photo: The KKK marches down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. in 1926.
Contributing to criminal chaos of the 1920s was the sudden rise of the Ku Klux Klan, or KKK. In the early 1920s, membership in the KKK quickly escalated to six figures under the leadership of “Colonel” William Simmons and advertising guru Edward Young Clarke. Robed members of the KKK marching down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., with American flags and the U.S. Capitol in the background.
By the middle of the decade, the group boasted several million members. The crimes committed in the name of its bigoted beliefs were despicable—hangings, floggings, mutilations, tarring and featherings, kidnappings, brandings by acid, along with a new intimidation tactic, cross-burnings. The Klan had become a clear threat to public safety and order.
An organized criminal syndicate “demonstrating” in Washington with impunity. Many members were police officers and government officials. I guess if you were white maybe you can afford this style of free speech. Today they’re embedded in ICE and kidnapping and disappearing people. People dying under mysterious circumstances in their custody. It’s good when they demonstrate unmasked so we know who they are. That’s the only benefit of this. Meanwhile people protesting genocide and protecting their neighbors are assaulted, jailed and drug through financial and professional ruin. But sure, it’s equal expression if you say so.
Yup it is - we are talking about the demonstrations.
I’m curious on what you think the purpose of a “demonstration” is or what the definition is in your use here. Also, do you believe “demonstrations” performed by an organized group fall under an individuals freedom of speech?