St Louis Mo City Police Chief attends a KKK affair

[Malraiders]

They call it the Veiled Prophet Ball that is held every year.

Read about it here: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/12/28/police-chief-veiled-prophet-ball-st-louis/

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Jeez, they don't even feel the need to hide it any more.

I wonder if McCulloch attended with or without hood.

[Blue_Adept]

2. That event was in this past season of Masters of Sex

It was certainly interesting to see it as portrayed there, though I didn't research it further.

[benld74]

3. The VP Ball is actually

the 'coming out party for the in crowds daughters'.

In crowd meaning either $$$ or connnections

[Donald Ian Rankin]

4. It's probably worth noting that the title of this OP isn't actually true.

The ball in question certainly looks suspect, but calling it "a KKK affair" is not honest.

[KingCharlemagne]

7. Yeah, I think that's a fair point. The attendees at the VP Ball might be just as racist (or

even more so) than the trailer trash and Mayberry Machiavellis who make up the KKK cohort, but the two groups hail from fundamentally different socioeconomic classes and have historically exhibited public hostility towards one another. To wit, it's considered taboo for members of the upper crust bourgeoisie at the VP Ball to have any scent of the declasse KKK's virulent racism attach to them.

[Fred Sanders]

16. Yes, they prefer their virulent racism to be more discreetly handled.

[KingCharlemagne]

18. They can't let their precious little hands and fingers be sullied by

consorting with the riff-raff, don'cha know?

If you had to pick someone to spend a day on a deserted island with, would you pick a garden-variety KKK member or that prick Dotson (or any of his 1% cohort)? Now that's a Hobson's choice!

[Fred Sanders]

5. The Veiled Prophet cult started out with this symbol:

?nbahft

Here is a photo of a recent event in Missouri:





Veiled Prophet’s dark history.

The Atlantic reports the Veiled Prophet Parade was launched in 1878 by former Confederate cavalryman Charles Slayback and St. Louis’ civic and business leaders. They partly wanted to flaunt their wealth to thumb their noses at their northern rival city, Chicago. But the annual parade also served as a show of power to smack down those pesky trade unions. Less than a year before, workers across the US literally brought our nation’s business to a screeching halt with the Grand Railroad Strike of 1877. To make matters worse, these trade unions had black and white laborers working together to further their mutual economic interests, and we can’t have that.

And here is the happy St. Louis Chief of police with his bride....err..daughter at the "ceremony".



......................

And what is with the 8 foot cleaver and spear? And the wierd veils...who is under that thing?
And what gives with the Bugs Bunny gloves of whatever is under the veil?

[KingCharlemagne]

9. Whether the event's links to the KKK still exist today, that is still some seriously

fucked-up shit. Creepy but fascinating at the same time.

[Fred Sanders]

13. Seriously fucked up shit seems to suit the Chief just fine. This is just stuff to wet the appetite.

[KingCharlemagne]

15. Were one to have access to the Chief's closets and boudoir, one does wonder what one

might find secreted there.

[Fred Sanders]

17. Just look on Facebook and the photos, it is out in the open.

[PumpkinAle]

6. And then they wonder why

people no longer respect the police.

Sickening.

[IphengeniaBlumgarten]

8. Don't know if this is correct...

The notion that there was overlap and mutual influence between the VP Folks and the KKK in the late 1800s may be correct, though I found it surprising. But today, the VP Ball is one of many venues where American debutants are presented to society, it just is the St Louis version of Cotillion, I think. Let's not assert that it is a KKK organization NOW, without some evidence.

Disclaimer: never a debutant, not from ST. Louis.

[pintobean]

10. Addicting Info is usually incorrect bullshit.

As it is in this case.
I don't know why anyone sees this as a reliable source.

Eta - Funny, here's what their 'about us' page says:

Error 404 - Nothing Found
The page you are looking for could not be found.

[GGJohn]

11. Because it fits their agenda?

[Posteritatis]

25. Yeah, it's definitely one of those "corroborate with a grown-up source" sites. (nt)

[Skidmore]

12. Interesting find from 2005.

https://www.blacktie-missouri.com/photos/photoevent.cfm?id=2148

Shades of the old South. Debutantes and all. Quite a large group and pricey tickets to attend. McCulloch doesn't appear listing but that appears to be a listing of debutantes and their escorts.

[Fred Sanders]

14. What is a "debutante" in 2015? Another relic from the old south that shall rise again...like the KKK.....

[KingCharlemagne]

24. One of my favorite Cold Case episodes ever was Season 3's episode 13 called

'Debut' (great title). Set in 1968, the episode thoroughly unmasks (npi) the latent sexism and racism (anti-semitism, specifically) behind the debutante phenomenon.

Here's a link to a good (free) stream of the episode: http://daclips.in/dq6c25ce8tmc

[QuestionableC]

19. You've been had.

[Sherman A1]

20. It appears that one

does not have a great deal of information about St. Louis.

This is a "society" ball. To attempt to make it come across as a Klan affair is I believe a genuine stretch......

[mythology]

21. You should delete this post as the headline is inaccurate at best

Debutante balls may be silly things people who have more money than sense engage in, but it's not the same as the KKK.

[KingCharlemagne]

23. Proposed edit to OP title: "St. Louis Police Chief attends affair with KKK roots" - nt

[Major Nikon]

27. It's actually a Masonic thing that originated in NY

http://www.masonicdictionary.com/grotto.html

[KingCharlemagne]

31. You might enjoy this episode of Cold Case (from Season 3), titled appropriately

"Debut":

http://daclips.in/dq6c25ce8tmc

[Historic NY]

22. Just for the record there are quite a few Debutante Balls...

around the country, including NY and DC..

[jdenver_2624]

26. Wow, these idiots are really showing their true colors

It's like our country is still stuck in the dark ages. Unbelievable.

[GGJohn]

28. The headline and source are pure bullshit.

This isn't a KKK affair.

[Historic NY]

35. Meanwhile the OP still leaves it as a misleading headline....

come on mods.

[brooklynite]

29. UNREC

Even the article indicates that claiming this event is a "KKK event" is "over the top".

[Iggo]

30. Swing and a miss!

[rgbecker]

32. Hey, Me and my high school band used to march in the VP parade every year.

It may be about rich people, but to link it to the KKK in the last 100 years is bull shit.

[pintobean]

33. I saw a lot of good, free concerts under The Arch

at the VP fairs. A lot of air shows, too. Elton John was there the first, or second, year. I was just talking to someone the other day about seeing James Brown down there.

[logosoco]

37. Same here! For years it did not have a "real" name (the riverfront

4th of July festivities), then it was under the VP name again. I guess they tried to get away from the unspoken negative connections with VP but it didn't quite work!
I like that it is just Fair St. Louis now, but I guess the VP crap still lingers in the city.

[pintobean]

38. Don't buy the OP bullshit

My point was, bigots associated with the KKK wouldn't put on a lot of the acts that are common at the fair.
The name of the fair was changed from the "Veiled Prophet Fair" to "Fair Saint Louis" in 1992. They wanted it to be more of a family event, and draw more visitors from out of town. That's when they stopped allowing coolers, bottles, and cans, and started adding more family oriented attractions. It's still put on by the Veiled Prophet Organization, and it's still kicked off with the Veiled Prophet Parade.

[logosoco]

39. Either way, the Veiled Prophet does not bring up positive

vibes for me! Perhaps the city would be better off forming a new group for river front festivities that are more made up of just the people. It is good for the economy of the city, but I don't like the whole "high society" club idea myself. I thought the whole Fair St. Louis was more along those independent lines.

[appalachiablue]

34. I was invited to a coming out affair, not a ball for a classmate who is Jewish.

[GGJohn]

36. Hey Malraiders.....

change the freakin headline, it's been pointed out to you by several posters here that it's misleading