A day to celebrate politics turns sour....

[Jager]

Bit of a preface, I live in the Middle of virginia, where the "south" is at times very alive, and the northern more progressive or sensible ideas like treating all people equally havent fully sunk in to a few racist idiots. Generally I see them at times, but they tend to keep their mouths shut in public and its more their inability to be near darker skinned people be they indians native americans black or even from new jersey...

So the people who own my store decided a few weeks ago to be a part of the Obama bakesale, Not that we employees all agree with Obama, but more to get a community activity going and foster some younger voter activism (I work at a pet store that gets alot of the apathetic voter demographic). Friday and Thursday there was a few local radio broadcasts going out that we were having the bakesale and where we were, come out, debate and enjoy some cheap baked goods. maybe play with some puppies. Harmless right?

well starting thursday night we got weird phone calls that would hangup when either I or my fellow male employee on that night would answer the phone, The women and the owner though got a variety of threats when they answered the phone from the same series of voices ( conference calls let us hear them they used caller id block and being that we are a busy store we really couldnt get them traced and we sorta brushed off the ones thursday night, they seemed harmless posturing.... then friday hit..... Everything from we are gonna ruin your store/ burn it down to northerners go the F*ck home, to how we were the worst (add your explitives here) for supporting that dumbass N****R obama... I loved the one who asked my name, when I answered the voice said oh.... (like either he knew my family or knew me) (we are a local gun dealer family)anyway

So we go from having a fun bakesale to having a concealed permit holder bouncer friend with a few weapons prominently displayed on the far side of the store hired for the day along with the bigger employees stationed outside conspicuously to keep any local yokels from starting anything and the cops alerted incase someone decided to pull ****.

the bakesale was fun nothing happened, and it was worth getting people active however they vote, however, At this point I have seriously lost faith in a large demographic of my fellow southern Virginians. The voices were middle aged males definately from the surrounding area and a few from two counties next door due to their accents and particular ways of pronouncing words.

I know that I shouldnt be all that surprised, but I kinda figured the klan and its various offspring were a thing of the past these days at least in this area, we have had and continue to have a very strong black population that is very active and community centered, with deep ties to the area and while the older generations (65+ age) are at times racist, they did live and grow in a much more turbulent time, but regardless I and my friends have never been directly treated poorly for our color or lack there of (Both me and my older brother grew up best friends with two black kids our ages and our families were very close with two black families so maybe im just blind to the obviousness around me because I couldnt care less about skintone.

unfortunately it seems the klan/ whatever those guys were are still around. Not really sure what to do other then pity them for what they are missing out on by being so closeminded to people in general, but I will find it interesting if i recognize any voices at my dads shop. there may be a VERY interesting conversation about the conversations and threats they made followed by a visit from the cops. I dont like my friends being threatened, especially women.

I guess I am posting this because Im greatly saddened and wonder if this is more common then it seems still in the rest of the country?

TL:DR Racist bastards threatened to burn down/ mess up the employees/ store that i work at for having an obama bakesale. anyone else deal with that ****?

[smockers83]

Yes, that is sad. But, as you learned from your experience, racism is still well and alive and it just might be as long as humans exist. Is it less than what it used to be? Probably, but it still exists in numbers that may surprise you.

[telcoman]

I found your post depressing to read and I'm glad I do not live in Virginia with such narrow minded and ignorant people.

Read this passage below from an article in todays New York Times about a young music teacher working in New York.

"ON OCT. 16, MS. VEGTER’S FIRST DAY of school, she took the subway from an apartment on West 71st Street in Manhattan that she shares with a roommate, riding the Q train to the Cortelyou Road stop. She passed a halal butcher, a Dominican hairdresser and a Mexican restaurant in a classically hodgepodge New York neighborhood, where Orthodox Jews in long coats share the sidewalks with Muslim women in head scarves.

Turning the corner, Ms. Vegter walked into a 1956 brick building formally called the Ditmas Educational Complex. It has four minischools, including one for the performing and visual arts, and a mostly black, Latino and Asian student body. Some 97 percent of the students are eligible to receive free lunches. Fliers in eight languages are posted in the vestibule."

Entire article

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06...=arts

Many (not all) living in the so called Bible Belt of the south are uneducated poor white trash that do things like you described. I always have to wonder what kind of parents they had and how many of them can call themselves good christians?

It is interesting to note that many of the ethnic factions that are killing each other in other countries come here and are able to live side by side each other in Brooklyn and other communities.Perhaps someone can explain what is wrong with southerners and their racism? Perhaps low self esteem and unable to compete in the new world economy?

Telcoman


Modified by telcoman at 7:49 AM 6/22/2008

[smockers83]

It is interesting to note that many of the ethnic factions that are killing each other in other countries come here and are able to live side by side each other in Brooklyn and other communities.Perhaps someone can explain what is wrong with southerners and their racism? Perhaps low self esteem and unable to compete in the new world economy?

They're probably still upset about Reconstruction? Uneducated? Its been a part of their family since slavery existed? Its all about how you grow up and what is taught within the family.

Also, it is somewhat interesting to note that different ethnicities can come here and live side by side. However, I feel that a lot of the racism that goes untold to many people these days is between the minorities themselves from Asia, the Middle East, and blacks (and all others). My hypothesis though on people that kill each other in other parts of the world that now live here don't do so for a couple of reasons. First, they didn't want a part of the killing before. That could be part of the reason they moved here. Second, living in secular communities elsewhere, where killing is a means of survival, isn't the case here in the US. I haven't seen too much white to minority racism in the past 4 years on a diverse campus, but I have seen quite a bit of racism between the minorities and towards whites.

[Eikon]

I hate the Klan more than anything in the world.

What a bunch of ignorent fools.

Did you know the major downfall of the Klan was a superman cartoon in 1946.

[szh]

Did you know the major downfall of the Klan was a superman cartoon in 1946.

I did not know ... do you have a reference?

Z

[Eikon]

I recently read about it in a book called "Freakenomics"http://freakonomicsbook.com/thebook/index.html

I misspoke, it was a radio broadcast rather than a video cartoon.

Here's an interesting blog article about it. http://www.worldhistoryblog.co....html

[Repo Man]

Perhaps someone can explain what is wrong with southerners and their racism?

They're probably still upset about Reconstruction? Uneducated? Its been a part of their family since slavery existed? Its all about how you grow up and what is taught within the family.

Easy fellas. To stereotype southerners that way is no different than someone saying that all black people love fried chicken and watermelon, or that all Muslims are terrorists or that gay people are automatically child molesters. There are going to be representatives of those various stereotypes in any of the given segments, but it doesn't mean they're all like that.

Remember, to the OP, it was people in Virginia as well that decided to have the bakesale.

[AZhitman]

That's a shame.... Nothing more, nothing less.

Anyone who can't handle such an activity, yet professes to love their country, is CONFUSED.

It's called DEMOCRACY, people - Everyone has a right to be heard.

All those who called the store with their chickenshat opinions should be deported to a third-world dictatorship - They'll learn to appreciate their freedoms.

[smockers83]

Did you know the major downfall of the Klan was a superman cartoon in 1946.

Not entirely. It didn't single handedly cause its downfall.

[smockers83]

Easy fellas. To stereotype southerners that way is no different than someone saying that all black people love fried chicken and watermelon, or that all Muslims are terrorists or that gay people are automatically child molesters. There are going to be representatives of those various stereotypes in any of the given segments, but it doesn't mean they're all like that.

Remember, to the OP, it was people in Virginia as well that decided to have the bakesale.

I never said all Southerners were like that and the OP clearly shows that. I was specifically talking about those who were angry about the event and racist Southerners, but never did I stereotype Southerners in general. What I presented were general stereotypes of racist people, maybe except for the fact of Reconstruction, but definitely a possibility for a select few.