The Anti-Obama Threat Pyramid: or A Confederacy of Hatemongers, Fools, and Miscreants Who Ain't too Pleased That Barack Obama is President (Part 1)

I hate to interrupt the Obamamania induced halcyon daze that is America's love affair with their first black president. But, there are many people who for a variety of reasons are none too pleased with America's election of Barack Obama. The opposition ranges from the "principled" (i.e. Conservatives who wouldn't support any Democrat anywhere, anytime, or for any reason), to the silly (the creator of the Drunken Negro Head Cookies that are sold at a well-known bakery in New York City's Greenwich Village), to the deranged (the violent killers and hooligans who have taken Obama's inauguration as a signal to begin an open hunting season on black and brown folks).

Apparently, because they do not want to be accused of inciting panic or fear, the mainstream media has largely under-reported the violent crimes which have been committed in retaliation for Barack Obama's election as President of the United States.

Legendary military strategist Sun Tzu famously stated, "know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster." I want you to be prepared for battle. Accordingly, in the spirit of Sun Tzu's guiding wisdom, I have compiled a brief primer on the range of racism, bigotry and hateful threats against good, decent, and respectful people that can be expected in this, the Age of Barack Obama.

Today, we highlight the top tier of the threat pyramid.

The Deranged and Violent

1. From the New York Times, "Three Are Charged in Attacks on Election Night" (anticipating your question, yes, he is in fact one of the defendants):

Like countless other Americans that night, a group of young Staten Island men gathered on Nov. 4 to watch election results, and then took to the streets when it became clear that the country had elected its first black president.

But, the authorities say, they were not out to celebrate. Armed with a police-style baton and a metal pipe, they attacked a black teenager, pushed another black man, harassed a Hispanic man and, in a finishing flourish, ran over a white man who they thought was black, leaving him in a coma, the authorities said.

A federal indictment unsealed on Wednesday charged the men, Ralph Nicoletti, 18; Michael Contreras, 18; and Brian Carranza, 21, with conspiracy to interfere with voting rights in their efforts to “injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate” black people on Staten Island on election night.

The men were arrested on Tuesday night and arraigned in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on Wednesday. All three pleaded not guilty...

2. From the Daily News Tribune, "Brockton Shooting Suspect Told Police He Targeted Blacks, Jews, Hispanics":

A 22-year-old white man is being held without bail on charges he shot three Cape Verdean people, killing two. Police said Keith Luke told them he was "fighting for a dying race" and planned to kill as many black people as possible and he had been planning to kill all "non-white" people.

According to papers filed in court, Luke said he had been planning to kill African-Americans, Hispanic and Jewish people and he had planned to go to a Jewish synagogue near his home that night and "kill as many Jews as possible on bingo night."

Luke of 1177 Pleasant St., Brockton, pleaded innocent to two counts of murder, kidnapping, aggravated rape and other charges in Brockton District Court Thursday morning. He was ordered held without bail.He told police in an interview after his Wednesday arrest that he purchased a 9mm handgun with 200 rounds of ammunition about six months ago outside Gilmore Academy on Clinton Street. He said he planned to kill himself after his killing spree...

3. From the Desert Sun News Service in Palm Springs California, "Three Alleged White Supremacists Arrested in Latino Beating":

Three more alleged white supremacists were behind bars today on $1 million bail in connection with the November beating in Hemet of a Latino who suffered brain damage. Crystal Lee McCann, 22, Derek Shane O'Brien, 22 and Darrin Peter Thibault, 24, were arrested between Dec. 19 and Thursday in connection with the Nov. 14 beating of a 19-year-old Latino whose name has not been released.

The teen, beaten at the Jackson Mobile Home Park at 225 Elk St., Hemet, has been placed in a long-term care facility and his brain damage will likely be permanent, said Hemet police Sgt. Mark Richards.

Thibault, arrested Dec. 19, has been arraigned on charges of attempted murder, membership in a criminal gang and assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, with gang, serious felony and great bodily injury allegations, according to court records. McCann, arrested Dec. 26, has pleaded not guilty to attempting to dissuade a witness and gang allegations. She is to be arraigned Tuesday. O'Brien was arrested Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder, violation of probation and membership in a criminal street gang. He is also to be arraigned Tuesday.

The first person arrested, Justin Tyme Hayes, 21, has been charged with attempted murder and participating in a criminal street gang, with serious felony, great bodily injury and gang activity allegations. He has pleaded not guilty. All of them reputedly belong to a white supremacist gang, Richards said. Investigators may charge more people in the near future, the sergeant said.

4. Courtesy of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Alternet.org, "Obama Called a "Visual Aid" for White Supremacist Recruiting":

"Historically, when times get tough in our nation, that's how movements like ours gain a foothold," the leader of the National Socialist Movement told USA Today. "When the economy suffers, people are looking for answers. … We are the answer for white people."

The Obama era comes after years in which white supremacists have successfully exploited the immigration debate – both providing racist propaganda that seeps into the popular culture and benefiting from the vilification of Latino immigrants. Mainly as a result of the bigotry and xenophobia surrounding the immigration debate, the number of hate groups operating in the United States has risen by nearly 50 percent – from 602 to 888 – since 2000.

Now, these groups have begun to turn their attention to Obama – distributing racist propaganda, filling Internet message boards with threats and messages of hate, and, in some cases, taking more direct action against minorities. Here is a sampling of racial incidents reported in the wake of the election...

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So much for post-racial America. Have any of you experienced any bias or hostility because of your support for Barack Obama? Are these cases outliers that speak for a silent plurality? Why isn't the media covering these stories? Are they afraid to sour our presidential honeymoon? Should we be scared and worried? Or should we be emboldened because this collection of human debris are living anachronisms, embodiments of a now outmoded and obsolete type of virulent racism? Where is the outrage at these crimes?