There has been a lot of celebration and glee over the exposure of a few members of the KKK. This action has been framed as fighting back against racism in the context of #Ferguson. Emotionally charged imagery that invokes the lynching of black people was a part of this effort.
But what is outing KKK members doing to make black people safer? How will it help get those killed by the police without any good cause justice?
On twitter very few black people are excited by the "help" from anonymous. Far from it, many of us are feeling quite critical because it feels like misdirection.
#Ferguson is not a battle against the KKK, it is a battle against the systemic violence black people face from the police. Like anonymous the KKK tries to insert itself into this situation to try to seem bigger and more relevant than they acutely are.
The KKK is not directly responsible for the suffering and oppression of black people in the way that they once were. But fighting the KKK makes racism seem like a simple one dimensional problem with good guys and bad guys. This is not the reality we live with.
Some of those among the anonymous, no doubt, have their heart in the right place, some are just in it for the LULZ, but it takes more than that to fight racism effectively.
So, could we go back to ignoring the KKK?
Please?
The Truth About Anonymous’s Activism
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