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Many scholars have praised the Internet as a locale where positive community building takes place. Conversely, this study examines 23 KKK web sites as an exemplar of how groups may engage in community building of a most egregious sort. Through appeals to white masculinity and, on some web sites, segmented appeals to women and to youth and children, Klan web sites attempt to create community that is unified by its opposition to minority groups, particularly Jews. The angry style of Klan discourse, which is compatible with the rhetorical conventions of the Web, discourages dissenting points of view while inflaming potential supporters. Moreover, Klan rhetoric on the Web encourages odious political activity, including acts of violence, at the same time that Klan web sites disavow responsibility for the consequences of their messages.
"Stand with us Brothers and Sisters. Together we will overcome the forces that are trying to take our country away from us. NOW IS THE TIME!!!!!!!!!" (North Carolina White Knights)
"Just because a person is black or another race doesn't make them bad people. But you should always be careful where you go and who your friends are. Young girls should be extra careful. Many black boys feel extra cool if they hurt a white girl. Some kids don't learn until its [sic] too late." (Just for Kids Page, Knights of the KKK)
These quotations represent two different messages for two different audiences from two different Ku Klux Klan groups. Despite their differences, however, these messages also have two important commonalties: their goal-to gain support-und the medium through which they were transmitted, the Internet. This study examines how Klan groups make use of web sites in their persuasive efforts.
In early work about the Internet, writers-most notably Howard Rheingold (1993)-were often ebullient about the Internet's potential to create virtual communities, while later research raised questions about such Utopian expectations (e.g., Jones, 1995; Freie, 1998). Still, many scholars have held up the Internet as a locale where positive community building and social support take place (e.g. Baym, 1995; Parks & Floyd, 1996; Mickelson, 1997; Mitra, 1997; Berry & Martin, 2000). The rhetorical analysis of Klan web sites offers an example of how groups may, indeed, engage in community building, but community building of a...