Racism and hatred has many faces

While Tuesday was a great day for some people, for others, it gave them a reason to show their racism and hatred for not only President Obama, but in a way, for a majority of voters. And it came in all kinds of shapes and sizes. There was a woman in Arizona that tweeted that the N-word guy got in office. Think she's not racist? When interviewed by a local TV station, she said that of course she wasn't a racist. And she added that while she wouldn't assassinate the President, it wouldn't bother her if someone else did. No hatred in her heart, is there? Then there were the students at the University of Mississippi that after hearing President Obama had won started burning Obama/Biden campaign signs. Think minorities at the university who woke up to that sight felt love and understanding?

Now, these are very overt acts of racism and hatred. But there were other ways that some people showed their that in their own way, they had the same feelings. There was the owner of a company that, the day after the election, let his employees know that their hours would be cut back from 30 to 25 hours a week. Why? Well, at least he didn't beat around the bush. He told them that with the Obama re-election, the Affordable Care Act would be law, and since the threshold for companies to comply with the act is 30 hours, he was cutting back hours to ensure he wouldn't have to comply. Now, while this may not be overtly racist, it's hard to think that in some way, he doesn't have, if not hatred, at least animosity, toward everyone who voted for President Obama. Then there was the owner of a coal mine that fired 138 miners Friday, citing the Obama re-election as the reason. So, did any laws on the mining of coal change from Tuesday morning until Thursday night? No. So why didn't he wait until new laws were enacted? Because he wanted the workers to know the reason for the firing, and wanted to sow hatred for the Obama administration in them.

But it isn't just people that seem to have these feeling. The Supreme Court on Friday agree to hear the case that the State of Tennessee brought before it asking that the Voting Rights Act be struck down, saying that the law no longer is needed. This, after a summer in which several states either limited early voting or enacting restrictive ID laws, making it harder for some people to vote. Think Tennessee brought this case so more people could vote? No, Tennessee brought the case so it could get the federal government off its' back and Tennessee could run elections the way it wants. While the case may not have racist or hatred underpinnings, it's hard to imagine that, if the Supreme Court agrees and strikes down the Voting Rights Act, many people will be disenfranchised, and the reasons will be racism and hatred.

Tuesday night was a great night, and the country will move forward. But in other ways, in a lot of places, the old ways of racism and hatred still have roots, and has many faces.