Intimidation The Forms of the Ku Klux Klan’s Racist Action towards the Black People and TheirDefenders

Klan also takes action to everyone who defends the Blacks. The Klan’s intimidation is objected to create a situation of fear. The Klan’s action is a real threat to the society. Klansmen want a piece of action, and it is for real in order to influence the society about the idea of their superiority. They want to show that by doing this kind of action that the Blacks deserve to be unsupported and they do not belong in the society. Influenced by the White Supremacy’s idea, the Klans are blinded by their ambition.Grisham 1989: 96 portrays the Klans’ intimidation in his novel below. Its a warnin. Means stop what youre doin, or the next time well do more than burn a little wood. They used these things for years to intimidate whites who were sympathetic to niggers and all that civil rights crap. If the whites didnt stop their nigger lovin, then violence followed. Bombs, dynamite, beatings, even murder. But that was a long time ago, I thought. In your case, its their way of tellin Jake to stay away from Hailey. But since he aint Haileys lawyer no more, I dont know what it means. One of the ways to intimidate people is by burning cross. This is aimed as a warning for the people to stay away from particular issue that the Klan trying to get in. The warning was not only for the blacks but also for the whiteswho try to help the blacks. This burning cross is commonly placed near the house of the intimidation target. Burning cross is actually one of the identical characteristics of the Klan’s intimidation. As they are influenced by the Protestant Christian, the burning cross refers to the light of Christ. Light is white, and white means holy. Another example of the cross burning is found in Grisham’s A Time to Kill 1989: 74 below. They could make speeches to a captive audience and parade in front of the cameras. The press would love it-hate them, but love the altercations, the disruptions. And at night they could intimidate with burning crosses and threatening phone calls. The targets would be easy and unsuspecting. The Klans do the intimidation towards the Blacks mainly, and also towards their defenders, which are the Whites too. As white supremacist, the Klans wanted to abuse the Blacks. Pure hatred has blinded them. The Blacks are the target, and also the Whites who defend the Blacks. The Klans decide that they will take action to them, too. They set a couple of actions in their plan. The Klansmen are not so happy with the news that the black man who killed one of their members’s relative is going to be set free. The Klans’ intimidation based on the novel can be seen in the quotation below. Cobb was not sure, but he had heard the trial would be in late summer, or early fall. What concerned him most was all the talk about the nigger pleading insanity and getting off. It wasnt right. The nigger killed his brother in cold blood, planned the shooting. He hid in a closet and waited for his brother. It was coldblooded murder, and now there was talk of the nigger walking free. What could the Klan do about it? Grisham, 1989: 73 The Klans tend to use mail and telephone in order to send their intimidation towards the society. This can be seen in the quotation below. Said you was a shame to the white race for being that niggers lawyer, and that he didnt see how any lawyer could represent a nigger such as Hailey. And that he hoped the Klan got ahold of you, and if they didnt he hoped the bar association looked into it and took away your license for helping niggers. Said he knew you were no count because you were trained by Lucien Wilbanks who lives with a nigger woman. Grisham, 1989: 199 From the quotation above, the terror to Jack Brigance as the black’s defender was delivered via mail and telephone. The Klans’ message was to scare him so that he would stay away from Carl Lee’s case. They wanted the white lawyer to give up, so the Blacks would be unsupported in the trial. For the Klans, a black defender is a shame for the Whites race. From their view, the Blacks do not deserve anything in their society. Because of that, they gave pressure to the Black’s lawyer.

3. Provocation

Provocation is also the thing that the Klan employed as a means to shape their supremacy towards the Blacks. The targets of their provocation are the Blacks surely, and also the Whites who support the Blacks. Provocation is the act just to get the attention of their targets. This act will be suceeded if the target took an action first. The function of the provocation can be to stir to action or feeling, to incite anger, or even to stimulate a fight. Thus, the situation will be the Klan plays as victim. With the provocation, the Klan tries to collect many supports from the people in the south about their white supremacist’ idea. They had time to organize and call in comrades from other states. What Kluxer would miss this golden moment? And new recruits? Why, this case could fuel the fires of racism and bring nigger haters out of the woods and onto the streets. Membership was down. Hailey would be their new battle cry, the rallying point. Grisham, 1989: 74 Based on the previous quotation, the Klans are really in the passion to bring down the Blacks. The phrase “golden moment” refers to a rare opportunity for the Klans to abuse the black people in the modern time. Carl Lee’s trial is viewed as the fuel to enlive the racial discrimination to the Blacks and also to their defenders. That the Klans’ provocation is also aimed to bring back the old power to them to bring down the Blacks in their society. This evidence is found in Grisham 1989: 181 below. The white hood, for decades a symbol of hatred and violence in the South, was back. The Klansmen use Carl Lee’s trial as a provocation in order to gain supports, to finally give pressure back to the Blacks. Grisham pictures the horrified moment of a provocation done by the Klan below. All the laws favor the niggers, and the liberal nigger-loving politicians keep making more laws against white people. Somebodys got to stand up for them. Thats why he called the Klan. With the trial several months away, there was time to plan a rebellion. They could march during the day around the courthouse in their white robes and pointed, hooded masks. Grisham, 1989: 73 The Klans really understand how to provoke the situation so that violence will rise. That the expected result is the clash between the Blacks and the Whites. Furthermore, Ku Klux Klan is a highly organized group. The group existed not only in a particular area, but also in other states of the nation. It means all of the group in the states are connected to each other. Giving the situation like that, a Klan group based on a state can ask help from other groupson different states. For the Klans, wearing white robes during a marching in the city is viewed as a pride. Grisham 1989: 74 told the situation in the novel below. They knew how to provoke it. They fully appreciated what the sight of marching white robes did to crowds of angry niggers. The Ku Klux Klan’s provocations are done in many ways, to the Blacks and their defenders. In Grisham’s A Time to Kill 1989: 181, a Klan man ‘speaks’ in front of the public. The speech is mentioned below. My names Stump Sisson, he said as he removed his mask. And Im proud to say Im the Mississippi Imperial Wizard for the Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan. Im here to say that the law-abidin white folks of Mississippi are sick and tired of niggers stealin, rapin, killin,