It’s no surprise that threats against President Elect Barack Obama exist- but it is admittedly disheartening to hear about the actual threats that are being made.  Most Americans realize that race has, does, and will continue to play a role in Obama’s tenure in the White House.  We also realize that despite how far we’ve come as a country, there are still many sick, uneducated and desperate members of our society who continue to grasp at racist and backwoods ideologies that lead them to believe that they are somehow superior to an Ivy League educated attorney and politician who is now- whether they like it or not- leader of the most powerful country in the world.  And for those individuals, the election of a man of color to the office of President is so threatening- so insulting- that they are unable and/or unwilling to accept this turn of events and have resorted to threats against him. 

MSN is reporting a significant spike in threats made against Obama since his election earlier this month.  And though the Secret Service reports that an increase in threats against president elects is not uncommon in the weeks following presidential elections, they do admit that there have been more threats against Barack Obama than any other new president elect in history. 

Some examples of the types of idiocy and pathetic gestures that have been found and/or reported in the last week include the following, according to MSN:

-A sign posted on a tree in Vay, Idaho, with Obama’s name and the offer of a “free public hanging.”

-In a Maine convenience store, an Associated Press reporter saw a sign inviting customers to join a betting pool on when Obama might fall victim to an assassin. The sign solicited $1 entries into “The Osama Obama Shotgun Pool,” saying the money would go to the person picking the date closest to when Obama was attacked. “Let’s hope we have a winner,” said the sign, since taken down.

-In Milwaukee, police officials found a poster of Obama with a bullet going toward his head — discovered on a table in a police station.

-One of the most popular white supremacist Web sites got more than 2,000 new members the day after the election, compared with 91 new members on Election Day, according to an AP count. The site, stormfront.org, was temporarily off-line Nov. 5 because of the overwhelming amount of activity it received after Election Day. On Saturday, one Stormfront poster, identified as Dalderian Germanicus, of North Las Vegas, said, “I want the SOB laid out in a box to see how ‘messiahs’ come to rest. God has abandoned us, this country is doomed.”

Sad, isn’t it?  But this should also serve as a reminder that many Americans haven’t come “as far” as we may have lulled ourselves into believing.  America still has a long way to go with race relations and the destruction of racist ideology and propoganda.  Hopefully those of us who ARE ready for POSITIVE CHANGE will work hard during this administration to help make a difference in our country, so that we may truly overcome such antiquated and dangerous ways of thinking by a sad few who choose to judge others by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character.

ForBarackObamaOnline.com!