Obama Victory Triggers Racist Backlash: At Least 200 Incidents Reported

Atlanta - In rural Georgia, a group of high-schoolers gets a visit from the Secret Service after posting "inappropriate" comments about President-elect Barack Obama on the Web. In Raleigh, N.C., four college students admit to spraying race-tinged graffiti in a pedestrian tunnel after the election. On Nov. 6, a cross burns on the lawn of a biracial couple in Apolacon Township, Pa.

The election of America's first black president has triggered more than 200 hate-related incidents, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center -- a record in modern presidential elections. Moreover, the white nationalist movement, bemoaning an election that confirmed voters' comfort with a multiracial demography, expects Mr. Obama's election to be a potent recruiting tool -- one that watchdog groups warn could give new impetus to a mostly defanged fringe element.

Most election-related threats have so far been little more than juvenile pranks. But the political marginalization of certain Southern whites, economic distress in rural areas, and a White House occupant who symbolizes a multiethnic United States could combine to produce a backlash against what some have heralded as the dawn of a postracial America. In some parts of the South, there's even talk of secession.

Keep reading

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HuffPost's Greg Mitchell -- Racial Incidents and Threats Against Obama Soar: Here Is a Chronicle

Comments

[mitsu63]

I for one welcome our new pigmented overlords.

If folks can't deal with our new Hawaiian president, well, I suppose they will go back to their hole and have some more hate rallies. I only hope that he is well-protected.

Look, I don't think there's much that can be done to change folks who want to expend their energy in hate. It's a mystery to me, frankly I can't see why somebody would even bother, but people are pretty attached to how they see these things. Yes, they can change, but it'll have to happen on their time. We, in the larger sense of us as a country, are evolving... and they are being left behind. They did not suddenly become racist because Obama got elected - they already had all their ideas and preconceptions in place. If anything (and actually I have heard accounts that this is already happening) perhaps the election will open some of their eyes to the facts and they will change their minds. We cannot force them though. This is just one of the evils one has to live with in this world, like leeches or mosquitoes.

[seereene1]

Amen!

[hereitis]

Racism exists in every nook and cranny in America. If certain idiots want to secede because they are too inbred and backwoods, then let them. They are dead ass weight dragging this country down. America could advance itself much more efficiently without them. They are dumb, intolerant, inbred losers. Since they are so violently against Obama being president elect then they should get the hell out now, because no matter what, he IS the president elect and he WILL be president of this country. So since that is not going to change, inbreeds, get the hell out now. I am not interested in educating these dumbasses. They are not interested in education. Look at the brainless wonder whose picture accompanies this article. He looks to be about 50 years old and probably can't spell his own damn name in boxcar letters. I am supposed to be tolerant of this? I am supposed to be interested in educating this? Let them go, with no help from the rest of us, and set of up their inbred ignorant society and they can root around in it like the pigs they are.

[Ty90]

I couldn't agree more. People like that are worthless scum and not worth the time of day,

[demillicent]

And we're worried about terrorists in other countries? Why? We should focus more of our attention on the racist terrorists in this country. A terrorist is a terrorist no matter whether his name is David Duke or Osama Bin Laden. The name doesn't make the terrorist. Just because Obama was named after his father, the Sean Hannity's and Lush Rimbaugh's attempt to connect him to Saddam Hussein and other's who are terrorists.

Perhaps it would be wise for us to sweep around our own back doors and quit worrying about democracy in countries that are not accustomed to it and don't know how to handle it. Democracy hasn't changed the hate charged rhetoric in this country. Apparently it takes more than democracy to do that. It actually take more intelligence than many can muster and quite a lot of telerance to make this the United States. We should be ashamed to call ourselves the United States. The idiots in the south have not reconciled themselves with the fact that the South lost the war. They still think of themselves as a confederacy rather than part of a democracy. Pitiful. I'm ashamed of the face we project to the outside world. We are ridiculed the world over because of our hypocracy. We preach one thing and do another.

[aweissnet]

Mississippi Burning ... I rented it during election week, as an education for my 12 y/o son ... to show him that even very recently, relatively speaking, people with dark skin were treated so horribly, all under the watch (and by the) local police department -- to teach him how far we have come in so short a period of time. I was wrong. It's alive and well.

I have no tolerance. I think those people should be locked up or extinguished from the human race (the KKK, racists, etc.) They are a danger, and I fear for our next president and his family.

[hereitis]

I am posting this again. Huffpo won't post it, but I am persistent if nothing else. Racism exists in all nooks and crannies of America. Since they are inbred, backwood, backward ignoramuses they should get the hell out. They have nothing at all to offer. They are dead ass weight dragging America down. Since they have such a violent problem with Obama being the president elect, then they should get the hell out now, because he IS the president elect and he WILL be the president. So, if I didn't say it before, they should GTHOH. i have absolutely no interest in being tolerant of those who cannot tolerate someone because of the color of their skin. I have no interest in educating these fools, they are not interested in being educated. Look at the picture of this idiot accompanying the article. He looks to be about 50 years old and probably cannot spell his own damn name in boxcar letters. So yes, let them go and set up their own inbred, backward, bigoted society and let them root around in it like the pigs they are. No objection from me at all.

[freedomisabsolute]

You can't expect tolerance if you are not going to be tolerant. As a brown American I understand how difficult it is to accept and comprehend the level of ignorance and hatred that creates such unprovoked violence. These people are terrified because they're ignorant and not all of them are uneducated hillbillies. They (or the people who want to control these factions) create a big bad black scapegoat who is stealing their jobs, homes, kids souls, teeth, white women and anything else not nailed to the double wide. Don't take their hatred personally. Don't take their ignorance personally. Only a solid base will extinguish a conflagration. Anger and more intolerance will only lead to a scorched earth.

[freeUSofcorp]

I agree with you that many of these people that are going along with all this racial hatred are not ignorant. Many are well educated which makes it even harder to understand. How can you go to church every week, volunteer with places like the red cross and still have so much fear for anyone that is not your skin color. I am white and grew up around no close contact with other skin colors but yet I still understand when we are dead and only bones we are all the same color, our blood is all the same and we all have the same potential for love. There is no difference in us until we let fear ruin our souls.

[deminmo]

Although I wasn't originally on the President-elect's team, he answered
all of my concerns and I grew to respect him. I also became angry at local
"conservative" radio attempting to discredit Mr. Obama, to use the "threat"
slander and to incite people to act in a stupid manner. Actually, racists
don't need much of an incentive. And people are still questioning Mr. Obama's
right to run for President. Excuse me, but if this was such a huge issue why
wasn't it addressed 21 months ago?
I wish Mr. Obama success as our new President, and I believe he will achieve
most of what he has promised.

[donitacurioso]

Mmm, what a photo. Where was this guy when I was young and single?

[AmandaBC]

That's the face of intolerance. Yeah, ugly beyond imagination...

[gloweybabe]

Well, I like the South and many sotherners and not all Southerners are bigots. RACISM has been BRED in many Southerners and people from all walks of life. I personally think that this RACISM was encouraged by GOVERNOR Sara Palin & her "religious" supporters and Alaska should be very ashamed. DO NOT BUY PALIN'S BOOK & I encourage you to write the publisher and tell them that you are OUTRAGED at her 7 million dollar offer and we should all get a petition going on the HUF. website to BOYCOTT their company. Let the XTIAN publishing companies sell her books- this is where she belongs under "Religious DOGMA & Propaganda." I refuse to purchase this book- it is fabricated by FAUX news and evangelical lies.

I am a humanist and not a Christian. THE KKK are not agnostics and atheists; they are evangelicals, fundamentalists and Baptists(and various other religions). If you want to end the HATRED, do not attend these Churches & find a Church that has OPEN minds & open hearts. Just look how the FOCUS on the FAMILY is losing money and how Dobson's bigotry has backfired!!!! The Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family, the Mormon Church and the Catholic Church may have won this RACIST battle of Prop 8 but at WHAT COST????? They are losing respect from any educated or thinking voter. They have brought this upon themselves.

[stephanemot]

the last throes of Bush-Cheney's Amerika ?

[MalloMel]

Those kind of people may be down, but they are not out. We must remain forever vigilant.

They would rather that this country is destroyed, rather than move forward. Again, we must be forever vigilant. Good always triumphs over evil. It's just that sometimes it takes a little time. I wish our country the best of luck as it moves through the 21st century.

[Georgiapundit]

I've got to get the hell out of here!

[MJinCanada]

On November 4, a whole lot of Americans spit in the bogeyman's eye and voted for a smart black guy with a funny name.

Now the worst of cowards are acting up.

[daddydamon]

Let them secede. No one will miss them.

[AmandaBC]

Let them make Jesusland: the south + Alaska. No more welfare money going there. Problem solved: recession is over. :)

[GaGal]

Yeah, because NO ONE in the North or Midwest is on welfare.

There is NO RACIAL TENSION in the Northeast or Midwest.

Yup, no one in ANY other part of the country is a Bible thumping fanatic that will vote against the rights of gays to be married.

Because there aren't 80 hate groups listed in California according to the SPLC

Because there are no people who might be liberal, progressive or educated in the South

Yup. You guys in other parts of the country are just so much smarter and better than everyone down here.

Maybe the South SHOULD secede. We'll keep all of the imports that come into our ports and you guys make other arrangements. We'll keep the bananas, coffee and oil, oh and the seafood that's caught in the South will stay there, too. Y'all grow your own cotton and get your produce from the other enlightened areas of the country and we'll keep ours down here. I couls go on, but hopefully, you've gotten the point already.

[GaGal]

This comment is pending approval and won't be displayed until it is approved.

Yeah, because NO ONE in the North or Midwest is on welfare.

There is NO RACIAL TENSION in the Northeast or Midwest.

Yup, no one in ANY other part of the country is a Bible thumping fanatic that will vote against the rights of gays to be married.

Because there aren't 80 hate groups listed in California according to the SPLC

Because there are no people who might be liberal, progressive or educated in the South

Maybe the South SHOULD secede. We'll keep all of the imports that come into our ports and you guys make other arrangements. We'll keep the bananas, coffee and oil, oh and the seafood that's caught in the South will stay there, too. Y'all grow your own cotton and get your produce from the other enlightened areas of the country and we'll keep ours down here. I could go on, but hopefully, you've gotten the point already.

[island-in-alabama]

Will you miss the people in the South who aren't bigots?

Will you miss the black people in the South?

Will you miss the brown people in the South?

Will you miss the Jewish people in the South?

Will you miss the Gay people in the South?

The problem with the South seceding is that it's not just the bigots who live in the South.

Maybe you could go back and look at the remarks Obama has made about Uniting us, rather than Dividing us.

Everyone who makes one of these "let them secede" posts is playing into the bigot's hands.

[MANK]

Winning the Civil War may not have been such a good thing afterall!

[DavePotts]

In some parts of the South, there's ALWAYS talk of secession...

[Shannondez]

The South and Alaska have lots in common. Dontcha think?

[deminmo]

There is one radio personality here in Missouri that wants
the state to secede. United what? A house divided.....

[trying-to-be-objective]

Ha! Here's an idea: Let that little cluster of deep south rac ist states secede.

What's the benefit of having them in the union anyway? They continually rank lowest in education, don't contribute much to the GNP, and they are unpatriotic and un-Christian in their hypocritical actions.

Let them try to manage themselves, their economy, their education, their jobs, all by themselves. No welfare from the America that they want to secede from. And when they come crawling back, they have to turn in their g uns and bur n their confederate flags in order to be granted citizenship again.

[Emlyn]

If they secede from the Union, they can't vote. The Republicans will be the losers. Yippe!

[island-in-alabama]

Actually, the Republicans are already losers.

Having states secede would simply make all Americans losers.

Is that really what you want?

[island-in-alabama]

People forget that not everyone who lives in the South is a bigoted white fundamentalist.

Would you abandon everyone in the South, just to prove a point? Everyone in the South would suffer. There are gays and straight people. There are Conservatives, Moderates and Liberals. There are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. There are whites, blacks, browns, etc.

Should ALL of these people suffer because of the bigots? Would you abandon minorities to the tyranny of a new apartheid? Would you trade your house and job for mine, so I can keep my family in The United States of America? Would you so blithely allow the division of our country?

I think all of these intolerant remarks about the South miss the point of this article completely.

The point is that there is a lot of intolerable behavior going on out there. The behavior needs to be dealt with. Specifically, the individuals who misbehave need to be dealt with. Throwing out the South because it has stupid people is not the sort of inclusive, anti-bigot action that is needed.

[whatsittake]

Let them secede. Then sue their pants off for all they've taken from the US Federal government. Put tariffs on what little they would ship into the US. Require passports for all travel into the US.

On the other hand. I live in Dallas. I voted for Obama and am embarrassed by the bigoted, short-sighted, greedy folks who continue to think Republicans are really for Joe the plumber, as if this ignorant lout were real.

I don't know what the solution really is, but I do see progress (Obama as president-elect) toward what this country was really meant to be. It will take another century, maybe, but by the time the current younger generation is my age (early 60's), life will be better or non-existent in a country called the USA.

[MANK]

Don't forget highest divorce rate among those good Christians.

[Shannondez]

I love Obama and his beautiful family. I love that he is intelligent, level headed and a decent human being. I don't care what color he is - or his religion. Wouldn't give a crap if he was Muslim, Bhudist or Jewish. It's really tough to stomach that the least tolerant in our society seem to be the bible thumping, christians that are supposedly tought to love and respect their fellow man.

Racism is taught. The cycle can be broken. I taught my Cuban mother that not wanting to associate with people because of their skin color is wrong. She learned tolerance from her children and I have taught tolerance to mine. The same goes for gays, transgenders or anyone else that is persecuted by ignorant people.

We are all human beings - sadly not all of us know how to act like we are.

[Roninfbn47]

Racism isn't born, folks, it's taught. I have a two-year-old son. You know what he hates?
Naps! End of list. Dennis Leary

[Badbone]

Simply, provably not true.

Racial discrimination is there right from birth. Studies have shown that babies prefer the faces of women of their own race. Toddlers prefer to play with those of their own race. Little girls, given the choice, choose dolls of their own race.

Your hackneyed, “it’s taught” just isn’t true. It simply isn’t supported by the facts. I’m sorry it runs afoul of your ideology, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

Racial discrimination is an inherent trait.