The Klansman who Won't Say the N-Word

In this chapter of Jon Ronson's Them: Adventures with Extremists, the author is interested in the Ku Klux Klan, how they are changing, and showing the stupidity of these Klansmen.  Thom Robb, the leader of the Klan, is trying to move the Klan in a new direction and have the focus be more on white supremacy rather than black demise.  Robb was particularly distraught whenever someone walked past saying the N-word or "Jew."  Ronson, being a Jewish, British journalist, was welcomed into the group.  Ronson provides numerous little events throughout the narrative that makes the Klan seem innocent and frankly, dumb.  Giving out personality tests from a magazine and praising a Jewish man for wearing a KKK robe shows us how the Klansmen are not very intelligent.  It also shows how they don't think of the Klan as a radical group, but just like any other interest group. This KKK's annual National Congress is really more of a summer camp than a grand gathering for radical white supremacists.  The most ironic part of this piece is how much Jewish influence is on this camp, from a Calvin Klein t-shirt, to a collection of Walter Matthau movies as a raffle prize, to their prized movie Birth of a Nation, who was funded by (and also who reaped the profits from) Louis Mayer. 

I found this narrative of the Ku Klux Klan to be very comical.  I was surprised by the fact that Thom is trying to change them to be more socially acceptable and less violent.  The descriptions make me think of them as blundering Southerners who have radical beliefs, but don't even support them much themselves.  One thing I questioned in this piece is whether the Klan realized Ronson is Jewish.  Most Jewish men have distinct qualities (stereotypically) that can identify them as being Jewish, and one would think that if anyone would be able to point out a Jewish man, it would be the KKK.  This welcoming of Ronson, and even having him try on the robe just shows the pure stupidity of these men.  This narrative shows the complete invalidity of the KKK's beliefs. 

Bitch

Beverly Gross wrote an article in Salmagundi Magazine titled "Bitch."  And that's exactly what it's about: the word bitch and its many various meaning.  She uses various sources to give definitions of bitch including dictionaries, surveys shes held in class, and even a quote from Barbara Bush.   Early definitions describe it as a loose woman, but the definition has changed many times as the years have passed.  Gross says that bitch is the worst thing you can call a woman, worse than whore or cunt or any other word you can think of.  She later contradicts this and talks about how bitch is commonly used in "black vernacular." It is not used to speak poorly about women, but is just sort of nickname for girls (like how many black men refer to each other as "nigger").  Most of the definitions she provides seem to have a common theme. A powerful woman is a threat to society and we need a way to cut her down, and so we call her a bitch.

I found Gross's article to be too over the top on feminist standpoints.  She is very professional in her writing on this subject, but she is too obsessed with the fact that the word is directed towards women.  There are other words that are directed only at men, such as bastard, that nowadays ends up meaning the same thing as bitch.  Gross provides a convincing argument, but my personal views are not swayed because of it.  I found the piece very interesting and comical, but honestly found the strong feminist views throughout to get annoying.

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