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[MrSaturn99]

Link, and while I highly recommend reading it in its entirety, here's some select quotes

The setup is warm and fuzzy. “Girls, I got y’all some gifts,” says Steven Howard, presenting his two young daughters with prettily wrapped packages, which they eagerly rip into. The cameras then reveal what’s inside: the distinctive pointed hoods of the Ku Klux Klan.

“Giving my girls my legacy,” Mr. Howard says as he helps place them on their heads.

It’s a chilling introduction to “Generation KKK,” an eight-part documentary series, beginning Jan. 10 on A&E, that burrows in with high-ranking Klan members and their families. The series also takes A&E, best known for long-running favorites like “Hoarders” and “Intervention,” into programming waters more complicated — and politically charged — than anything it has shown before.

That meant finding a delicate balance between winning the trust of the Klan members and ensuring the show didn’t propagate views the network’s executives abhor. “We certainly didn’t want the show to be seen as a platform for the views of the KKK,” said Rob Sharenow, general manager of A&E. “The only political agenda is that we really do stand against hate.”

“Generation KKK” began taking shape a year and a half ago — not long before the divisive election campaign emboldened Klan members and other nationalist groups in their belief that they were battling a white genocide — when the filmmaker Aengus James sent crews into the South. The goal: to show the Klan at the unvarnished grass-roots level.

Two of the initial episodes of “Generation KKK” reveal a loftier intent than what the provocative title implies in that they immediately set up the series’ mission as one of anti-racist activism, focusing closely on the members of Klan families who want out — mostly mothers and children — as opposed to exposing the rituals and intentions of leaders such as Steven Howard, the imperial wizard of the North Mississippi White Knights.

Howard’s daughter Maggie doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps, and Maggie’s mother Beth, who is divorced from Steven, doesn’t want her to go that route either. A similar struggle is being faced by Chris Buckley’s wife Melissa, who is terrified by the racist lessons her husband is drilling into the mind of their 3-year-old son, and Cody Hutt, a lonely teenager in Tennessee who is being pressured to join the Klan by a man he considers to be a father figure.

Howard, for his part, knows what taking part in a series on a major cable network means. One of his goals is to normalize the Klan as much as possible and become as famous as David Duke.

“I wanna see ’em saying my name at the presidential debates,” he says with a grin on the show.

Is this real life?

 

[Ban Puncher]

 

[Pickman]

Stop normalizing these fucking assholes.

Jesus Fucking Tapdancing Christ, they'll do anything to sell ad space these days.

 

[TheSpoiler]

They face the most powerful struggle any human has ever faced - should I be racist or no?

 

[KernelPanic]

Scariest thing in the world today is the normalization of racism.

The KKK,the "dapper white nationalist, "alt right" whatever. All these hate groups are getting publicity "hey they are not so bad".

This shit's gotta stop.

 

[FriedConsole]

Most overt racists are people that desperately looking for attention and this gives it to them. Thanks "Arts" and Entertainment network.

The real problem is subtle and subconscious racism that is prevalent everywhere which would be a better focus for a show.

 

[Viewt]

I'm all for shining a light on these cockroaches. People need to know what's really happening in living rooms all over America, where spewing the shit they spew isn't some quiet, shameful admission, but completely normalized and seen as "tellin' it like it is."

I feel for the people trying to get out, though. It must be an unbelievably lonely thing to feel like the only person in the area who can see this horrific stuff for what it is.

 

[Killer Queen]

You can already tell who didn't read the OP

 

[Slayven]

Racism been normalized since 1776. People like to think racism is some abstract bullshit, nah racism lives next door, delivers your mail, and shops at the same store you do. People like to opt out and just let Uncle Earl be

 

[XenodudeX]

Stop normalizing these fucking assholes.

Jesus Fucking Tapdancing Christ, they'll do anything to sell ad space these days.

I don't get this post? It's a Documentary...

 

[stuminus3]

The setup is warm and fuzzy. “Girls, I got y’all some gifts,” says Steven Howard, presenting his two young daughters with prettily wrapped packages, which they eagerly rip into. The cameras then reveal what’s inside: the distinctive pointed hoods of the Ku Klux Klan.

Motherfuck her dear old dad.

 

[Derwind]

Stop normalizing these fucking assholes.

Jesus Fucking Tapdancing Christ, they'll do anything to sell ad space these days.

Yep... this whole thing is just absurb.

“I wanna see ’em saying my name at the presidential debates,” he says with a grin on the show.

The way things are going and all the publicity he must be getting, he may not be far from the truth.

What a

Spoiler

shitty

time to be alive.

 

[OricWindstar]

You can already tell who didn't read the OP

Haha, they made me reread it to make sure I didn't miss something.

 

[HStallion]

How about a documentary series on Black Lives Matter?

 

[Aizen.S.Kennedy]

Stop normalizing these fucking assholes.

Jesus Fucking Tapdancing Christ, they'll do anything to sell ad space these days.

They are more common then you think. Just ignoring them won't work. Ppl think oh they are just some poor rednecks etc etc. They need to realize that these ppl are your lawyers/judges/bosses/managers/neighbors/
Mailmen/cops/etc.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

Fuck this bullshit

 

[Slayven]

How about a documentary series on Black Lives Matter?

HBO is doing one

 

[CrimsonSquall]

Reading the full blurb at least allows me to see that there is some decency in the Klans family. Although I do have to question, at what point in a relationship did the divorced mother realize "omg steve's a racist"? Because I'm sure the first nigger must have come quite early into the relationship for him to become such a prominent Klan member.

I'm okay with this going through as long as it's not one of many by other networks as well.

 

[More_Badass]

You can already tell who didn't read the OP

.

Two of the initial episodes of “Generation KKK” reveal a loftier intent than what the provocative title implies in that they immediately set up the series’ mission as one of anti-racist activism, focusing closely on the members of Klan families who want out — mostly mothers and children — as opposed to exposing the rituals and intentions of leaders such as Steven Howard, the imperial wizard of the North Mississippi White Knights.

Howard’s daughter Maggie doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps, and Maggie’s mother Beth, who is divorced from Steven, doesn’t want her to go that route either. A similar struggle is being faced by Chris Buckley’s wife Melissa, who is terrified by the racist lessons her husband is drilling into the mind of their 3-year-old son, and Cody Hutt, a lonely teenager in Tennessee who is being pressured to join the Klan by a man he considers to be a father figure.

 

[BocoDragon]

Stop normalizing these fucking assholes.

Jesus Fucking Tapdancing Christ, they'll do anything to sell ad space these days.

That's like saying the Hitler documentaries on the History Channel normalize Hitler.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Well with Duck Dynasty ended it looks like A&E found the perfect replacement to retain that audience.

 

[Viewt]

Racism been normalized since 1776. People like to think racism is some abstract bullshit, nah racism lives next door, delivers your mail, and shops at the same store you do. People like to opt out and just let Uncle Earl be

Exactly. Which brings us to the question of how we can finally take steps to stomp it out? Personally, I think the only way we can do so is by taking these issues head on and forcing public discourse. If you give people any kind of out to avoid challenging their views, they're always going to go with the easy option.

No one does a deep-dive introspection because someone politely asked them to consider the political climate at the end of a Salon think piece. It needs to be upfront, blunt, and personal. I'm not advocating violence or harassment, but I don't think there's any passive way to approach this issue and actually get results.

 

[RinsFury]

The setup is warm and fuzzy. “Girls, I got y’all some gifts,” says Steven Howard, presenting his two young daughters with prettily wrapped packages, which they eagerly rip into. The cameras then reveal what’s inside: the distinctive pointed hoods of the Ku Klux Klan.

Social services needs to take those kids away, what a nightmare.

 

[FriedConsole]

They are more common then you think. Just ignoring them won't work. Ppl think oh they are just some poor rednecks etc etc. They need to realize that these ppl are your lawyers/judges/bosses/managers/neighbors/
Mailmen/cops/etc.

The KKK isn't really a serious force anymore and their numbers are dwindling. You can't be a functional member of society and be an overt racist in the KKK.

The Southern Poverty Law Center estimates that there are 190 active KKK groups with between 5,000 and 8,000 Klan members in the U.S.

http://www.attn.com/stories/6255/how-big-kkk-is-2016


The racism that is still a problem is subtle and subconscious racism which is putting minorities at a disadvantage. It would be nice if we could just identify racists by people wearing a hood tho.

 

[dapperbandit]

The KKK is so passé. There are probably more FBI informants in the hoods than real members.

 

[Bounceounce]

I don't see what's wrong about this show.

 

[Killer Queen]

I don't see what's wrong about this show.

Nothing, but people are quick to read the title only and then respond because reasons.

 

[HStallion]

HBO is doing one

That's really cool. I hadn't heard of this. Man HBO stays winning.

 

[Matty77]

HBO is doing one

Seriously? Do you know the details I might be interested in that if done right.

 

[marrec]

Y'all this ain't about normalization:

Two of the initial episodes of “Generation KKK” reveal a loftier intent than what the provocative title implies in that they immediately set up the series’ mission as one of anti-racist activism, focusing closely on the members of Klan families who want out — mostly mothers and children — as opposed to exposing the rituals and intentions of leaders such as Steven Howard, the imperial wizard of the North Mississippi White Knights.

Or at least, it doesn't seem like it.

 

[Slayven]

That's really cool. I hadn't heard of this. Man HBO stays winning.

Seriously? Do you know the details I might be interested in that if done right.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...rs-oscar-nominees_us_56a29061e4b0d8cc109a0d2c

 

[TaterTots]

You can already tell who didn't read the OP

.

 

[Matty77]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...rs-oscar-nominees_us_56a29061e4b0d8cc109a0d2c

Thanks Slay, much appreciated.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

You can already tell who didn't read the OP

Lol

I'd watch this!!

 

[LifEndz]

I wouldn't watch two seconds of this. Gross. Even with them presenting it as a condemnation of the klan, there's too much of this coming to the surface right now all over the country.

 

[Omegasquash]

The KKK isn't really a serious force anymore and their numbers are dwindling. You can't be a functional member of society and be an overt racist in the KKK.

Agreed, however my fear is that it's the association with racism that is driving abandonment, not condemnation of racism itself.

Looking at what A&E has said (taking them at their word, here), this could be an instrument of the former, as opposed to the latter. At least I hope it is.

 

[Aizen.S.Kennedy]

The KKK isn't really a serious force anymore and their numbers are dwindling. You can't be a functional member of society and be an overt racist in the KKK.



http://www.attn.com/stories/6255/how-big-kkk-is-2016


The racism that is still a problem is subtle and subconscious racism which is putting minorities at a disadvantage. It would be nice if we could just identify racists by people wearing a hood tho.

Thank you for supporting what I said. Please read your link. It basically says what I did. You don't need to wear a hood/sign up to hold the same exact values as the clan. Plenty of sympathizers and ppl who are everything but card carrying members. They are all around us and to a black guy In North Carolina wearing the hood doesn't mean much of anything. I've seen clan rallies and the huge # of ppl that support them. That estimate is just that...an estimate. Lots of times ppl are too ashamed to say it's what they believe, their actions speak for themselves tho.

 

[studyguy]

“The struggles we were most drawn to were the struggles with the internal families,” said Mr. James, an executive producer of the series, whose previous credits include TLC’s “I Am Jazz,” about the transgender teenager Jazz Jennings. “We had a stance, and we were clear with folks that we were hoping for them to see the light and to come out of this world. It’s an incredibly destructive environment for anybody to be in, let alone children.”

...

As they sought to capture this relatively unseen world, the filmmakers also incorporated the anti-hate activists Daryle Lamont Jenkins, Arno Michaelis and Bryon Widner as they tried to persuade members to leave the Klan — or at least to leave their children out of it.

“People involved in hate groups do so because they’re suffering,” Mr. Michaelis said. “I really draw upon that truth to respond to their aggression with compassion, and doing so makes a very powerful first impression.”

I suppose I can appreciate that angle but at the same time it's strange to have so much seemingly patience and compassion directed at a group of people who likely wouldn't ever give others the time of day. My concern is the producers aim to have viewers land in the forest of learning how destructive these types of situations are and instead have them scatter, land in the trees of blanket rationalization, these racists are all just economically troubled or socially maladjusted or some such nonsense. At the end of the day you can't just explain away racism and expect logic and compassion to trump it. Often times racism doesn't abide by any kind of logical notion or bother to make sense.

 

[PHOENIXZERO]

The KKK isn't really a serious force anymore and their numbers are dwindling. You can't be a functional member of society and be an overt racist in the KKK.

They're not but knowing the county you live in houses one of the active chapters in Michigan still isn't a great feeling.

 

[FriedConsole]

Thank you for supporting what I said. Please read your link. It basically says what I did. You don't need to wear a hood/sign up to hold the same exact values as the clan. Plenty of sympathizers and ppl who are everything but card carrying members. They are all around us and to a black guy In North Carolina I've seen clan rallies and the huge # of ppl that support them. That estimate is just that...an estimate. Lots of times ppl are too ashamed to say it's what they believe, their actions speak for themselves tho.

Yes, people are too ashamed to say they are racist. That is a good thing but the focus needs to be on those people who are too ashamed to say it and not the KKK. Focusing on the fringe small number of racists that will give up being a functional member of society to be overt racists is a wasted opportunity. The documentary series should focus on subtle and subconscious racism which is more of problem for minorities in today's world.

They're not but knowing the county you live in houses one of the active chapters in Michigan still isn't a great feeling.

Yeah but these people are looking for attention. If people ignored the Westboro Baptist Church, those loonies probably would have gone away. Their numbers weren't anything to worry about and the people in the "church" were mostly feeding off the attention.

 

[Aizen.S.Kennedy]

Yes, people are too ashamed to say they are racist. That is a good thing but the focus needs to be on those people who are too ashamed to say it and not the KKK. Focusing on the fringe small number of racists that will give up being a functional member of society to be overt racists is a wasted opportunity. The documentary series should focus on subtle and subconscious racism which is more of problem for minorities in today's world.

Isn't the focus of this show on the kids and wives? The ashamed/ conflicted immediate family of the klan tho?

 

[FriedConsole]

Isn't the focus of this show on the kids and wives? The ashamed/ conflicted immediate family of the klan tho?

That would be great if they did that and not feature any of the KKK members. It is probably going to be a lot like Escaping Polygamy another A&E show which I think featured too much of the cult members.

 

[Aizen.S.Kennedy]

That would be great if they did that and not feature any of the KKK members. It is probably going to be a lot like Escaping Polygamy another A&E show which I think featured too much of the cult members.

They have to show the members tho. When ppl see that high ranking members arent disheveled fringe lunatics but instead it's guys who looks like their dad/brother who manage to hold down a good job it'll hopefully change views on what these ppl are and how they operate.

 

[lucebuce12]

The only KKK member I want to see on my television screen is Clayton Bigsby

 

[Mael]

Good to know we'll still get white house press conferences next year...

 

[Khoryos]

I wouldn't watch two seconds of this. Gross. Even with them presenting it as a condemnation of the klan, there's too much of this coming to the surface right now all over the country.

So you'd rather pretend it doesn't exist? WTH?

 

[TalonJH]

On one side I'm fine with them making the show as long as it isn't giving the KKK a platform.

On the other hand, I don't like that they are basically funneling money into a hate group by assumingly paying them to film their lives. It's hard to imagine some of the money not making it's way to KKK members even if it does focus on the Mom and children.

 

[Stinkles]

Stop normalizing these fucking assholes.

Jesus Fucking Tapdancing Christ, they'll do anything to sell ad space these days.

um...

 

[CrimsonSquall]

On one side I'm fine with them making the show as long as it isn't giving the KKK a platform.

On the other hand, I don't like that they are basically funneling money into a hate group by assumingly paying them to film their lives. It's hard to imagine some of the money not making it's way to KKK members even if it does focus on the Mom and children.

How much compensation in a documentary? I mean this isn't reality tv so it's gotta be different I'd imagine

 

[Bronx-Man]

Howard, for his part, knows what taking part in a series on a major cable network means. One of his goals is to normalize the Klan as much as possible and become as famous as David Duke.

“I wanna see ’em saying my name at the presidential debates,” he says with a grin on the show

Say hello to the new Administrator of Racial Unity