KKK is the “21st Century Terror Organization” on the Home Front

A reformed KKK leader has denounced the organization, claiming that it is a major threat. His warning comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, and he isn’t shy in comparing the KKK to Al Qaeda or ISIS in structure or agenda. The only difference, he claims, is that the war the KKK is now waging, is largely being ignored for more ‘pressing’ international issues.

Born in 1959, Shepherd acknowledges his background was that of a dysfunctional family, filled with turmoil and plagued by alcoholism. He first came across the KKK in books at his local school and his interest grew from there. At 17, he had made contact with a local Klansman. There he found a sense of being ‘home’ and ‘well-being.’ Shepherd says it was a “tactic to recruit troubled kids like me.”[1]

Scott Shepherd, a former Imperial Wizard of the KKK has taken a stand against his former Klansmen, essentially whistle-blowing against them and revealing their agenda. It’s a risky step, but one he’s willing to take. He starts off by branding the KKK as a “21^st century terror organization.”

Tactics they deploy are evolving to “pursue their perverted goals.” Alarmingly, ones tactic that the KKK leaders are adopting mirrors the Islamist terrorists in the Middle East. Shepherd goes on to name the three steps in how they are achieving their goals. With between five and ten thousand card-carrying members, and several times that number of silent benefactors to the organization, the once disorganized group now sources members from new military recruits and youth who are easily manipulated. According to Shepherd, the KKK works on a “modus operandi” that encompasses “method, material, and meaning.”

Method provides a basis in which “lone wolves and strike teams” are used to carry out targeted attacks. Normally they are groomed by senior leaders, and their identity is not known to the general KKK population. Random attacks are no longer the agenda for the KKK. Blacks and Jews are no longer the central targets. Any non-Christian is considered an enemy, and it is here, Shepherd draws a parallel between the KKK’s behavior to that of ISIS, and other terrorist organizations.[2]

Material is the use of weapons now possessed by the KKK. Their efficiency has developed over the years, along with their caliber of their recruits, as well as their connections. Shepherd warns that the connections with military renegades are only enhancing the proficiency of the KKK in strategy and weaponry.

This works in conjunction with the message, or meaning that they convey to their members, claiming their attacks are ‘sanctioned by God’; it appears as though there is a form of Christian Jihad being waged on Western soil, an American Taliban, as some have described it.

The 21^st century’s birth started with turbulence that is only increasing into its childhood. The KKK will defend their belief in the name of Christianity as the ISIS militants defend theirs. But let’s understand this war in a realistic manner, rather than through idealistic religious fervor, and understand that real people suffer the true consequences of any war.

[1] Platt, G. (2014, September 24). From KKK Grand Dragon to Anti-Racism Crusader: The Remarkable Reinvention of Scott Shepherd. [International Business Times]. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/kkk-grand-dragon-anti-racism-crusader-remarkable-reinvention-scott-shepherd-1466964

[2] Shepherd, S. (2015, March 13). KKK using ISIS and Taliban Terror Tactics to Wage Christian Jihad on US. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/kkk-using-isis-taliban-terror-tactics-wage-christian-jihad-us-1491746