'I'll never vote for a black person'

[Liberal_in_LA]

A blast from the past

Racist Incidents Give Some Obama Campaigners Pause

By Kevin Merida
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008; A01

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. :-)

[sakabatou]

1. Racism still alive an kicking today

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. I wonder how all those racist yahoos will get through Tuesday.

[Sultana]

3. Hanging out in FR praying for an Obama failure

Or getting drunk silly in the parents basements to cope. :P

[trixie]

6. So right

I was just peeking in at baptistboard.com and they are going crazy. One poster even said the cost of tomorrow "doesn't make sense for the shine boy". I assume the poster is refering to shoe shine boy.

In my neck of the woods, we were informed today, on MLK day, that we would no longer be getting a floating holiday. On the eve of the DAY and on the birthday of MLK we were informed of this. Republican area? Of course. Racist area? You bet.

This is why we need this. We desperately need this. Bush has allowed hatred to fester and has taken us back 40 years.

[BanzaiBonnie]

9. Today we kick it back

We will stand together as one people.

[BlooInBloo]

4. :)))))

[murielm99]

5. I ran into people like that in Illinois, and not surprisingly,

in my own county.

Some of them told me that a black person should never be President. Some of them told me that they weren't prejudiced, but their friends were. Some said that they weren't voting for Obama because we were not ready for a black President.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. LOL. ready or not, here he comes.

[sohndrsmith]

8. this concept of "I'll never vote for a black person" is so alien to me

it's mind-boggling. I understand racism exists, and I see it - more often than I care to, sadly. But the mentality is so foreign and so disturbing that I end up looking at people who spew this stuff with a sort of horrified fascination - like they're some sort of bug from a bygone era that I have no connection with in any social, interactive way other than good manners, should I choose to use them. I choose to use them only for the benefit of the target of such racism or bigotry, or my own - or both. It isn't wasted on the bigot him/herself, even if they benefit secondarily.

Call me naive, but I do not understand prejudice, racism and bigotry. To me, it is pretty much the definition of insanity.

[DRoseDARs]

10. "We're voting for the nigger."

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/10/on-road-western-pennsylvania.html

-snip-
So a canvasser goes to a woman's door in Washington, Pennsylvania. Knocks. Woman answers. Knocker asks who she's planning to vote for. She isn't sure, has to ask her husband who she's voting for. Husband is off in another room watching some game. Canvasser hears him yell back, "We're votin' for the n***er!"

Woman turns back to canvasser, and says brightly and matter of factly: "We're voting for the n***er."
-snip-

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. wow! that's ugly

[JI7]

11. these racist incidents turned off a lot of minorities to McCain

actually it was Palin that people were turned off by. most minorities liked McCain and thought he was better than other Republicans.

Obama would have won among the minority groups anyways. but the Palin pick and her bigotry probably resulted in a bigger turnout .

[MrSlayer]

12. Of course that was happening. I know a lot of salty people.

And I love putting it on them. I love reminding them that theirs is an archaic mindset that is slowly but surely dying out.