The Klansman Who - Ronson

In the chapter “The Klansman Who Won’t Use the N-Word” Ronson depicts a group of Ku Klux Klan members with different views that many other clans would have. He visits Thom, the KKK Grand wizard of this group, who welcomes him to sit in at their upcoming Klan meeting. Ronson depicts Thom as a leader with hopes to create a cleaner and brighter image of the KKK. He started the rally by having the members learn more about themselves. The self-reflection they did suggests that different kinds of people must interact together in order for the world to work. This poses an ironic and hypocritical view that the members agree with. Thom then gives a speech to his public. He states the problem in the KKK is their image. He says that using the N-word immediately makes them the bad guy and removes any possibility of people agreeing with them. He states that they should not use the N-Word. He urges the community to reform to a cleaner and friendlier group. After multiple simpleton conversations, the group erects a cross to burn. After the ceremony the people sit down to watch Birth of a Nation, which is the only pro-KKK movie to date. Thom complains that there are no other movies with positive Klan characters. The author thinks to himself that Birth of a Nation was funded by a Jew and that he himself is a Jew. Despite these facts the Klan accepts both the author and the movie.

I feel that this chapter has very clear and precise facts: in hate of other people there are many hypocritical notions, and second that ignorance is bliss. There were many points in the story where it’s clear that the KKK has hypocritical ideas such as they must cohabitate with other types of people peacefully and Jews are a plague to the earth yet a Jewish man caused the only pro-KKK movie to be created. I find this piece to be well done and cause the reader to take a deeper reflection on the things/people they dislike. This chapter reminds me of O’Henry works of blunt irony, which we must be prepaid to get the complete opposite result than wanted. They wanted to discriminate but they preached assimilation and abolishment of racist slurs.