Obama’s vision of a ‘post-racial’ future seemed present in the crowd itself. Blacks and whites, young and old, all crammed into a grassy park in the centre of town. Hundreds more gathered outside, peering through the railings. One student wore a Kappa Alpha T-shirt, meaning he was from a college fraternity society who consider Confederate general Robert E Lee as a spiritual founder. ‘Now that is an amazing sight at an Obama rally,’ said one stunned local journalist.
Now, anyone who went to a predominately White university in the deep South (*raises hand*) knows why this is such a brain mangler, but for those of you who were fortunate enough not to have encountered any KAs in your life (that you know of), let me explain a bit about them.
This is the same fraternity that celebrates “Old South” days in which its members throw a parade, dress in Confederate gray, and generally make a racist rebel nuisance of themselves on campus. Robert E. Lee is their “spiritual founder”, ferchrissakes.
I have a little past history with KAs. Once, after the Clinton/Gore victory in 1992, Chuck, his roommate, and I took a celebratory lap through campus at Georgia Tech in Chuck’s car. We were honking the horns and had the windows down. As we drove past the KA house, someone threw something at the car.
My high school best friend and I used to make taunting KAs a sport. Once, we drove down to the University of Georgia, parked ourselves right out front of their big honking “way back down in the land of cotton, old times there are not forgotten” looking house and catcalled all the “fine and tasty looking white boys” that passed. Kim is a 6′1″ black woman and quite imposing. Me? I was short, dark, and round, sort of like a cannonball, if that helps you secure the picture in your mind. Did I mention that this was homecoming weekend at UGA?
But I digress.
That there are KAs attending an Obama rally doesn’t make me think of progress.
It makes me think they’re checking for weak links in his security detail.
(Via The Guardian.)
