Racism Goes Coastal: Standish, Maine
Here's an interesting story about anti-Obama racism in the northeast corner of the United States. Standish, Maine is in Clumberland County. The county has a population of approximately 275,000. Approximately 4,765 Black people live in the county. Doesn't exactly sound like Sweet Home Alabama...
At Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read: "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." Customers could sign up to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be killed. "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count," the sign said. At the bottom of the marker board was written "Let's hope someone wins."
A reporter for the Associated Press said he saw a sign at the Oak Hill General Store for the Osama Obama Shotgun Pool, soliciting bets about when President-elect Barack Obama would be assassinated.
The sign is no longer on display and the owner of the store denied any knowledge of it. However Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion confirmed that he received a complaint about the sign and passed along the information to the Secret Service.
Of course, those of you who vote in North Hudson, Wisconsin might have notice the black manikin hanging from the back of the house facing the polling place. There was a toilet bowl in the yard with a note with and arrow pointing into the toilet bowl with the words "Vote Obama."
5 comments:
Sunny,
If that Maine story is true, surely they can come up with a more credible witness than an AP reporter.
I believe the county sheriff confirmed the existence of the sign.
Well "Road Kill", just read in the Pioneer Press a few days back (increase in racist acts), or some of the pathetic comments in the Star Observer, and you'll see more than enough evidence of racism in our community. Sad, and some very disturbed people. Remember the pathetic demonstration of racism with the OTBL cult?
Fred
Sunny, Anon;
Don't misunderstand me; I do not doubt that there are racists in this country, in every color, and also in every region of the globe. It's a sad fact of the human condition that some judge character on the basis of skin color.
We in America can - and are - showing the world it can be different. America is truely the land of possibilities.
I just thought it funny that a reporter from such a discredited news organization as the AP (think doctored photo's from the mideast, and Iraqi "news stringers" from Iraq) are the eyewitness source of a startling news story.
But if the local sheriff said he saw it, I'm willing to believe it.
As for those crackpots on OBTL, I don't know if they are racists, but they are uncompromising economic and anti-religious extremists.
RK:
I think racism is a natural defense mechanism in humans. It belongs in the fear-of-the-unknown category. We fear strangers because we don't know them. They fear us. We fear people in the dark that we wouldn't fear in the light. If you haven't interacted with black folks, you will probably rely on stereotypes and hearsay from those you consider authorities on the subject. If you're a kid growing up in white Wisconsin, where do you get interactions with blacks? The smae Wisconsin white folks have their own prejudices about Native Americans.
As for the OBTL, I have not idea if they are racists. I'm sure they are uncompromising, free-market extremists, but this is America and it's their right. I run into many anti-free-market extremists in my personal and political travels who seem to be totally clueless that profit = gross sales - cost and the profit number needs to be greater than zero.
"Anti-religious extremists"...I'm not sure how that gets derived from reading the OTBL blog. Maybe Anonymous can enlighten us on these observations.
I'm sure the OTBL'ers love their country, family, etc. according to their worldview and that works for me. I don't have to agree with them, but I support their right to enlighten us on their worldview. So far they haven't forced the hot lead enema of their idealsim on me.
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