One important thing to remember about the Ku Klux Klan is that its members aren't very bright.
Bigotry isn't a very intelligent outlook on life, but that isn't what I mean. KKK members demonstrate their lack of brainpower in a variety of ways.
Quite a few people in the Dayton, Ohio, area are angry and worried about a KKK plan to hold a rally in front of the Montgomery County courthouse on May 25.
"There's just a lot of angst out there about the rally that's coming," county Sheriff Rob Streck told the Dayton Daily News.
That's understandable in view of the violence that occurred in 2017 when white supremacists staged a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The worst of it occurred when an Ohio man, James Alex Fields Jr., drove his car into a crowd of counter-demonstrators, killing one woman. Fields was found guilty of first-degree murder late last year.
Any concern about violence in Dayton needs to focus on lots of law enforcement presence. I suspect they will be needed more to safeguard the KKK demonstrators than to protect anyone attending the rally to protest against racism.
That's the thing: Beyond any shadow of doubt, there will be lots more counter-demonstrators than KKK members and wannabes.
I've told this story several times, but it bears repeating: Some years ago, a KKK group decided to stage a march in Paden City, West Virginia. They were outnumbered probably 100 or 200 to one by people expressing their outrage. The KKK folks were lucky plenty of police officers and deputies were present.
Seldom, by the way, have I been so proud of my fellow West Virginians.
That's why I think KKK members aren't very bright. Everywhere they go, it is made clear to them that the American people have no use for them. All their marches do is remind us bigotry exists -- and make us more determined to do something about it.
How smart does one have to be to understand that KKK rallies and marches make it less likely they will get what they want?
Smarter than a Klansman or Klanswoman, apparently.
There's no sense showing them how angry we are about bigots, however. A better approach, in my mind, would be to laugh at them.
Don't make fun of them to their faces. Don't do anything that might antagonize them. Just stand there with the other adults and think of how ridiculous the Klanners are. One approach is to wonder why they choose hoods that, appropriately enough, resemble dunce caps.
Showing Klan marchers how angry they make us only risks inciting violence. So my advice to anyone going to the Dayton rally is to avoid that. Just laugh at them, calmly and cooly.
It's difficult to feel sorry for racists. But perhaps we should have some compassion for the KKK-types.
After all, they got passed over when brains were handed out, and they're losers -- both as individuals and in the possibility they can ever prevail.
Let 'em march. Give them time to spout their sick nonsense. Look around, notice how deep in the minority they are -- and give them the biggest grin you can muster.
Trust me, that'll really ruin their day.
Myer can be reached at: mmyer@theintelligencer.net.