The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

Opinion

Discussion

November 13, 2008

Obama's election has exposed racism, hate groups

The election of Barack Obama as president of the United States has promoted a lot of pride and energy into our nation’s politics. But, unfortunately, it also has led to the rearing up of some racist and hate groups.

Hate groups are starting to surface, and some of that is happening in Oklahoma. This past week, an Oklahoma woman was allegedly murdered by a Ku Klux Klan group in Louisiana. She had been recruited by this group to start KKK organizations here in Oklahoma.

This particular KKK outfit in Louisiana was so remote, no one had ever heard of it. But this group and others like it are starting to rear their ugly heads.

We expect to hear more about these groups as the United States makes this important transition. While we are horrified at the thought these groups still exist in the United States, the truth is they do and they always have. They’ve just been underground, in the dark.

The only way to fight these groups and their message is to shine light on them. While the realities of what they stand for are horrifying, its important they be ferreted out and exposed for what they are.

This may mean the state of Oklahoma — and other states or regions of the country as well — could be unfairly labeled as racist states. That would be unfortunate.

But the fact is, these hate groups are like cockroaches.

The only way to stamp out this kind of hate is to shine light on it and get it out in the open so people can be educated and law enforcement can take appropriate actions regarding their activities.

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