So much to digest…

Published October 21, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hello, gentlemen,

I have to say I loved this series premiere, and I am so looking forward to seeing what our little Shat community comes up with as we go. That being said, I wanted to address a few things about the race relations presented in E1. Specifically, I want to talk about the 7th Kalvary.

So, there is obviously a deep connection between the 7th Calvary of our show and the Ku Klux Klan. Founded in 1865, the KKK boasted 4 million members at its height, seeing a resurgence in both membership and ideals in the early 1900s. Now, I know a lot of people are upset that Rorshach could have inspired such a hateful, racist group, but I think it gels perfectly with the connection with the KKK and its bastardization of Christianity.

October 16, 1915, William Joseph Simmons (a Methodist preacher) led a group of men up Stone Mountain in Georgia. He and his group lit a cross on fire and laid before it the symbols of the new KKK: a sword, a Bible and a US flag. Simmons (who would declare himself Grand Wizard) swore that the work of the KKK would be the work of their Lord- holy work to rid the world of those that would oppress them (the black man). Now, granted, the irony of the oppressor fearing being oppressed by those they themselves certainly do oppress is not lost on me, but think about it. Simmons refers to the Klan as an “Invisible Empire.” It is invisible both in terms of their identities being hidden, but it is also invisible because they themselves (the whites) fear their invisibility in the wake of new concern and fear for the African American races still recovering from the end of slavery and the Civil War.

We see that same fear of invisibility today, or a fear of true marginalization. Many within the white community (both supremacist and not) expressed an exhaustion with being made to feel bad for being white, that white guilt was something that was both not their fault and they should not be made to feel. These “elites” in terms of privilege due to their skin color did not understand their privilege or were unable to recognize it, turning their exhaustion with being labeled the oppressor into a pity party for themselves. It is the very reason Trump was elected, unfortunately. For that sub population of the white race, he represented an end to that guilt, an end to a time of being made to be feel bad for being the race that held the most power. In truth, he empowered them to use that power to oppress in ways they felt ashamed to do before. He helped them move from being the invisible empire to the very visible, with their MAGA hats marking them and their ideology.

That brings us to our story. Like the KKK, the 7th Kalvary is tired of being tired and feeling put upon. They bastardize the writings of Rorschach to serve their own needs, that of hate, violence and fear mongering. They are the invisible empire cloaked not in white, but the inked masks of their inspiration, their hero. They are the reminder that racism is rampant. It is among us. It is cloaked in many forms, but it is there and toxic.

I hope they continue with more overt symbol. I could write a whole other email about lynching and their use of it with a white man… I may still. But this episode was robust with imagery, filled to the brim with controversial topics, and I loved every fucking second of it. I am so proud to know your little pod is now going to be delving into such intellectual and social issues, and I look forward to each episode alongside you.

Happy viewing,

Ash Schlafly

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