When elected officials opposed to Barack Obama on political grounds, I took it in stride. After all, we all have our own personal code; there are issues and positions we hold that may not be as important to others. Fine.
When the talking heads on TV, on radio and on the web begged and pleaded with "The Liberal Media" to "look into" Barack Obama's past and current associations, I didn't really complain. After all, it is important to know who influences a politician.
Of course all wasn't what it appeared to be. The "political grounds" amounted to shouts and cries of, "LIBERAL! HE'LL RAISE TAXES! HE WANTS US TO SURRENDER!" while "current associations" included someone who committed crime while Obama was still in elementary school and a religious figure who was paraphrasing a speech from a politician.
Still, it's politics, right? These things always happen. Spokespeople always stretch the truth. Supporters always get riled up. It's business as usual.
Right?
There is a nasty, terrible truth that is just now being exposed for all (and by "all," I mean "Earth") to see: there are Americans who will always blame people who are different from them for the problems in their lives. They were raised to believe this, and most likely they will have this belief until the day they die. It only seems relevant now because America is realizing that many of these people, people who shout that a bi-racial man is a terrorist who deserves to die for no other reason than that he doesn't look like them, are also voters.
Whether these people comprise a small group, are legion or schismatic in nature (with various "degrees of bigotry") are not the point. They exist. This is the year 2008 and we are way past the time where someone's physical appearance should negate their technical skills, intelligence and wisdom.
Make no mistake: every slashed tire at an Obama rally, every assaulted Obama supporter and/or news reporter, every pundit using the term "exotic" or "disrespectful," every McCain/Palin rally where phrases such as "Kill him!" or "Terrorist!" is shouted, is little more than a modern-day version of this.
If you're white and you support Obama, you're "a traitor." If you are black and you support Obama, "it's because of race" and nothing more. I can only imagine that if you're of any other minority and you support Obama, it's because you're "confused" about the glorious track record of America's White Presidents.
That's one reason for this surreal conservative revolt against Colin Powell. Why "surreal?" As I mentioned in my blog:
Most liberals and Democrats will say, "Powell betrayed us...He's lost all credibility." Not entirely accurate...I suspect that despite the alleged infighting (which happens in every administration), Powell simply didn't believe that there was enough evidence for him to question the information he was asked to present.
Also, we need to remember how people saw Colin Powell before he joined Team W. From Michael Moore's book, Downside This! (Page 12):
It is even more surprising that in 1996 a majority of Americans said that if they had a chance, they would elect Colin Powell as president. That these downsized Americans would be able to push through their own personal racism just so they could send a message about how angry they were over their plight was a powerful signal that all is not well in the U.S. of A. Did you ever think things would get this bad in America that you would live to see the day when a majority of white voters pleaded for a black guy to run for president? They would never want him to move next door or marry their daughter - but they would put him in the highest office in the land! Wow.
Yes; it's true; the same Colin Powell that the GOP are now lobbing bombs at were so filled with Clinton-hate in the 90's that they were overtly demanding that Powell run on the Republican ticket. What a difference a decade makes, huh?
But I digress. We're now in a phase where people are destroying property and attacking their own countrymen because of their choice for president. The vandals and attackers honestly believe that Barack Obama is terrorist-loving socialist hell-bent on destroying Christianity. They think he will create an army of black militants to round up all the mean white people and then force them to create a golden statue in his honor. They're under the misconception that "40 acres and a mule" is part of his platform.
The most tragically ironic thing about these race-based attacks, the actions that have re-introduced us to the next generation of "Sundown Towns?" Well...