News Flash: Not Everyone's Happy About Our New President

Just before the election, I heard or saw a number of stories about white racists reacting to the impending likelihood of Obama's election. (My favorite was the separatist who was going to vote for Obama to bring on the race war faster.) Then for over a week after the election, I didn't hear a thing about the racist reaction to the election's outcome.

It was a nice week, in which I almost got the feeling that everyone was either happy about or at least resigned to an Obama presidency. But I guess the media were just waiting a little before reporting on what's been going on out in naziland, USA.

Check out this AP story, "Obama's Election Set Off Racism Wave" (which I read in the Pioneer Press on Sunday), which tells of everything from second and third graders in Idaho chanting "assassinate Obama" to a general store in Maine running a "shotgun pool" to award money for the most accurate assassination prediction. Another story with more background was in the Christian Science Monitor.

Both stories cite the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based, long-time advocate of racial integration and instigator of organizations like Klan Watch. SPLC's blog has a couple of entries on the topic, one called After the Election, the other Hate Groups Claim Obama Win Is Sparking Recruitment Surge.

I'm looking for the silver lining in this cloud, and I think I've come up with it: All of the death threats and rumblings about secession should keep the Feds busy for the next four years at least, so perhaps they won't have time to infiltrate or roust supposed left-wing anarchists in their homes.