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These 11 images show just how to respond when a hate group tries to set up shop near your home.

Even though some think of the KKK as a secret, underground organization, they're not. Especially not in the Ozarks. Residents of the region are speaking up. In amazing ways.

What would you do if the KKK decided not just to put its headquarters near your house, but start a youth camp to train young people "to be a voice of racial redemption"?

This happened in July 2015 in Harrison, Arkansas.

You might be a little annoyed, right?

When Rachel Luster, a librarian, community organizer, and arts and community advocate in the Ozark region, saw this headline on Raw Story, it got real: "Klan camp: KKK developing 'a mighty army' of white nationalists at five day training in July."

A lifetime Ozarker, she was more than annoyed. She was ready to act.

"I had this visceral reaction and I didn't know what I was going to do, but as a human being and as an Ozarker, I had to do something about this."
— Rachel Luster

She spoke with members of community organizations across the South, including Black Lives Matter activists who were protesting Klan rallies in Charleston, South Carolina in the wake of the removal of the Confederate flag.

The #NotMyOzarks campaign was born.

A photo posted by NotmyOzarks (@notmyozarks) on

That's Rachel up there with her adorable family!

It's a pretty typical hashtag campaign, using the hashtags #NotMyOzarks and #RuralNotRacist to spread their message of love.

Looking at all the images, you see a picture of rural America that you just don't see elsewhere.

#NotmyOzarks #NotmyRural #LoveNotHate #BlackLivesMatter
A photo posted by NotmyOzarks (@notmyozarks) on


I spoke at length with Rachel on the phone, and she had some important things to say about the culture of silence among rural folks when it comes to race, as well as the need to break that chain.

"We grow up and we're taught ... it's not polite to talk about race or politics or anything like that, and it's also not polite to judge somebody by what color they are or 'who their momma is.'"
— Rachel Luster

A heartwarming quote from "To Kill a Mockingbird," drawn on a piece of paper in the shape of Arkansas. Image via Not My Ozarks Facebook.

Rachel continued:

"We don't really talk about things. But for me in particular ... I just feel like the only way it can get better is if we open [ourselves] up to this conversation — even if it's uncomfortable, even if it is awkward."


A photo posted by NotmyOzarks (@notmyozarks) on
MO Love, Y'all! #NotmyOzarks #NotmyRural #LoveNotHate
A photo posted by NotmyOzarks (@notmyozarks) on

Cool Missouri farmer guy, keeping it real. MO LOVE.

Thanks to the power of the Internet, people in the Ozarks are pushing back against racism.

The #NotMyOzarks campaign has over 2,000 Facebook Likes, and the number of participants is growing.

A photo posted by NotmyOzarks (@notmyozarks) on
A photo posted by NotmyOzarks (@notmyozarks) on
A photo posted by NotmyOzarks (@notmyozarks) on
A photo posted by Kally Sue (@kali_su) on

Communities that were once living in isolation to come together to stand in solidarity. That makes me happy.

If you want to join them in their message of love, take a photo of your family and post it using the hashtag #RuralNotRacist and #NotMyOzarks. Or just follow them on Facebook. In the few days I've known about this group, they've gotten hundreds of new Likes.

It's beautiful to watch love surmount hate.

Family

Korean mom has a perfect response to the teacher who called her son's lunches 'disgusting'

Good for her for standing up for her child's culture.

via Roman Harak/Flickr

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

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parenting
Joy

Teen with a fishing magnet found a safe full of cash. And then he returned it all to its owner.

The safe was stolen 22 years ago.

via Wikimedia Commons

It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.


A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.


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good samaritan
Pop Culture

Woman was mocked online for calling an $80 purse a 'luxury item.' Her response went viral.

"I'm so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”

@zohtaco/TikTok

Zoe Gabriel, showing off her new purse from Charles & Keith

Insults of any kind are painful, but jabs towards someone’s financial status are their own breed.

In January 2023, Singapore-based Zoe Gabriel was on the receiving end of this particular flavor of mockery when she posted a TikTok about a purse from local retail brand Charles & Keith—a gift bought for her by her father.

In her excitement, the 17-year-old called the bag, which costs around $80, a “luxury” item as she unwrapped it. Her excitement was sadly cut short by some of the negative comments she received.

One comment seemed to stand out above the rest and prompted Gabriel to post an emotional response video.

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internet
Family

Ring doorbell video captures the phenomenon of what it's like to be the default parent

Millions of us know what it's like to be the "default parent."

Toniann Marchese/TikTok

Ring doorbell video captures what it's like to be the default parent.

Kids, man. I'm not sure of the scientific way audacity is distributed, but kids have a lot of it and somehow make it cute. That audacity overload is especially interesting when you're the default parent—you know, the parent kids go to for literally everything as if there's not another fully capable adult in the house. Chances are if your children haven't sought you out while you were taking a shower so you could open up a pack of fruit snacks, then you're not the default parental unit.

One parent captured exactly what it's like to be the default parent and shared it to TikTok, where the video has over 4 million views. Toniann Marchese went on a quick grocery run and *gasp* did not inform her children. Don't you fret, they're modern kids who know how to use modern means to get much-needed answers when mom is nowhere to be found. They went outside and rang the doorbell.

Back when we were children, this would've done nothing but make the dogs bark, but for Marchese's kids, who are 3 and 6 years old, it's as good as a phone call.

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parenting
Pop Culture

'American Idol' contestant has perfect response to Katy Perry's 'mom-shaming' joke

The 25-year-old used the moment to stand up for moms everywhere.

@sarabethliebe/TikTok

"Keep loving your babies."

You might recall us singing the praises of Sara Beth, the exuberant young mom with major vocal chops dubbed the “Accidental American Idol.”

During Sara Beth’s initial audition for the show, judge Katy Perry made a joke that rubbed many viewers the wrong way.

Before Sara Beth even began to sing, the 25-year-old revealed that she had three children, which prompted Katy Perry to dramatically stand up from her seat and feign shock. When Sara Beth, all smiles, said, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” Perry retorted, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”

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celebrity
Pop Culture

These incredible acoustic cameras can actually see sound

Here's how they work.

via Steve Mould/YouTube

YouTube creator Steve Mould shows us what echo looks like through an acoustic camera.

It’s bizarre to think about seeing sound, but nowadays we can do just that. If you haven’t seen an acoustic camera before, that’s because they’re mainly used for industrial purposes, but they’ve been available commercially from gfai tech since 2001.

YouTuber Steve Mould, who has a science channel with over 2.1 million subscribers, took the complicated concept of the acoustic camera and made it easy to understand in his latest video, “Acoustic cameras can SEE sound.”

In the video, Mould explains how an acoustic camera is much like your smartphone's video recorder. But it also creates visual representations of sound emanating from where it’s generated within the video.

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technology
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