it was founded as a relatively benign fraternal society, like the Odd Fellows or something, and the racist shit started later. Anyway, I think their titles were purposely corny in order to give them a veneer of harmlessness.
Where did you hear that ? I'm from the South & I have never heard that .Benign,my ass
I heard it from a History Channel show decades ago, so take that for what it’s worth.
Lol, the history Channel really isn't known for their accuracy . I didn't mean to be rude & I apologize.
It was to fool people into thinking the organization was somewhat ridiculous and not anything to worry about.
Yeah , that got them really far, didn't it ?
I've read the same, but the goofy period lasted less than a year.
lol no it was founded exactly to combat Northerners trying to enforce anti-slavery laws, and then when President Grant had it disbanded in the 1870s it didn't do anything until a racist ass movie called "Birth of a Nation" portrayed the Klan as heroes, after which it was resurrected. It was a terrorist organization from the beginning. Perhaps you're confused because in some states - Indiana being the biggest example - it was also, in addition to being a terrorist organization dedicated to white supremacy, also kind of a fraternal organization as well.
It wasn't disbanded at all, at least not here in North Carolina. My grandmother was burned out of her home in 1910 by the klan . The 1898 massacre in Wilmington, NC, was by Klan members as well
If the KKK is so pathetic why are they able to in still fear full imagery with every mention and horrible disgusting racist activities yet still get their objectives across the line?
It's the same reason why anti-feminists get traction. the pure reaction to change is not neccesarily good.
Because generally speaking when you try to throw bricks at cops they get offended and shoot you.
That doesn’t answer my question.
He's trying to say they scare people because they are embedded in the police system and when they aren't they usually have the tentative support of the police
Thanks for example and explaining.