Protesters are already starting to gather for this Saturday’s arrival of the Ku Klux Klan in Jasper County, Texas, following the aftermath of another horrific injustice demonstrated on an innocent man.

For those unfamiliar with the case of Mr. James Byrd in Tyler, Texas, let’s paint a brief picture. Mr. Byrd, a black man, was walking home alone after a night of celebrating with family and friends. He was given a ride by what appeared to be three ‘nice’ white men. These ‘nice’ men gave poor Mr. Byrd a ride all-right.

They tied him by his ankles to the back of the pickup and drug him along the deserted rode for two miles. Creating a mental picture of his dismembered body makes even the coldest of hearts quiver.

The arrival of the KKK brings to town issues of hatred and fear. The families, the citizens and the town know the klan is coming and yet nothing can be done.

“Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.” It’s plain and simple and verbatim from the First Amendment, yet it still leads to confusion.

The problem is that no one can agree on the range of speakers, expression and circumstances such a theory should encompass.

Hate speech is an international problem. It consists of all words that insult and degrade groups identified by race, gender, ethnic groups, religion or sexual orientation.

From the swastikas neo-Nazi marchers carry in a Jewish neighborhood to the burning cross in a black family’s front yard, hate speech exists daily in this country.

Some may argue that the government’s failure to punish the racial and ethnic badgering amounts to state support for hate speech.

Under the United Nations resolution, member nations are supposed to declare illegal “all dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred and concurrent to racial discrimination.

It is a crime, even in Canada, to willfully promote hatred in public against an identifiable group, such as a religious or racial minority.

But a prohibition on hate speech will not have any sort of a positive effect because law cannot eradicate the prejudice and bias that motivate hate speech.

Besides, convicting hate speech users may harm society by driving hate groups into dangerous and criminal underground cells.

While deep seeded anger cannot be stopped from brewing inside most of us when we think of the KKK, I implore you to look towards pity as the answer.

Ignorance leads to fear, and fear leads to hatred. These ghosts in white hoods are simply little boys who were brought up in sheltered, ignorant households.

Wouldn’t it be remarkable if on Saturday when the klan strolls into Jasper County they were greeted by absolutely nothing.

No fights, no screaming, no pickets.

After all, little boys won’t scream if no one listens.

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Ellyn Peterson is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Algona.