Different organizational varied kinds of persuasive communication methods to spread their message of the objectives that drives their activities. The communication plays a major part in making the people aware of the motifs and thereby builds alliance with the different clans. The organization that will be considered as per the discussion is the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which is commonly known as the Klan. It refers to three different secret movements that were undertaken by the organization in the US.
The main objective of the Klan was to prove the white supremacy, anti-immigration and more specifically anti-Catholicism. It has helped the Klan in undertaking different aspects of the change in the systems of the operations as per the objectives of the organization. The Klan used physical and mental assault to fulfill their objective of glorifying the white communities against the blacks. Blee (2008) stated that the major objective of the members of the Klan is to protect the interests of the “white womanhood” against all odds. The major objective of the Klan was to undertake extremist steps to bring forth “purification” of the American society. Simmons (1917) stated that the major goal of the Klan was to protect the sanctity of the nation and the chastity of womanhood. They also aimed to maintain white supremacy and thereby teach and inculcate a proper spiritual approach among the people through exalted ritualism.
The opposition from different groups and leaders including prominent Protestant ministers as Reinhold Niebuhr in Detroit and the Jewish Anti-Defamation League has affected the proper functioning of the organization as per the objectives of the same. The opposition groups tried their best in penetrating into the activities that are planned by the Klan, which has resulted to the decline of the functioning of the Klan. The persuasive technique that was undertaken by the Klan for communication with the team members are based on the objective of purifying the Americanism. The discussion will be aimed at understanding the different manner in which the Klan has taken steps to communicate and persuade the new recruits to the clan. The communication techniques that are undertaken by the clan have helped in maintaining their smooth functioning as per the objectives of purifying Americanism.
The movements of the Klan are dependent on the persuasive techniques they utilized for communicating their purpose for undertaking the different activities. It has helped the Klan in attracting the youth into their foundation for bringing forth reforms in the systems of the nation. The persuasive techniques that were utilized by the Klan earlier were through the marches that were organized on behalf of the Klan. They also burned crosses and prohibited the voting rights of the blacks to retain the American lifestyle. However, the mass murder and threats of violence has affected the ethical standpoints. The consideration of the different ethical dilemmas as per the activities of the Klan has affected the proper functioning of the members of the same. Terrorism and violence was used as a way of purging out the impurities of the society, more specifically the immigrants, which affected the employability of the nation. Clawson (2014) stated that the application of violence on the different circumstances and the manner in which the purgation was undertaken by the Klan can be referred to as a radical movement which has affected the moral of the people in the nation. On the other hand, Lewis (2013) argued that the activities that were undertaken by the Klan members aimed at establishing an order in the US lifestyle which has helped in the evolution of the nation in the present days. The 15th amendment of the US constitution portrayed, “The right of the American citizens to vote shall not be denied because of race or color.” was established in the year 1870 (Newton, 2014). However, the Klan continued to undertake their activities opposing the blacks and prohibiting them to utilize their right of voting.
The different persuasive methods that were utilized by the Klan were dependent on the promises of safeguarding the interests of Womanhood. On the other hand, Lewis (2013) stated that the identification of the unemployment by the Klan and their activities based on improving the situation has helped in persuading the youth to be involved in the movement. Consideration of the interests of the whites and the manner in which a proper American lifestyle can be induced among the people has helped in maintaining the different levels of changes on the systems of the revolution. The method that was utilized by the Klan members for persuading the youth is based on the preservation of the culture and the heritage of the American lifestyle from the foreign infiltrators. Parsons (2015) stated that the persuasion helped in facilitating the involvement of the different youth members in the right winged party which aimed at purging the inferior blacks for maintaining the objective of the white supremacy. On the other hand, the marches that were undertaken by the Klan members made the youth aware of the different security policies that the members of the Klan would be provided with against the infiltrators and other forces.
William McGuire’s Model of Persuasion has helped in the identification of the different aspects of the change that are considered by the Klan members, which has helped them in persuading the youth to join their forces. The Klan undertook different events where they exposed their customs and culture to make the people aware of the same (Schmitz, 2016). The exposure of the practices helped in making the people aware of the practices and the reason for bringing in the reformation. The presentation of the activities has helped the Klan in involving the people and thereby build on their support for the activities that are planned by the right- winged Klan members.
On the other hand, Schmitz (2016) stated that gaining the attention of the youth towards the activities that are planned by the Klan has helped in maintaining the levels of awareness among the common people. The different aspects of the change in the systems of the organization are based on the proper communication of the different objectives that guides the actions of the Klan. Newton (2014) stated that the Klan focused on ingraining the interests of the white supremacy and the maintenance of the chastity of the womanhood in the nation. Understanding the different elements that guides the interests of the Klan has helped in making the people aware of the centre of interest of the organization and the manner in which the people can contribute to the success of the activities that might be undertaken by the same. The acceptance of the different activities that are undertaken by the Klan has helped in involving the youth and the supporters of the organization in their activities against the immigrants and the black people. The understanding of the motif of the Klan to preserve the culture of the American lifestyle has helped in involving the people and influencing them to act on their behalf. The retention and action stage that is framed as per the model has helped the Klan in undertaking sustainable measures for preserving the right winged extreme activities and thereby instill in the people the emotion of preservation of the culture (Medlicott, 2013). The organization used symbols that clearly demonstrated the culture of the Klan and the manner in which they function as per the objectives of preserving the American culture.
The symbol of the Klan is commonly referred to as the “Blood Drop” Cross, which signifies hate (Richard, 2015). It acts as a moral constrain towards the activities which justifies the objectives of the Klan of purging out the elementary immigrants and the different sources of impurities from their society who might act as a threat to the culture and the heritage of the Americans (Jones, 2012). The symbol has played a major role in exposing the interests of the Klan to purify the American society of the different threats that might affect the culture of the region. On the other hand, the burning cross acts as an image of the hate that the Klan holds towards love and thereby induce the spirit of vengeance among the followers (Flint, 2013). The non- verbal communication technique that is utilized by the Klan through the creation of different metaphorical imageries. It has helped the Klan in outspreading their intent of communicating their objective to the different groups of people. The utilization of the specific emotions related to the objectives of the Klan to outnumber the inferior blacks and Jews has helped in making the people of the region aware of the behavior and hateful attitude that the Klan holds for the people. Synchronization of the objectives of the Klan to purge out the impurities of the US societies with the emotions of people to preserve the culture and heritage of America has helped in maximizing the involvement of the communities. Hohman (1916) stated that the identification of the motifs of the Klan and their objective of protecting the whites and maintaining the white supremacy is widely supported in the region. It has helped in the rapid growth of the Klan as per the needs of the people to survive their own culture.
The enumeration of the Elaboration Likelihood Model has helped in understanding the outcome of the persuasion that is undertaken by the Klan. The utilization of the emotional factors relating to the preservation of the interests of the white settlers has helped in maintaining the continuous improvements in the structure and the performance of the Klan (Strain, 2016). The persuasion as per the ELM (Elaboration Likelihood Model) has helped in identifying the capabilities of the people to understand the motif of the Klan members to protect the culture and heritage of the white communities. The proper utilization of the symbols by the Klan has helped in making the people aware of their objective of extreme racism and anti-Catholicism philosophy. The symbols have helped in making the whites aware that the organization works for bringing forth changes in the social systems. Simmons (1917) stated that the identification of the needs of the people based on employability has affected the mentality of the people and the Klan framed their objectives in a manner through which they might support the interests of the whites. The quality of the ideas and the manner in which the community interprets them helps in maintaining the objectives of the Klan to encourage the involvement of the different communities that are related to the activities of the organization. The dependence of the functions of the Klan on the proper functioning of the systems has helped in maintaining the different levels of changes in the systems of the operations. Blee (2008) stated that the identification of the needs of the cult is based on the persuasion outcome, which has helped the same in maintaining the varied amount of changes in the systems of the operations. The identification of the needs of the organization to involve the white people in the different sections of the activities has helped in the proper functioning of the organization as per the objectives.
The Klan has evolved through the thorough support of the whites to maintain their supremacy and employment. The white communities also supported the Klan due to their need of retaining the culture of the region, which has helped in maintaining the congruity between the different aspects of the heritage of the region. The persuasion that was utilized by the Klan for demonstrating their ideals were based on the non- verbal forms of communication and semantics that helped in making the people aware of the different activities that are planned by the organization. Dixon and Wintz (2015) stated that the utilization of the burning cross and the dripping blood on the cross symbolized their hate towards the infiltrators of the region. It clearly stated that the Klan lacked the virtue of liberalization, which has caused massacres in the past relating to the concepts of racism and the like. The identification of the culture of the Klan and the manner in which it supports the interest of the whites was itself a persuasion for the communities. It helped the organization in attaining the most of the support from the communities where the Klan operates.
The organization is very successful because they have been adhering to the needs and demands of the entire all the Americans (Alexander, 2015). Though this group was formed small with the years they have become immensely successful. This is because they have been contributing to all the needs that the Americans have during that time. The preached what the Americans wanted to hear. The clan assured that, they would demolish everything that is anti-American or anti-white in nature (Dixon & Wintz, 2015).
The Klan became successful because they helped in giving voice to several people who were so long marginalized. They thought that they will never get a proper platform for speaking. These mainly included the people belonging from the southern American parts. This is because they gave the chance to these people for getting in value on their march or walks (Hammond, 2015). They wanted to demolish anything that was foreign to the white skinned people or the Americans. This clan assured them that they will not let any foreign harm coming within America. They brutally killed anyone or anything that was anti-white or anti-American things coming in. They also gave immense support to the non-Catholic Christians and those that were in dead against of the Church. They helped in providing their support to those people who fell submerged under the strict and the indiscriminate rules of the Catholic Church (Hammond, 2015). They condemned the Anti-white people and the black skinned people. They also denied them the voting rights. They strengthened the position of the middle class and the lower class Southern state Americans.
The nonverbal techniques that were used by this clan were burning the cross that was a sign of disgrace towards Jesus and the Church. In other words, they thought that rather than speaking verbally their usage of the nonverbal techniques would be good. This would show that they are showing their disrespect towards the Catholic teachings and that they would destroy anything that is related to the Church or to the catholic cult (Alexander, 2015). They also undertook many walks or marches. They had hooded caps over their head. They also kept their faces uncovered b because they did not think they have any reasons for keeping their faces hidden. These were the means to show that they are not doing anything shameless or anything wrong. They had full faith in them (Young, 2015).
They included men from the southern American states who are anti-catholic. Their marches were evident in their persuasion. They wanted to persuade more and more people and include them in their group. This would ensure that they are gaining more popularity and they are able to carry on their activities properly. The other technique used by them was killing their victims in a brutal way. In other words, they used to demolish anything and everything that was against their faith and belief. They knew that rather than speaking these nonverbal techniques would be very effective as they will be able to prove their goals and motifs through their activities.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis it may be stated that the Klan planned its activities based on the objective of retaining the culture and the heritage of the American lifestyle. The proper functioning of the different systems of the Klan is dependent on the interests of the whites. The motif of the Klan is dependent on the objective of maintaining the white supremacy, which has affected the systems of the organization. The semantics that are used by the Klan has helped in making the people aware of the objectives and thereby persuading the same to join the forces to uplift and glorify the chastity of the whites. The marches and the exposure of the burning cross has helped the Klan in maintaining the non- verbal communication, which has helped the same in making the commoners aware of their existence and the type of functions they undertake.
References
Alexander, C. C. (2015). The Ku Klux Klan in the Southwest. University Press of Kentucky.
Blee, K. M. (2008). Women of the Klan: Racism and Gender in the 1920s. Univ of California Press.
Blee, K., & McDowell, A. (2013). The duality of spectacle and secrecy: a case study of fraternalism in the 1920s US Ku Klux Klan. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36(2), 249-265.
Clawson, M. A. (2014). Constructing brotherhood: Class, gender, and fraternalism (Vol. 1024). Princeton University Press.
Dixon, T., & Wintz, T. (2015). The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan. Routledge.
Flint, C. (Ed.). (2013). Spaces of Hate: Geographies of Discrimination and Intolerance in the USA. Routledge.
Hammond, J. C. (2015). Ku Klux Klan. American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in US History: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in US History, 418.
Hohman, E. P. (1916). The Ku Klux Klan: its origin, growth, and disbandment.
Jones, L. L. (2012). Ku Klux Klan in eastern Kansas during the 1920’s.
Lewis, G. (2013). “An Amorphous Code”: The Ku Klux Klan and Un-Americanism, 1915–1965. Journal of American Studies, 47(4), 971-992.
Medlicott, C. (2013). One social milieu, paradoxical responses: A geographical reexamination of the Ku Klux Klan and the Daughters of the American Revolution in the early twentieth century. In Spaces of Hate (pp. 33-60). Routledge.
Newton, M. (2014). White Robes and Burning Crosses: A History of the Ku Klux Klan from 1866. McFarland.
Parsons, E. F. (2015). Ku-Klux: The Birth of the Klan during Reconstruction. UNC Press Books.
Richard, M. P. (2015). Not a Catholic Nation: The Ku Klux Klan Confronts New England in the 1920s. University of Massachusetts Press.
Schmitz, R. M. (2016). Intersections of hate: Exploring the transecting dimensions of race, religion, gender, and family in Ku Klux Klan Web sites. Sociological Focus, 49(3), 200-214.
Simmons, W. J. (1917). ABC of the Invisible Empire: Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
Strain, C. B. (2016). What to Do When Your Heritage is Hateful. DIRECTOR’S ADVISORY BOARD, CHAIR MOLLY PEPPER, PH. D., 13, 9.
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