SUITABLE ACTION IS TAKEN REGARDING POSSIBLE RALLY

Riots resulting from the verdict in a celebrated California court case have started a ripple effect of racial tension across the nation. As much as we would like to think society's defects have been resolved in the 1990s, these are admittedly restless times. In Cape Girardeau, anxiety has been sparked by the rumor of a Ku Klux Klan rally Saturday; there is no evidence to suggest that this is anything other than a rumor. Still, the community's awareness has been raised to the sensitivities aroused by the possibility of such a rally. We believe the city has taken appro~priate and responsible action in preparing itself, though the conscience of each individual might play a larger role.

As is the case with most rumors, this one has indistinct origins. Police officials here believe the Klan rumblings started with one teen-age lawbreaker who has now left the community. Leaflets distributed by this youth specified Cape Girardeau's City Hall as the site of a "white pride" rally Saturday. Local authorities, state and federal agencies and the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group that monitors Klan activities, haven't uncovered a foundation for this leaflet's claim.

That's not to say that a rally might not take place, either on Saturday or some other day. By its ugly nature, the Klan doesn't operate in the open and telegraph its movements. The Klan has held firm to its deplorable beliefs since organizing in 1866, and as long as there are people who hold close the notion of racial superiority, there will be organizations of this type. The nation that ensures all races the freedom to fulfill opportunities also endows a license to express darker thoughts, those of hatred and bigotry. The Klan operates within this structure and will carry forward its odious agenda regardless of what happens in Cape Girardeau this weekend.

Do we ignore it, then? No, and this rumor hasn't been ignored. The police department here particularly its chief, Howard Boyd has done an exemplary job in preparing itself for the possibility of this rally and in working with the community to ease tensions. The local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has acted on its good intentions to promote racial harmony and equal opportunity. They have captured the city's attention concerning an issue of great importance ... and an event that will hopefully never occur.

Our awareness, however, must be channeled along more personal levels. The commodity the Klan deals in, the one that sustains its existence, is fear. Fear is a human quality generated from within, and giving ourselves over to this fear is worse than any rally that could be staged here. If each person in Cape Girardeau is satisfied with their own commitment to human compassion and understanding, then the Klan or no other such organization stands a chance here.