Court allows KKK to adopt a highway -
March 7, 2001 9:38 AM   Subscribe

Court allows KKK to adopt a highway - when they re-pave, will they use white-top? (via Gleanings)
posted by mimi (24 comments total)
 
I keep wondering if protesters will go and litter heavily on the KKK stretch of road. Lots of icky, mucky stuff. Smelly too.
posted by kokogiak at 10:02 AM on March 7, 2001


What a great idea, kokogiak!

I have an image too: 20 or 30 klan members picking up trash in sheets and hoods -- with those stupid orange vests on.
posted by darren at 10:10 AM on March 7, 2001


Sounds fun.. although isn't that illegal? Maybe it'd be worth it though... or atleast through trash out as you pass by.. unless they get a cop, in which case I'm not sure if he'll be nice or do his job.
posted by tiaka at 10:15 AM on March 7, 2001


I've always maintained that the KKK are uniquely qualified for roadside litter patrol since they've been collecting white trash for years.

However, along the stretch of road they've adopted in Missouri, they haven't done a lick of work toward tidying the highway and it's really a mess. Just ordinary litter; doesn't appear to be any protest-related trash, but there's lots of it.
posted by bradlands at 10:18 AM on March 7, 2001


Oh god Brad, that was damn funny. If I had been drinking orange drink, trust me, my keyboard would be a mess :)
posted by kokogiak at 10:24 AM on March 7, 2001


They let the boy-scouts adopt highways, why not the KKK?

posted by Dr. Boom at 10:29 AM on March 7, 2001


That was good Brad. God, I love orange drink.

NPR had a good story on this, and they were talking to people who, like Brad, were noting that nothing had been done to that stretch of land under the KKK's adoption. They had a lot of good discussion on how the KKK, though appearing to be giving back to the community, are doing it simply in an attempt to make their beliefs more mainstream. Sure, they would be doing good (if they did the work at all), but they'd be doing it with the intention to spread their beliefs. Ulterior motives are great.
posted by Hankins at 10:37 AM on March 7, 2001


To better appreciate the abusurdity of the ruling, perhaps someone should register NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association) or something fictitious like "Knights for Bestiality & Animal Love."
posted by Veldtland at 11:13 AM on March 7, 2001


Wasn't there commentary on a KKK-adopted road a while back on Seanbaby.com
posted by chesuta at 11:25 AM on March 7, 2001


They let the boy-scouts adopt highways, why not the KKK?

Glad to add you to the list of people with an irrational hatred of the Boy Scouts, Dr. Boom. Time to reset my b.s. filter by adding one more name...
posted by darren at 11:54 AM on March 7, 2001


Only in the information age would an organization like the KKK worry about PR. Thank goodness anyone with an IQ over 60 knows what losers these guys are, at least I hope they do....
posted by Dooberville at 11:58 AM on March 7, 2001


darren, what happened to your penance?

More addictive than crack...
posted by Avogadro at 12:04 PM on March 7, 2001


Unfortunately, he didn't say from what he was going to ban himself.
posted by harmful at 12:08 PM on March 7, 2001


Now I have "The KKK took my baby away" going through my head, that song sticks like glue.
posted by thirteen at 12:10 PM on March 7, 2001


If they actually pick up the trash like they promised, they'll have less time to engage in other activities. If they don't, their name will be directly associated with roadside trash. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
posted by kindall at 12:16 PM on March 7, 2001


I actually don't object to the KKK being permitted to "adopt" the highway, nor to a sign being erected acknowledging their effort, provided they participate within the guidelines of the program and actually pick up the litter in the area they've agreed to police. Frankly, I think it'd be entertaining to see them on the roadside in their low-thread-count percale duds spearing potato chip wrappers on a stick.

In fact, I don't care if the Girl Scouts, the John Birch Society, the Future Homemakers of America or the Citizens United for the Enjoyment of Live Infant Devouring want to join and pick up filter tips and pop cans. Bring 'em all on; a brief notation of their work is a small price to pay for highway beautification and ecological cleanliness.

I am not disinterested in this topic. Several years back, when the county of St. Louis launched a similar effort, the local chapter of Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG) signed up to patrol a small stretch of road near my home, incidentally near the church where the group meets. The county rejected their application out of hand and, after challenges and legal wrangling -- during which it was made clear the only reason for the rejection was no one particularly wanted a sign with the word "lesbian" on it to go up along a county road -- P-FLAG was permitted to adopt the roadway (IIRC, a judge cited equal access/protection as the basis for his ruling) and has, for the past decade, kept it spiffy and clean.

All of this is by way of saying that the solution to "hate speech" or to the civic airing of ideas we find distasteful usually isn't censorship or barring participation. Most times, it's encouraging other speech to come up alongside it. If Focus on the Family wants to adopt the stretch adjacent to P-FLAG's and get their sign, y'all come on out and bring your Glad bags. We'll make a day of it. If the KKK is on trash detail, maybe the NAACP should have a stretch too. Signs for everyone!!

More and diverse speech is always preferable to less speech. The marketplace of ideas isn't a marketplace if it's only a couple of run-down storefronts in a strip mall.

Still, if the Klan is going to adopt the road, I wanna see it sparkle.
posted by bradlands at 12:16 PM on March 7, 2001


It's a great incentive. Litter, and the KKK scores a moral victory against you.
posted by chesuta at 12:20 PM on March 7, 2001


The question I have -- are they going to pick up trash in their hoods and little white nightgowns? That would make them nice, visible targets, I'd think. But are KKK members willing to be publicly seen, out on a roadside, without their protecting anonymity? Bringing their hate out of the closet, so to speak, is awfully bold for such a bunch of cowardly subintellects.

I like your perspective, Brad. What I'd love to know is if you think that same notion applies to folks like Laura Schlessinger or a certain rapper we all love to hate?
posted by Dreama at 12:27 PM on March 7, 2001


I absolutely do. I wholeheartedly endorse "Dr." Laura's right to have a talk show and Eminememem's (harder to stop spelling than bananana) to spew out pasty-white-boy-rap.

And I also reserve my right to denounce, protest, endorse or otherwise comment on them. Or to go even farther.
posted by bradlands at 12:34 PM on March 7, 2001


If the KKK doesn't do a good job, can the adoption be taken away from them? If so, they'd better get working; it would be poetic justice if the adoption was taken away from them and given to a civil rights group.
posted by dragonmage at 1:39 PM on March 7, 2001


kokogiak, don't throw icky stuff on the KKK's highway...throw refrigerators and washing machines!
posted by jazzbo at 2:03 PM on March 7, 2001


Well, I'd like to suggest mean or painful things, but I can't help but think that some deer or raccoon would stumble into it before one of the Klansmen-with-a-baggie would.
posted by kokogiak at 2:22 PM on March 7, 2001


The KKK has an ulterior motive?

Just good old boys, never meanin' no harm...

Robin Hoods my ass.

posted by samsara at 2:46 PM on March 7, 2001


"Glad to add you to the list of people with an irrational hatred of the Boy Scouts."

Darren, I wasn't aware that I had an irrational hatred for the Boy Scouts, on the contrary i feel it is one of the best organizations in the country for getting young boys laid (if they're into older men). I was just making a comparison which, from a legal standpoint, is right on.
posted by Dr. Boom at 3:44 PM on March 7, 2001


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