The horrifying Charleston, South Carolina Massacre reminds us of the growing tide of racism and hatred that has emerged in the six and a half years of Barack Obama’s Presidency.
Barack Obama has faced more death threats than any President since Abraham Lincoln, and the mounting threats have taxed the Secret Service, which is responsible for his safety, that of his family members, and protection of the White House and its grounds from “Fence Jumpers”, who have become more bold in recent years, including Omar Gonzalez, who scaled the fence last September and entered the White House and almost made it to the stairs for the private quarters of the President and his family.
But it is also the hate groups which have multiplied in recent years, and have an effect on unstable, mentally ill people, mostly young men, many of them rightfully called domestic terrorists. The threat of foreign religious and political extremism also hangs heavy over the responsibility of the Secret Service to protect the President, the Vice President, other top government officials in the line of succession, and Presidential candidates.
There is a growing sense of foreboding and fear that the President, who has 19 more months from today until he leaves office, is in great danger, with any slip up by the Secret Service one too many.
Right wing domestic terrorism against Americans who are subjected to hate because of their race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation or identity, or political persuasion is a danger not only to regular citizens, but also to Presidential candidates in the political season we are now entering.
Hillary Clinton, already protected as the wife of a former President, is under Secret Service protection, and Bernie Sanders, being a Socialist, also faces dangers not faced by right wing candidates on the Republican side, although Jeb Bush, brother and son of former Presidents, is also a target.
And Donald Trump, with his provocative mouth attacking Obama, Clinton, Bush and others, is a perfect foil for right wing lunatics to plan to attempt assassination plots against our President and others seeking the Presidency.
The reality of death threats against President Obama is covered in Chapter 16 of my forthcoming book, entitled; “Assassinations, Threats, and the American Presidency: From Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama,” available August 15 from Rowman Littlefield Publishers, and can be purchased at a 30 percent discount using the code available on this blog. It is well worth a read!
“Dylann Roof’s racist massacre was universally condemned. Why the are some liberal pundits pretending otherwise? A much-circulated photograph, taken appropriately next to a filthy swamp, depicts him wearing a jacket that boasts two unmistakable signs of white supremacy: an apartheid-era flag from South Africa, and the segregationist colors that once flew ignominiously over Rhodesia. There, as now, he resembles a silly and angry child — a fool and an ignoramus who has managed to adopt as his own some of the worst instincts within our culture. What happened in Charleston was a tragedy — no, an abomination — and it understandably served to reopen some of America’s deepest historical fault lines. But it was not part of a contemporary pattern, and for this we should be grateful, not frustrated. Whatever one believes is the modern value of the Confederate battle flag — and for my part I see little at all to admire — the interpretation that the killer appears to have indulged puts him out on a limb. Symbols do indeed matter, and Ta-Nehisi Coates is correct when he concludes that there is no means by which the stars and bars can be washed of their heritage. But I cannot endorse the implication that others have submitted in concert — namely, that we can infer any good answer to the question “why†from the relative ubiquity of a piece of cloth. It is not 1861 in Charleston, and the killer does not speak for the city. Rather, he is a throwback; an anomaly; an isolated and reviled recrudescence. In 2015, the Declaration of Independence has been restored to its rightful place at the heart of American life, and the dissenters have been pushed righteously to the margins. That the shooter saw fit to stage such a painful attack on history and on progress is alarming to us precisely because it is so rare. Happily, the man who would have started a “race war†found no compatriots to help him in his quest. We should avoid granting him an ill-deserved victory by electing to indulge his premise.
Running through his “talking points memo,†favored boogeyman Bill O’Reilly cast the attack as “terrorism†and concluded bluntly that “skin color seems to be the motivator.†The assault, O’Reilly proposed, is “no different than what ISIS and al-Qaeda does targeting civilians because of who they are.†“This is not a tragedy,†he added, “this is an execution designed to terrorize people just like the Boston Marathon bombing and the mass murder at Fort Hood, Texas.†Unlike with much of the reaction to the shooting at Charlie Hebdo, there was no impending “but.â€
The brutal divisions within American political life are a fact that is much lamented by the champions of unity, even to the extent that legitimate civic disagreement is often held to be a vice. Yesterday we saw a rare moment of unanimity and accord, replete with a linguistic solidarity that is peculiar in the modern era. Apparently, some people just can’t take “yes†for an answer.
All fine and good for O’Reilly, Max, but some of the GOP Presidential contenders were unwilling to make appropriate statements, and some extremists were blaming Obama for the incident.
And to say there are no real threats against Obama and several Presidential candidates is to live in your own special reality.
The racism in this country over Obama even posting on Twitter is a sign of the true right wing hate which is more dangerous than it was under JFK before his demise!
Ronald, if the country today were in any way shape or form anything like the Jim Crow era , the country would be up in flames, and you know it. The problem is that people like you and the left in general found a convenient way to stifle any opposition to your agenda, and that is cry racism to anyone who dares have a different point of view. Not only do you cry racism, but also that we hate women, minorities , the poor, the planet , etc. Even when we agree that this kid is a nut-job racist, you just cannot accept it. As I said some people just can’t take “yes” for an answer. It’s just imperative that divide and destruction of any opposing view continue. And tragedies like this are used to maximize the demeaning and silencing of any opposing view. For example, just because I find it absurd that photo id’s aren’t required everywhere for voting doesn’t mean I am a racist. Just because I oppose Obama and the liberal’s foreign policy doesn’t mean I am a war-monger. Just because I oppose tax increases doesn’t mean I love the rich and hate the poor. Just because I oppose Obama’s Executive Amnesty and oppose illegal immigration, from where ever it may be, doesn’t mean I hate immigrants, just because I believe welfare should not be a lifestyle but a safety net doesn’t mean I hate the poor (or minorities as if only minorities were poor) and just like because I oppose welfare to corporations doesn’t mean I hate corporations either. But the national conversation is impossible with attitudes like yours which quiet frankly is the general attitude of the Democrat party. No debate is possible, because immediately people like you spew insults and demean anyone, I repeat anyone who doesn’t agree with your agenda. And its a classic, every leftist repeats the same mantra, that those opposed to them are “mean spirited”. This only proves that people like you, the left in general , simply want to avoid any rational national dialogue or debate of ideas. Why? Because you entire ideology is based on “feelings” on what makes “you” feel good. Thus the condescension and bigotry of low expectations towards minorities and the poor on behalf of the left and especially “intellectuals”.
Max, I guess you feel better justifying your crazy ideas.
You attack the “left” and in so doing, you wash your hands of any responsibility, including voting.
It is a waste of time debating with you as you are tone deaf and should live on an island somewhere, like Robinson Crusoe, and then there is no government to interfere in your “glorious” life!
Again, you assume I hate government, that I do not want government to exist. Well if it makes you feel better, I am not an anarchist. LOL
A little bit of humor! News for liberals! Did Rubio ‘Double-Dip’? https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=204&v=qB27_k6K3Hs
Not amused by your sense of humor, Max.