The Rising Tide of Racism in American Politics - U.S. Politics Online: A Political Discussion Forum

Sheriff · #1 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Some wanted this elections to be dragged into a race debate and I guess they managed to do so. According to MSNBC, Sen. Obama's foot soldiers encounter name-calling, vandalism, bomb threats.

Quote:

Danielle Ross was alone in an empty room at the Obama campaign headquarters in Kokomo, Ind., a cellphone in one hand, a voter call list in the other. She was stretched out on the carpeted floor wearing laceless sky-blue Converses, stories from the trail on her mind. It was the day before Indiana's primary, and she had just been chased by dogs while canvassing in a Kokomo suburb. But that was not the worst thing to occur since she postponed her sophomore year at Middle Tennessee State University, in part to hopscotch America stumping for Barack Obama.

Here's the worst: In Muncie, a factory town in the east-central part of Indiana, Ross and her cohorts were soliciting support for Obama at malls, on street corners and in a Wal-Mart parking lot, and they ran into "a horrible response," as Ross put it, a level of anti-black sentiment that none of them had anticipated.

"The first person I encountered was like, 'I'll never vote for a black person,' " recalled Ross, who is white and just turned 20. "People just weren't receptive."

For all the hope and excitement Obama's candidacy is generating, some of his field workers, phone-bank volunteers and campaign surrogates are encountering a raw racism and hostility that have gone largely unnoticed -- and unreported -- this election season. Doors have been slammed in their faces. They've been called racially derogatory names (including the white volunteers). And they've endured malicious rants and ugly stereotyping from people who can't fathom that the senator from Illinois could become the first African American president.
...

Victoria Switzer, a retired social studies teacher, was on phone-bank duty one night during the Pennsylvania primary campaign. One night was all she could take: "It wasn't pretty." She made 60 calls to prospective voters in Susquehanna County, her home county, which is 98 percent white. The responses were dispiriting. One caller, Switzer remembers, said he couldn't possibly vote for Obama and concluded: "Hang that darky from a tree!"

The bigotry has gone beyond words. In Vincennes, the Obama campaign office was vandalized at 2 a.m. on the eve of the primary, according to police. A large plate-glass window was smashed, an American flag stolen. Other windows were spray-painted with references to Obama's controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and other political messages: "Hamas votes BHO" and "We don't cling to guns or religion. Goddamn Wright."

Ray McCormick was notified of the incident at about 2:45 a.m. A farmer and conservationist, McCormick had erected a giant billboard on a major highway on behalf of Farmers for Obama. He also was housing the Obama campaign worker manning the office. When McCormick arrived at the office, about two hours before he was due out of bed to plant corn, he grabbed his camera and wanted to alert the media. "I thought, this is a big deal." But he was told Obama campaign officials didn't want to make a big deal of the incident. McCormick took photos anyway and distributed some.

"The pictures represent what we are breaking through and overcoming," he said. As McCormick, who is white, sees it, Obama is succeeding despite these incidents. Later, there would be bomb threats to three Obama campaign offices in Indiana, including the one in Vincennes, according to campaign sources.

Obama has not spoken much about racism during this campaign. He has sought to emphasize connections among Americans rather than divisions. He shrugged off safety concerns that led to early Secret Service protection and has told black senior citizens who worry that racists will do him harm: Don't fret. Racism alarms Obama backers - Washington Post - MSNBC.com

This was somehow quite expected after the weeks of racial agitation of the masses. Still, I don't believe this will cause too much a headache, but even the faintest smell of racism scares me.

The media could have handled the Rev. Wright issue better than they did. That man could have been censored to some extent in order to be able to make some more place for the voices with common sense.

There will always be racists in America. Past sins cannot be erased easily. It needs at least one generation to make some progress about this. Sen. Barack Obama's effect will be felt more deeply on this new generation who have yet to claim their positions in their communities and the state. This will take ten to twenty years, I guess.

What do you think we could to to overcome the rising racist sentiment? Without namecalling, I would love to hear your constructive comments.

Lost Soul · #2 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

It has started, if you don't vote Obama and are white you are a racist.

MattLarson · #3 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheriff

The media could have handled the Rev. Wright issue better than they did. That man could have been censored to some extent in order to be able to make some more place for the voices with common sense.

Holy crap. That's an amazing statement. You would have the Wright story censored to benefit your candidate?

Sorry, but that's not how things work here (thank God).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheriff

There will always be racists in America. Past sins cannot be erased easily. It needs at least one generation to make some progress about this. Sen. Barack Obama's effect will be felt more deeply on this new generation who have yet to claim their positions in their communities and the state. This will take ten to twenty years, I guess.

What do you think we could to to overcome the rising racist sentiment? Without namecalling, I would love to hear your constructive comments.

Here, you are working off of a false premise, concluding that all opposition to Obama stems from racism. Sorry, but that is just silly.

There are reasons why a person might oppose Obama that have nothing to do with race. Under your logic, anyone who opposes McCain, is racist against white people, and anyone who opposes Hillary is sexist.

Matt

mabus · #4 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lost Soul

It has started, if you don't vote Obama and are white you are a racist.

Yeah, just say something heartbreaking. It doesn't need to be true, and even nobody has had to say it, just put it into people's mouth to divide them.
Divide et impera.
The only way to handle a leader which drains his power from bringing people together.
But a little too obvious, for my taste.

Lost Soul · #5 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mabus

Yeah, just say something heartbreaking. It doesn't need to be true, and even nobody has had to say it, just put it into people's mouth to divide them.
Divide et impera.
The only way to handle a leader which drains his power from bringing people together.
But a little too obvious, for my taste.

Honestly, I dont believe the sources either. I would not put it pass the Obamabots to lie about the big scary racist monster because they are trying to do damage control over the racist statements make by Obama's spiritual advisor.

Notice how they claim the Wright story hasn't harmed Obama but are now starting a smear campaign of their own.

So it comes down the simple logic, if you are white and dont vote for Obama you are a white sheet wearing backwoods redneck peckerwood racist.

Much worst for a black person not voting for Obama. You are a sell out, traitor of the cause, traitor to your race, a slave, a white bitch, etc etc etc

Rakkasan · #6 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lost Soul

It has started, if you don't vote Obama and are white you are a racist.

and if anyone didnt think that was going to be the case you are niave............

mabus · #7 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lost Soul

Much worst for a black person not voting for Obama. You are a sell out, traitor of the cause, traitor to your race, a slave, a white bitch, etc etc etc

Yet more pipe-dreams. Not only are you drawing a conclusion out of the nothing, but you also fail to see that such tactics only make a candidate even more attackable. But they sure sound good for ya, so just go on. Not that we would expect something different from the "divide et impera" fraction.

Sheriff · #8 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattLarson

Holy crap. That's an amazing statement. You would have the Wright story censored to benefit your candidate?

Sorry, but that's not how things work here (thank God).

Here, you are working off of a false premise, concluding that all opposition to Obama stems from racism. Sorry, but that is just silly.

There are reasons why a person might oppose Obama that have nothing to do with race. Under your logic, anyone who opposes McCain, is racist against white people, and anyone who opposes Hillary is sexist.

Matt

Not voting for any candidate is not racism; I have never meant that way; so your logical conclusion is quite silly and a failed attempt of mind-reading.

But it bacame a problem when opposition to Sen. Obama turned into vandalism,bomb threats and and name-calling, which is explicit racism.

Rev. Wright issue should have been discussed widely, for sure, but not the way it was conducted.

Sheriff · #9 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mabus

Yeah, just say something heartbreaking. It doesn't need to be true, and even nobody has had to say it, just put it into people's mouth to divide them.
Divide et impera.
The only way to handle a leader which drains his power from bringing people together.
But a little too obvious, for my taste.

Clearly someone Lost his direction, as well as his soul, right?

Sad situation of American common sense.

Steve · #10 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheriff

The media could have handled the Rev. Wright issue better than they did. That man could have been censored to some extent in order to be able to make some more place for the voices with common sense.

So someone should've been censored because allowing him to run his mouth hurts Obama?

That's fuckin' rich.

If Obama is as great as some people would like us to believe, Wright should be a non-issue...

mabus · #11 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

So someone should've been censored because allowing him to run his mouth hurts Obama?

That's fuckin' rich.

If Obama is as great as some people would like us to believe, Wright should be a non-issue...

Agreed, let them repeat Mr. Wright ocer and over again. On that ocassion, let's hand them over the missing Abu Ghureib photos and video material the Pentagon is still holding back, as well as the 9/11 camera tapes from the Pentagon impact. Censorship sucks. Let's start allowing people to make up their mind on ALL issues.

Sheriff · #12 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

So someone should've been censored because allowing him to run his mouth hurts Obama?

That's fuckin' rich.

If Obama is as great as some people would like us to believe, Wright should be a non-issue...

This issue bothered me not when it harmed Sen Obama politicaly... It bothered me when it drove some into vandalism, bomb-threats and name-calling...

Rev. Wright issue should have been censored the way that it never let what is happening today happen.

Sheriff · #13 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mabus

Agreed, let them repeat Mr. Wright ocer and over again. On that ocassion, let's hand them over the missing Abu Ghureib photos and video material the Pentagon is still holding back, as well as the 9/11 camera tapes from the Pentagon impact. Censorship sucks. Let's start allowing people to make up their mind on ALL issues.

Mabus hits right on the target!!! Well done!!!

Dilettante · #14 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

While I agree that the racist remarks quoted in the OP are indeed abominable, I'm not sure this represents a "rising tide of racism," so much as it indicates that there are some racist sentiments among some of the nation's citizens (which I think we already knew).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheriff

The media could have handled the Rev. Wright issue better than they did. That man could have been censored to some extent in order to be able to make some more place for the voices with common sense.

Yeah, I've got to say that goes a little far, Sheriff. I don't think the solution to the media's coverage should be "censoring" the subject of the controversy. Wright wanted to speak out and the public wanted to hear what he had to say; there's no reason the media should have cut him off just to spare your candidate political troubles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheriff

Rev. Wright issue should have been censored the way that it never let what is happening today happen.

Now you're calling for media censorship because some reports might make people angry? What are you thinking Sheriff? Censorship is not the answer here.

Steve · #15 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mabus

Agreed, let them repeat Mr. Wright ocer and over again. On that ocassion, let's hand them over the missing Abu Ghureib photos and video material the Pentagon is still holding back, as well as the 9/11 camera tapes from the Pentagon impact. Censorship sucks. Let's start allowing people to make up their mind on ALL issues.

You're right because, shit, if I saw those photos, I know I'd never vote for Bush again...

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