HATE SPEECH SEEPS INTO U.S. MAINSTREAM AMID BITTER CAMPAIGN
The lettering is crude, scrawled in black spray paint on the sidewalk in front of Karen Peters’ neatly kept home in the quiet, working class neighborhood where she’s lived most of her life. But the contempt is clear. "KKK Bitch.” The racially charged graffiti appeared in mid-October on cars, homes and telephone poles in the small city of Kokomo, Indiana. Many victims, like Peters, were African American, though some were not. Many also had lawn signs for Democratic candidates in this week’s presidential election, and the signs at several homes were painted over with the Ku Klux Klan’s notorious initials. “I think it’s a political thing; it’s getting out of hand,” said Peters.