Monday
Nov032008
Worst Election 2008 Story: Obama Loses, Blacks Riot
Monday, November 3, 2008 at 21:15
I first noticed the story 10 days ago in the Daily Telegraph of London: "Police Fear Riots If Obama Loses US Election".
Needless to say, I hit an inner panic button --- who was I to say that the uprising might not spread to threaten a white guy in Birmingham, England? So I read on:
In Oakland, near San Francisco, police will have tactical squads, SWAT teams and officers trained in riot control on standby.
"We always try to prepare for the worst," said Oakland police department spokesman Jeff Thomason.
"This election is going to mark in history a change in the presidency: you're going to have a woman in the presidency or an African American as president. I think everybody around here is voting for Obama, so if he gets in the White House everybody's going to be happy.
"But we'll have our SWAT teams on standby and traffic teams here, so if something goes off we'll organise and take care of the problem."
That's it? A police department prepares for crowds on Election Night which --- newsflash --- it does whether or not the winning/losing candidate is black, a woman, an old white fella, or a Martian, and this turns into a tide of fear across the United States? But, wait, here comes the clinching evidence:
There have also been internet rumours about plans for protests or civil disobedience by supporters of Democratic candidate Barack Obama if he is beaten by Republican rival John McCain on November 4.
Ahh, Internet rumours. Well, that clinches the story --- no doubt the Telegraph can update by citing the reports of reliable sources such as Enduring America.
Then again, it was not just an isolated example of journalism in a "quality" British newspaper, right? Well, two days later, my wife returned from a trip to northwest England to report that her mother was panicking over this in the Daily Mail:
Barack Obama is already planning a £1.5million election victory party - while police prepare for the possibility of riots across America if the White House vote goes against him.
The same Oakland spokesman re-appeared, joined this time by the authority Bob Parks, "an internet columnist and black Republican candidate for state representative in Massachusetts": "If Obama is elected, like with sports championships, people may go out and riot. ‘If Barack Obama loses there will be another large group of people who will assume the election was stolen from him. This will be an opportunity for people who want to commit mischief."
Ahh, those mischievous "people", who of course are never identified by skin colour. They reappeared in the Irish Independent, which at least had the courtesy to add a balancing quote from a Detroit policeman, "that problems could flare whichever candidate won".
I take Canuckistan's point that the election of Obama could be a momentous symbol, one which societies outside the United States might wish to consider. I would be even more heartened if the newspapers in those countries, even as they are hailing a candidate of African-American descent, weren't making unsubtle allusions to the dangerous Darkies on the streets.
Needless to say, I hit an inner panic button --- who was I to say that the uprising might not spread to threaten a white guy in Birmingham, England? So I read on:
In Oakland, near San Francisco, police will have tactical squads, SWAT teams and officers trained in riot control on standby.
"We always try to prepare for the worst," said Oakland police department spokesman Jeff Thomason.
"This election is going to mark in history a change in the presidency: you're going to have a woman in the presidency or an African American as president. I think everybody around here is voting for Obama, so if he gets in the White House everybody's going to be happy.
"But we'll have our SWAT teams on standby and traffic teams here, so if something goes off we'll organise and take care of the problem."
That's it? A police department prepares for crowds on Election Night which --- newsflash --- it does whether or not the winning/losing candidate is black, a woman, an old white fella, or a Martian, and this turns into a tide of fear across the United States? But, wait, here comes the clinching evidence:
There have also been internet rumours about plans for protests or civil disobedience by supporters of Democratic candidate Barack Obama if he is beaten by Republican rival John McCain on November 4.
Ahh, Internet rumours. Well, that clinches the story --- no doubt the Telegraph can update by citing the reports of reliable sources such as Enduring America.
Then again, it was not just an isolated example of journalism in a "quality" British newspaper, right? Well, two days later, my wife returned from a trip to northwest England to report that her mother was panicking over this in the Daily Mail:
Barack Obama is already planning a £1.5million election victory party - while police prepare for the possibility of riots across America if the White House vote goes against him.
The same Oakland spokesman re-appeared, joined this time by the authority Bob Parks, "an internet columnist and black Republican candidate for state representative in Massachusetts": "If Obama is elected, like with sports championships, people may go out and riot. ‘If Barack Obama loses there will be another large group of people who will assume the election was stolen from him. This will be an opportunity for people who want to commit mischief."
Ahh, those mischievous "people", who of course are never identified by skin colour. They reappeared in the Irish Independent, which at least had the courtesy to add a balancing quote from a Detroit policeman, "that problems could flare whichever candidate won".
I take Canuckistan's point that the election of Obama could be a momentous symbol, one which societies outside the United States might wish to consider. I would be even more heartened if the newspapers in those countries, even as they are hailing a candidate of African-American descent, weren't making unsubtle allusions to the dangerous Darkies on the streets.
Reader Comments (3)
those papers that you speak of here, (im British by the way) are probably the most xenophobic there are. the daily mail especially will state anything as long as at the end of the day blacks, single mums and immigrants can be blamed on everything wrong with this country. similar for the telegraph too. I dont know why the Irish independent would sink to this. But regardless if you wish to be taken seriously then you should do your own bloody research.
I agree with you, Gregory. The point was not to give substance to this malicious rumour but to highlight the short-sighted, even pernicious attitude to race amongst some of the press --- including the "quality" press --- in Britain.
It's notable (and troubling) that, in our first week on-line, this story has been the most viewed.
To play devil's advocate -- They probably recall the 1991 riots in Los Angeles and Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Remember, a car accident was all it took to trigger race rioting in Crown Heights. Some of these places are powder-kegs.