Hidden Racism +Clemson Addendum

I think the race for president is going to be closer than even the extremely close polls indicate.

There’s a phenomena known as hidden racism that will come into play. There are a percentage of white people who simply will not vote for someone who is black, such as Obama. They may not be overtly racists, but they have a lingering distrust of black people in general.

Back in the 30s and 40s and 50s – these weren’t the people who were active in or marched with the KKK. Instead, they were the ones who stood idly by in tacit approval.

And I think there’s a lot more of them out there than we care to believe.

In my neighborhood, just 4 short years ago, the developer / builder Lloyd came by one day and talked to me about a couple that wanted him to build a house for them – almost directly across the street from my house as a matter of fact. Who they were, where they were from, what they did for a living, etc. He gradually worked into the conversation that it was a mixed race couple.

Which went right over my head until Lloyd started laughing and said something to the effect of “Bill, you not only don’t care what color somebody is, you don’t even notice”. Which, I hope, is generally true.

Turns out that Lloyd was casually gauging the neighborhood to see if anyone would have any strenuous objections to a mixed couple moving in.

I was rather taken aback and told Lloyd that I couldn’t believe that people still thought or cared about such things. He told me I’d be really surprised at some of my neighbors.

Lloyd, who’s pretty religious, also said something that stuck with me – He said there’s a lot of church going people who aren’t Christians like they think they are.

I think we’re beginning to see that in some of the rallies – especially the Palin ones.

I’ve since come to think that some of my, solidly upper middle class (especially for Lee County), neighbors are closet racists. I’ve heard some amazingly intolerant and bigoted comments.

These people don’t come out and state they are bigots or wouldn’t vote for someone just because the color of their skin is different. I don’t think the polls pick up on that.

My guess, and it’s a totally unscientific guess, is that hidden racists will make up about 3 or 4 percent of the vote. Thus, I think that in the close states, unless Obama is up by 4 percent or more – I think those states will actually go for McCain / Palin.

Looking at the electoral / poll map (link in the right hand column) – I think the slightly blue states such as Florida, Ohio, Nevada and Colorado may actually go for McCain. Possibly by only a percent or so, or even less. They may be too close to overcome hidden racism.

States like Virginia which show Obama 51% to McCain 45% will go Blue but will be much closer – say 50% – 49%.

States like North Carolina and Missouri which have been drifting between Red, Tied and Blue will go McCain – say by 52% - 48%.

On the drive into work this morning I heard an interview with a ‘guy on the street’ in Ohio who said something that I’ve been saying all along – and the quote was something like this: “If Obama were white, it wouldn’t even be close. He’d be winning by a landslide”.

There’s still a lot of bigotry and racism in the USA. And tons more of it in the rest of the world. We’re not as civilized as we might think. Civilized behavior is a thin veneer on some pretty base emotions out there.

I think I’ve got 1 or 2 in my immediate family.

I think we're starting to see more and more of it surface as the election draws near.

Basically good people – but hidden racists who have ‘reasons’ for their views such as a President Obama would be looking out for ‘his’ people and not the rest of ‘us’. Or; Obama is a 'secret Muslim' who supports 'terrorists'.

Ignorance and stupidity are sadly still with us.

Make no mistake - this journal entry is not about the vast majority of folks who support McCain for legitimate reasons. People who may prefer a more conservative government or who may feel that Obama doesn't have enough experience, etc.

I'm talking about the fringe right wing nut racists - the so called 'Christians' who wouldn't recognize Jesus if they bumped into him on the sidewalk.

The bottom line is - Vote for who you want, but don’t make up crazy lies and stuff.

Movie

Watched Ironman Sunday. What a hoot.

Actually, not that great of a movie per se, but the acting by Robert Downey Jr. was over the top.

I think acting is overrated. They get too much credit. But then, they get too much blame when a movie flops. They can only work with the script that's handed to them.

But in Ironman, Downey was amazing. The scriptwriters wrote the script for everyone. Downey took his role and just ran away with it. He obviously ad libbed and it was perfect.

His robot, the one with the fire extinguisher, got some great droll laughs too.

Worth a rental.

Don't expect too much in the way of plot, continuity and such.

Just sit back, have a beer, and enjoy the ride.

Tires

Stopped at CrossRoads Ford on the way home to get an alignment and the tires rotated and balanced.

Even though it's an econo box, my car has a sports suspension, over sized wheels (for a little car) and Pirelli sports tires.

Story short - I needed new tires. The car has 50,000 miles and change. Goodyears and Michelins would have lasted about 60 or 70 thousand miles. But these Pirelli tires are 'soft' for handling more so than long wearing. In fact, the guys said they usually wear out at around 40,000 miles but mine lasted longer probably since most of my mileage is 'highway' due to my commute.

So, what should have been a $90 maintenance stop ended up being a $600 stop. Those tires are expensive.

Plus, I need to make an appointment for the car's 50,000 mile service - transmission fluid change, differential fluid change, fuel filter, injection cleaning, etc.

It adds up.

But boy, that car is still a blast to drive.

Clemson

Today, Tommy Bowden resigned as Clemson's football coach. Within the hour, acting head coach Dabo Swinney fired offensive coordinator Rob Spence.

Tommy Bowden is the Herb Sendeck of football coaches. A good man; a good coach - but not a great head football coach.

Rob Spence was a disaster and should have been fired a long time ago.

Good luck to Clemson.

It's tough to have your school's athletic program in turmoil. We went though the same thing 2 years ago in both football and basketball. We're still going through the pain of adjustment, rebuilding and transition.