Quiz contestants at the Kaimai Settlers Committee fundraiser 19 August 2023 dressed as Ku Klux Klan. Photo: Supplied / NZME
A fundraiser in Kaimai last night left attendees feeling outraged and disgusted after one group dressed as members of the Ku Klux Klan attended as a part of a costume competition.
An expert on countering violent extremism in New Zealand questioned why the group thought it would be okay in contemporary New Zealand and called the costumes "deeply offensive".
A quiz attendee, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she travelled from Tauranga for a fun night with friends at the quiz night for the Kaimai Settlers Committee, held at the Kaimai Community Hall.
The hall is on the grounds of Kaimai School, but principal Andrea Coleburn said the school was not associated with the private function that took place.
"We find the actions of the group and costumes involved highly offensive, and we do not condone any form of this degradation," she said.
The attendee told the Herald, she felt "sick" after a group came dressed in white hoods that covered their faces and white robes. One even carried a petrol canister.
In a statement today, the committee told the Herald no one raised any issues on the night so they decided not to act, but had convened this afternoon to review the matter.
A committee representative said following the incident, the committee had contacted the team involved and "strongly suggested" they apologise.
The Ku Klux Klan, sometimes known as the KKK or the Klan, is the moniker of several past and present American white supremacists, far-right terrorists and hate organisations.
Their main targets include immigrants, leftists, homosexuals, Muslims, atheists, Latin people, Jews, Asian Americans, Native Americans and Catholics, as well as African Americans.
Quiz contestants at the Kaimai Settlers Committee fundraiser dressed as Ku Klux Klan. Photo: Supplied / NZME
The quiz attendee said she had her back to the door as the group arrived, but an audible gasp from the crowd made her turn her head.
"The noise [the crowd made] was really hard to describe," she said
At first, she thought she was misinterpreting their costumes and they unfortunately just looked like the KKK, but it quickly dawned on her this was not the case.
"There definitely would have been other people that were kind of disgusted, but it did feel like there were a lot of people who thought it was quite funny as well," she said.
She said she found the group "intimidating" as they shouted to the crowd, though she was not close enough to hear what they were saying.
"It made me feel sick," she said.
She also claims the group was commended for their "dedication" to their costumes as they refused to remove their hoods to drink.
However, a representative from the Kaimai Settlers Committee denied the group was commended, and claimed they "had discussed removing them".
"However, nobody approached anyone with concerns at the time or throughout the night. Had they had, we would have acted," the representative told the Herald.
"We have approached the group concerned and strongly suggested they front with an explanation and apology for their actions."
He Whenua Taurikura National Centre for Countering Violent Extremism co-director Paul Spoonley questioned why anyone thought the costumes would be okay in 2023, calling them "deeply offensive".
"Do they not know who the KKK are?" Spoonley asked.
"I mean, the KKK are described as the oldest and most infamous of the US hate groups, so it really has no place in contemporary New Zealand."
Spoonley assumed no one could be so ignorant to think the costumes could be worn purely for a cheap laugh, and said they were most likely worn with the intention of causing offence.
"I mean, you know, do we need to say that the KKK are anti-black, anti-Jew, anti-Catholic? The history is quite clear," Spoonley said.
"I'm perplexed that anybody would think that it was okay to dress like that, but I'm shocked that they would then go out in public and intimidate and offend others."
Spoonley also said he was disappointed the Kaimai Settlers Committee did not immediately kick them out, and the group "have let down our, minority, ethnic and faith communities" as a result.
- This story was first published on The New Zealand Herald website.