There is a serious problem with this horrid man. The same false dynamic we witness with the Right’s attraction to Clarence Thomas and Ward Connerly. Ever hear this from those you know damn well are racist? "Some of my best friends are black!" Which of course means they cannot be racist. The Tokens didn’t just sing about sleeping lions. Juan Williams gives cover to Fox News as Herman Cain gives cover to the Tea Party and the GOP.
After just moving down to Dumbutt some 30 years ago, being the salty wharfrat I am, I spent some time in local bars around the Kemah Channel. One such place I particularity enjoyed was an old dark windowless trailer full of chickens and $.75 long necks. I liked the ambiance of finding eggs in the ashtrays and on vacant bar stools. The big Houston news at the time was how the Klan was harassing the Vietnamese shrimpers. They were suspected of fire bombing a Vietnamese shrimp boat that ended up sinking in the channel. In fact I once saw them in a boat in full regalia cruising up the channel with M-16s. It was the parade for the Blessing of the Fleet no less.
So I am in the chicken bar and gently tossed an egg at four young men around a table to check their reflexes. One caught it easily and cracked it open and swallowed the contents. That broken egg broke the ice and I was invited over. I order beers all around. I asked what they did and found they were marine mechanics. I joked that there is a boat at the bottom of the Kemah Channel that I bet could use some mechanic work. They laughed and said they did all the diesel work for the Vietnamese around the area by day. I followed their lead and asked what they did by night.
One reached in his breast pocket to slide his business card across the table. I still have it laying around here somewhere as it made a big impression on me on two fronts. First of course that being friendly with or working for a minority does not negate racism. Even violent racism. But I already knew that. What had more meaning to me over the years was the big bold central message on the card:
Ku Klux Klan
Race God Country
Over the years I have found that asking people to put those words in the correct order (adding "family") I could not only deduce a person’s politics but their character as well. Try it yourself. Family, Country, God, Race is of course the correct order!