Standing in line at the bank, I saw a Ku Klux Klan member being interviewed on CNN. The bank has a TV above the tellers with the sound off, and I only caught a little of the closed captioning. A headline said, “Klan membership growing.” I began daydreaming about what I might say if I were interviewing a member of the KKK:
CD: Thank you for talking to us. First of all, I’m interested in your costume. I’ve noticed you wear a robe and a pointed hat. I’ve also seen pictures of members who hide their faces with a hood that has holes cut out for the eyes. Is your organization Halloween-based in some way?
KKK: No, the uniform was originally meant to appear like a ghost, so as to frighten the…
CD: And yet I notice that your costume is purple. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a purple ghost…
KKK: Well, I’m an Imperial Wizard, so our uniform is a different color…
CD: A wizard? So you practice sorcery?
KKK: This is just a traditional title…
CD: I have to tell you, this whole thing seems so, well, retro. I mean, your costume looks like something from the Renaissance fair, and then you say you’re a wizard. Is this a Dungeons and Dragons tie-in of some sort?
KKK: Look, I came here to talk about our beliefs…
CD: Oh, I know, you hate blacks and Jews and so on, we’ll get to that. But I just wonder, wouldn’t it be smarter to wear business suits like everyone else? I think you’d have more credibility that way. The pointy hat and the mask and the robe, it’s so off-putting.
KKK: There’s a tradition behind the uniform, and we don’t call it a costume, by the way…
CD: The robes aren’t even well-fitted. They’re just sort of this dumpy thing, like wearing a tent. And I look at you and I think, Harry Potter? Bilbo Baggins? Then I find that you’re a political organization of some kind, I mean, your presentation just doesn’t fit your act, you know what I mean?
KKK: Now, you listen to me, sir, sir…
CD: And the pointy hat. You could do better. Maybe a smart looking cap of some sort. Times have changed. People aren’t scared by guys running around in a sheet yelling “Boo!” any more. At least not in my part of the world. Now, about that cross on the front of the costume, is this some kind of affiliation with Christianity? The Crusades? I’m confused here, first we have ghosts, now the ghost is wearing a cross….
Etc., etc.
2 comments:
The only other people I know of who sport such Halloween costumes in earnest (perhaps even the source of the Klan gear?) are, of all things, the members of a Catholic order in Sevilla, Spain, Europe, planet Earth.
Yeah, strange, especially since the Klan hates Catholics too.
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