It Hasn't Happened and It Blows Me Away

Obviously, President Obama's election has brought a lot of conversation about race into the mainstream. What no one is discussing is the lack of overt racist harassment or protest over the President's race.

It still amazes me that not once NOT ONCE during the campaign did we hear about someone leaning over the ropeline and calling Mr. Obama ANY type of racial epithet. As he and Michelle walked proudly through DC on that glorious November morning, I thought, this must be the moment. Surely some racist prick or white supremacist has driven a 1000 miles and camped out all night to be the first one to publicly call the President a nigger, loud enough for the sound booms to pick it up. Didn't happen.

Not once, not during the primary, not on the night in Denver when he took the stage to accept the nomination, not on election night, or not at any time since, has a group staged a public protest over the President's race ANYWHERE in the world, or burned a cross OR EVEN JUST unfurled a banner on a bridge or along a highway past which would pass Mr. Obama's motorcade.

We were all worried about him getting shot. I just took it for granted that someone would try to ruin any of these moments with hate speech.

Think about it, the incentive is high. If you were the first white supremacist to call the President a nigger, your face would be everywhere. In your own sick little world, you would be an international superstar. You have to assume, from a white supremacist fundraising or membership drive standpoint, the constant tape of such an incident playing on CNN, Fox and Youtube would be a PR coup. There's every incentive in the world for the kind of scumbag that carries on like that to show up and call the President some name. It wouldn't cost anything, hell it wouldn't even be a crime. For uttering one word, you could be a household name.

Some may think that perhaps it has occurred, and the press didn't report it. Are you kidding me? The press doesn't have a liberal or conservative bias. The press has a salacious muck-based bias. They would eat that up. Every talking head on the 24 hour news carousel would ignore the recession and run with it. They are probably all sitting at home wondering why it hasn't happened and wishing it would. The economic crisis is complicated and hard to report. That would be simple, exciting and almost as good as Monica what's-her-name.

Others may thing that perhaps the racists are afraid of being killed or hurt as a result. Are you kidding me more? Those gun-crazy freaks will just retreat to the compound and hope for a Waco/Gary Weaver style confrontation with the FBI. They don't think liberals are scary anyway.

Now the President is promoting huge, game-changing legislation and changing the direction of the country. Even enmeshed in controversy, no one is calling him names. The President's policy and performance are being judged SOLELY ON THE MERITS AND RESULTS.

Frankly, when that whole chimp cartoon

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE51H7N420090218

drew fire, I had to admit I was stunned. So far, this cartoon, which can be taken as racially insensitive and certainly bad judgment, so far, THAT'S ALL WE'VE HAD. And Rupert Murdoch apologized for it twice.

Then there's "Barack the Magic Negro" given fame when Chip Saltsman, candidate for RNC chairman made copies and sent them out to RNC members. The words of the song are definitely racist, attempting to conjure up white fear of blacks like the nefarious Snoop-Dogg, but in the end essentially exhort the listener not to vote for Barack Obama BECAUSE he is black.

Admittedly, you can find racist talk on the internet if you search for and go deep into the search. But you can find anything on the internet. It hasn't happened in public. That we know of, it hasn't happened to the President's face.

I don't know why it hasn't happened. Maybe we were more prepared for this than we thought. Hopefully this restraint continues even when his ratings plummet into the 30s.