 THE TRIFORCE AND THE KU KLUX KLAN I received the following letter on April, 21st, 2000 from this Odyssey of Hyrule reader, Jaslin, regarding a disturbing connection between Zelda and the infamous hate group, The Ku Klux Klan. Now, I know that many young kids visit this site, so I would suggest if you're under 13 you get you Mom or Dad's permission to read this, or maybe even have them read it with you because it regards subject matter that could be offensive to some people, especially African Americans. I don't want to get angry letters about this. This is a serious discussion about a rather unpleasant part of American history.
First off, if you the reader, don't know who or what the KKK is, then basically you must understand that during American history there existed a group of Caucasian (white only) individuals who felt that they were better than other races, and often times committed horrible acts against African Americans. They originally started out as just a small group who called themselves the Ku Klux Klan. Over time the Klan grew more influencial as membership increased as it branched out across the country. Members of the Klan can be identified by individuals who wear white (sometimes red) pointed robes and often leaders in the Klan have names like "Grand Wizard" and "Grand Dragon" and so forth. The Klan's sole purpose and creed is to rid the world of non-white "impure" people. There came a point when membership in this organization of hate exceeded 1 million. Mostly stemming in southern regions the Klan adopted symbols like the Rebel Flag and even held marches on Washington during it's peak. The Klan and various associated Klovens were responsible for the mistreatment and persecution of blacks in the south through much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Klan was the first to institute the practace of "lynching" whereby a Black victim would be selected for no reason other than the color of their skin and beaten and hung from a tree as an example to others that might want to have rights like White men and speak out against the establishment. History has shown that the Klan repeatedly violated the civil rights of Blacks and terrorized them and their families with crossburnings, destruction of their property, denial of equal opportunities to employment, murders, and many other hate-fueled atrocities comparable to that of Adolf Hitler's Nazis. Encyclopedia.com explains the KKK in historical detail as: Ku Klux Klan designation mainly given to two distinct American secret societies. The first, founded in the South in 1866, opposed RECONSTRUCTION. Organized by ex-Confederates and led by Nathan B. Forrest, it used elaborate disguises and rituals, augmented by whippings and lynchings, to terrorize African Americans and their supporters. Forrest disbanded the Klan in 1869, but its members continued to keep African Americans from the polls. The second Klan, organized in 1915, had a wider scope: embracing anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, nativist, and fundamentalist impulses, it spread to the North, fueled by the militant patriotism of World War I. In the mid-1920s it had 4 to 5 million members; it declined rapidly thereafter but contributed to the 1928 defeat of Alfred E. SMITH, a Catholic. The Klan revived in reaction to civil-rights activism in the 1960s, using violence against civil-rights workers in the South. Despite its split into competing factions, the Klan became involved in racial confrontations late in the 1970s. The various factions continue to recruit new members, largely in response to AFFIRMATIVE ACTION programs, unstable economic conditions, and other factors, but intimidation, rather than violence, is the Klan's main tactic and its success is often limited. After reading Jaslin's letter, I thought to myself that it would be rather unfortunate to know that the KKK had ripped off the Triforce Symbol and used it as one of thier emblems. I did a little research, and didn't find much, but I did discover a medallion created by the Klan that included an inverted (upside-down) Triforce minted 1866. It seemed that the KKK, liked things in 3's and often made symbols and code words to represent the 3K's. They picked 311 for example because 311 represented 3 the number of K's, and 11 because K is the eleventh letter in the alphabet. All in all one must understand that it's merely coincidence that Zelda's Triforce is similar to this. What's interesting to me is how the Triforce is inverted and we all know that the virtues of the Triforce are Courage, Power, and Wisdom. I liken this inversion to being for the KKK, Cowardice, Fear, and Ignorance. Do understand Jaslin that Miyamoto is a Japanese guy, and probably doesn't even know what the KKK is let alone that the Triforce has any connection. I'm sure if Miyamoto knew what the KKK was he would never approve of their white supremicist activities. Your classmates there Jaslin should really be ashamed of themselves for even thinking that it would be remotely possible. Tell them they're idiots. 
Unfortunately the KKK still exists today. Membership is very miniscule compared to the apex of their reign of terror. It is a shame that such individuals express these grossly ignorant feelings of bigotry and hatred toward people who least deserve it. The ones who point the finger of blame on others should look at themselves some time and see just how truly assinine and childish their words and actions are. As a side note to this my investigation of this symbol allowed me to clear up the origin of a mysterious coin that my mother gave me that she said she dug up in her yard as a little girl. I kind of thought it was cool because it had a Triforce on it, but I never actually knew where it came from. I had checked a whole bunch of American coin guides and Civil War Tokens and never found it. As it turned out it was actually originated from the KKK. I thought it was a rather odd, perhaps disturbing, twist of fate to be in posession of such an item.  Back to the Odyssey of Hyrule |