Stetson Kennedy, a True American Hero
Aug. 2nd, 2005 11:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
browngirlSo, WD recently purchased Freakonomics, which I am going to read cover to cover pretty soon (why didn't anyone tell me economics was so fascinating?) I was reading chapters of it and shrieking excitedly over them, and I read about Mr. Stetson Kennedy.
Stetson Kennedy devoted himself to fighting bigotry, and among other efforts (such as joining the Anti-Defamation League) he went undercover in the KKK and leaked their secrets and rituals, including giving the producers of The Adventures of Superman a new villain for their show. In so doing, he made them a laughingstock and seriously damaged their power.
So I read this and exclaimed over how I'd never heard of him before, and went to look him up; if all he'd done were what I described above that would have been an accomplishment, but he's done a heck of a lot more than that. He's a folklorist and a historian and a writer, and... oh, just go look at his webpage before I rewrite it. I'm incredibly impressed.
And, not least after the incident on today's commute, it's always good to remember that people such as he do exist. I've been thinking recently about how society is a communal creatioon, about how when enough of us decide to change it it changes but how daunting that can look to any one person. Mr. Kennedy has reminded me anew of what one person can do.
Stetson Kennedy devoted himself to fighting bigotry, and among other efforts (such as joining the Anti-Defamation League) he went undercover in the KKK and leaked their secrets and rituals, including giving the producers of The Adventures of Superman a new villain for their show. In so doing, he made them a laughingstock and seriously damaged their power.
So I read this and exclaimed over how I'd never heard of him before, and went to look him up; if all he'd done were what I described above that would have been an accomplishment, but he's done a heck of a lot more than that. He's a folklorist and a historian and a writer, and... oh, just go look at his webpage before I rewrite it. I'm incredibly impressed.
And, not least after the incident on today's commute, it's always good to remember that people such as he do exist. I've been thinking recently about how society is a communal creatioon, about how when enough of us decide to change it it changes but how daunting that can look to any one person. Mr. Kennedy has reminded me anew of what one person can do.
