Are Hate and Fear still powerful forces in America?

A Negro, a Muslim and an anti-American. These are just some of the names Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been called over the past few days. Is Obama in danger and are hate and fear still powerful forces in America? Bloggers from around the world react.

Al Jazeera had its crew at a small town in Ohio and here are some reactions:

Palestinian/Jordanian Hala, writing on Soul Blossom, reacts to this video as follows:

Other than WOW, I have nothing to say. I am almost sure Obama will get assassinated if he becomes president. What gets to me is that what people think is simply untrue. Oh Gosh. Stupid
people, at least know what you are talking about; he is not Muslim neither Arab. Also, being black does not mean he will oppress whites. Even though it is sarcastic to think that many years ago, whites had the right to discriminate against blacks
openly â€¦ So there you have it, the most powerful nation in the world is still full of hatred, injustice, and racism. It was
hidden, but now it slowly is coming out. Scary.

Writing at No Longer at Ease, in Doha, Qatar, Abdurahman sheds more light on the video:

A report on the role of race (and racism) in the US election by Al Jazeera English's Casey Kaufman received more than a million views, and was written about in Washington post. Casey speaks to people attending a Sarah Palin rally and most of them have clearly racist feelings Obama, here is some of what they've said:

From an older white woman: “I'm afraid if he wins, the black [sic] will take over. He's not a Christian. This is a Christian nation! What is our country gonna end up like?”

An older white man: “When you got a Negro running for president, you need a first-stringer. He's definitely a second-stringer.”

A young white man holding a child: “He seems like a sheep — or a wolf in sheep's clothing to be honest with you. And I believe Palin — she's filled with the Holy Spirit, and I believe she's gonna bring honesty and integrity to the White House.”

An older white man: “He's related to a known terrorist, for one.”

An older white man: “He is friends with a terrorist of this country!”

An older white man: “He must support terrorists! You know, uh, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. And that to me is Obama.”

A young white woman: “Just the whole, Muslim thing, and everything, and everybody's still kinda — a lot of people have forgotten about 9/11, but . . . I dunno, it's just kinda . . . a little unnerving.”

A white woman: “Obama and his wife, I'm concerned that they could be anti-white. That he might hide that.”

An older white woman: “I don't like the fact that he thinks us white people are trash . . . because we're not!”

A Political Glimpse from Ireland, meanwhile, posts this shocking video showing supporters at a Sarah Palin rally in Johnstown, PA:

Tune in to listen to people calling Obama a Muslim, terrorist and a baby killer, among other descriptive cliches. Did I hear someone yell ‘Barak Mohammed Obama?’

On racism in the campaign, Malcolm Clark from the UK, who blogs at SixFifty notes after watching the final presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain:

Firstly, was McCain failing to directly and unequivocally “repudiate” (that his word for what he wanted Obama to do on several other matters) the worst excesses of the racism and threats of violence made by Republican supporters at some rallies.  Instead, McCain was happy to “say, categorically, I’m proud of the people that come to our rallies.”   McCain should rightly take a lot of stick on that.  And it is why the perversion of the McCain campaign slogan is so apt: The Hate Talk Express.

In conclusion, Eatbees from Morocco says:

Obama is pretty well immunized by now against attacks on his character, because the American people have seen him respond calmly under pressure, while McCain is the one who seems erratic and radical; and most Americans are sick of manipulation based on fear, having seen where it leads, to war and economic collapse, so they are eager to reject it on election day. It didn’t work in 2006 against Congressional Democrats, and it won’t work against Obama unless he does something completely out of character between now and November 4 to destroy people’s trust.
If that is all McCain has to hope for, he has lost the election.

5 comments

  • Tracy

    Well, we should get all the politicians and put them in jail, start fresh, get somebody poor, honest and willing to make the government work for the people, not control the people, and make him the leader.
    Dang you people really need to think.

  • E.C.

    I agree with Tracy. I think the American people need to run everyone of them out of the White House and Congress. And let people that have had to work from payday to payday run the place. I bet we could afford health care and alot of other things too… And NO MORE BAILOUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • I agree with Tracy!

    Except that most politicians are liars (I mean lawyers), and they’ll find a way to get themselves out of the situation I am sure…

    But I wonder if the average (uninformed) American is leery of an Arab or a Muslim? Does he realize that some Arabs may not be Muslims?

    And as Colin Powell said, “What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?”

  • This is a race of Races

    This is a race of literacy vs illiteracy
    it’s time for the world to know how illiterate America is….
    Every American who despise Obama for being just Black and embrace McCane for being colorless is either illiterate ….
    or his/her education has done them any good…..
    or
    too religious and their religion has not rendered them any good…..
    or
    too color blind that they don’t see things in true color …..

    This man has dignity …..articulated in every word he speaks

    Obama is the only hope to resurrect America to it’s greatness

    Let the white house not be restricted just for the whites….it’s a prayer …..

  • If McCane wins ….

    We Americans will prove to the world that we are Hippocrates and we say say some thing and do something else……

    N’ that is no greatness

    The spirit of America is Great and let us not dilute it…..with wrong actions or words

    If we speak democracy …….it has to be of the people, by the people, for the people….. not against any people – black ,white , brown or yellow…….

    Our High school physics lessons have thought us that – some thing appears white because it reflects all the 7 colors and some thing appears black because it absorbs all the colors and some things appears yellow because they reflect only yellow…..

    It is like a car ….it comes in different colors …..but the mechanics is the same …utility is the same…..and every thing else too….

    Decide where you stand on this and do vote

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