Have any Obama volunteers experienced any racism ?

[SparkyMac]

Racism emerges in Democratic primaries

BONNIE ERBE

A telling point about white, working class voters and how some of them will vote when (and it looks like when, not if) Sen. Barack Obama becomes the Democratic nominee was made in an article in this week's Washington Post.

The monster lurking behind the curtain in the Democratic presidential race is racism. Up to now, Obama's supporters in the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party, have tried to ignore its existence. This article is proof, it not only exists, it is unfortunately alive and well, particularly in factory towns:

"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."

It's ugly but it's real. It's been largely ignored by the media as well as Obama supporters up to now. But the fact is there are a lot more American voters who identify with low-income factory workers than there are voters who identify with Harvard Law School graduates. My sad prediction is, assuming Obama secures the Democratic nomination, a racial chasm will open in this country that will rival the Daisetta, Texas, sink hole in depth and the Grand Canyon in width.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/363079_erbeonline15.html

[book_worm]

1. No, but I live in Madison, WI which is pretty tolerant place to live, I think.

[pbca]

2. Here's the WP article

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24588813/

[democrattotheend]

3. I have, in Philly

I wrote about it a couple weeks ago:

A conversation I had on election day while canvassing an Italian neighborhood in South Philly forced me to accept that there may be just too much racism in this country to overcome. A young Italian guy who was doing roof repairs stopped me and asked what I was doing, and I got into a lengthy conversation with him about Barack. He said he did not like any of the candidates and did not plan to vote in the primary, but I thought I had made progress convincing him to go out and vote for Barack. But when I asked him at the end of the conversation, he thought about it for a minute, then said point blank that he just could not bring himself to vote for a black man. He knew that Obama was only half black, and claimed not to be racist, but he said "don't you think we give black people enough for free in this country?" and said that he just couldn't vote for a black candidate. He claimed his grandmother would disown him if he did.

[yardwork]

9. "I'm not a racist but...."

Yes, the familiar chant.

[democrattotheend]

22. If you won't vote for a man specifically because he's black, that's racist

Sorry, but I don't see how you can say it's not.

[yardwork]

28. Obviously. I was pointing out the hypocrisy.

[BlooInBloo]

4. It rarely gets reported. White folks suppress reporting on that kind of thing...

Saw a segment on it on msnbc today for the first time ever.

It doesn't make white folks and their "it's just a few bad apples" lie look very good, to report it.

[graycem]

5. I actually read an article

with an interview of the guy who was an Obama campaign worker at the headquarters in Indiana that was vandalized. He was the one that arrived to the damaged office first and took the pictures as evidence, and alerted headquarters about it. He was asked to keep it quiet by Obama, because I think, as I am, he's afraid the Republicans will try to paint this as a "race war" in the fall. Needless to say the guy went ahead and gave the interview, despite Obama's request.

[BlooInBloo]

7. The biggger fear is that white *Democrats* will paint the Obama campaign...

as "playing the race card" and "oversensitive".

It's part of the wonderful white blockade on reporting racism.

[graycem]

18. Definitely that too..

it's going to be a rocky season.

[AllentownJake]

6. I had a guy

tell me he was going to remove my bumper of my car because the sticker offended him. Than there was shouting and another Obama supporter who is quite bigger than me just screaming OBAMA OBAMA at the top of their lungs.

Everyone involved was white.

[Raine]

8. And this racism is rearing it's ugly head in the

Democratic Party a party that has more intelligent and open minded people. :-( I can't imagine what we will see when it involves all voters. What we are seeing now is in our own party and we all ready know the reTHUGs are much worse and this is bad enough. :mad:

[Aloha Spirit]

10. Yes, in Cambridge Massachusetts.

[DJ13]

11. I grew up wandering around Watts in the late 60's early 70's with black friends

Not once did I, a short overweight white kid, have a problem.

[BlooInBloo]

16. Just like the black kid in Brentwood with his white friends!

Oh wait...


:rofl:

[FrenchieCat]

12. NONE! Next.

This story only hurts Obama, and make his supporters hesitant in getting out there for him.

I have met much more resistance when folks speak about Hillary and McCain't.

So I'm not sure why putting a bunch of "stories" here in this thread is helping Barack Obama. It isn't. It's just helping those who want to defeat him.

Thanks for your assistance in this matter.

[TeamsterDem]

13. Unfortunately yes

Not going to give the comments any airtime here, but yeah I've experienced it. Been called names, heard Obama called names, the works. Doesn't happen often though. Not that it makes it any more acceptable if it only happens a few times, but at least it's not extremely common.

[Doityourself]

14. I had on my Obama shirt the other day, I got comments from blacks and whites..and

all were positive and good! Nothing racist or nasty!

[alteredstate]

15. Yes.

I was appalled by the responses I received from Democrats I called in the Scranton, PA area.

[roseBudd]

20. I think phonebanking & doorknocking can be the worst because we are interrupting people

and have to realize that part of what is going on in these encounters is annoyance at being intruded upon.

My own comfort zone increases tremendously when I do non targeted GOTV on the street. You know for sure wake them up or disturb them in the middle of dinner.

[NorthernSpy]

17. They can't turn us around.

We're going forward, no matter what.

[muryan]

19. Yes, about 20 miles outside of dayton OH

clark county, where most of the people in the small towns once lived in springfield but moved away once all the "darkies took over." I expected it having lived in this area almost all of my life and wasn't surprised when I encountered it.

[stillcool]

21. Doesn't the media say this every day?

and haven't they mentioned race and the impossibility of Senator Obama getting elected since he started winning? I guess some people don't notice it. :shrug:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVeFyV0iLrk

[TheDonkey]

23. I had a gay filipino Clinton supporter attack me in Denny's

claimed that America "would never" vote for a black man. :puke:

[SparkyMac]

24. Thank you all for sharing your experiences

I'd like to thank everybody who contributed to this thread. I'm not familiar with the woman who wrote the article -- and when I saw it I wondered if maybe she was exaggerating.

It's sometimes hard for people who have never been victims of certain behavior to understand how it happens.

By communicating with people who have experienced such things -- it becomes more of a reality to us.

Thanks again.

[hollowdweller]

25. I just think it's ironic how many total racists somehow deny that they are racist

I mean what is their definition of a racist then? Burning a cross? Lynching?

[Number23]

27. I agree

There seems to be some people who think if we just don't talk about these types of things, they'll go away. As if the very idea of discussing racism somehow gives it even more legitimacy and would thereby weaken Obama.

It's obvious that these people have never been on the receiving end of racism, because I doubt there are very many people of color in the U.S. who have been on the receiving end that are trying to hush up this discussion. I find it fascinating that when I read the U.S. newspapers or watch U.S. news, I am seeing more and more articles about people, mostly Democrats, who are just shocked and astounded that racism is as vile and as prevalent a presence as black folks have been saying it is for the last 400 years. There are large swaths of people in this country who could have kept pretending racism and racial discrimination were not very ugly American realities if it wasn't for Obama's campaign. So for that reason among others, I'm happy he's running.

[stillcool]

29. There is a difference between..

discussing racism, and perpetuating racism. Reverend Wright for instance. What was the purpose of running that excerpt 24/7 for 3 weeks straight? What is the point of constantly pointing out that white people won't vote for black people? What reality does that create? And how close is it to your individual perception of reality? Julius Streicher managed to stir up the Germans to the level of the holocaust. I don't think that was because Anti-Semitism was not mentioned.

[Barack_America]

26. I'm not in jail, so no.

Let's just say that I wouldn't respond well to that.

I guess it's lucky for me that I've been volunteering in Obama-friendly areas.