Halloween Special: The Others

If there's one thing I learned from the 2000 and 2004 elections, it's that there are a s***load of people I don't know who are willing to vote for George W. Bush. But this post is not a criticism of Republicans. If you support those ideals, then that's your right.

This post is a reality check for you. If you belong to a group of people, you must realize there is an opposite group of people. These people are real. They're current. They vote. And sometimes, some of them can be quite unreasonable. Here are some of those other people who have been making the headlines.

Racists
Earlier today, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) thwarted an assassination plot on Barack Obama, which also included killing over a hundred black high school students. The plan was made by neo-Nazi skinheads.

Expect more of this. Studies show white supremacist groups are on the rise. Their recruiting methods are more sophisticated and they're targeting the growing number of jobless, white, middle class Americans. When you're struggling to put food on the table at no fault of your own, you want someone to blame.

Immigration has been a hot topic for years. According to Don Black, founder of Stormfront (the country's larget white-supremacist website), the new hot topic is whether an Obama victory will start a white supremacists' revolution. Stormfront has 144,000 registered members and 42,000 unique visitors each month.

Gun-Toters
According to government data, sales of firearms and ammunition are up 8% to 10% this year. There are three theories to explain this.

1) A President Obama and a Democratic Congress would enact new gun controls. As a result, people are stocking up on guns while they can. Similar pre-emptive purchases occured as Clinton pushed for a ban on assault rifles and right after the Virginia Tech massacre. McCain is also about gun reform, but at least Sarah Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA.

2) With a deteriorating economy comes fear of crime. When people are out of work, they get desperate and they have nothing to lose. They are more likely to rob you. Crime will rise. People are buying guns for protection.

3) With a deteriorating economy comes civil disorder. Again, people are out of work, they have nothing to do, they feel like there's nothing they can do, and they're mad. Civil disorder can get scary. Remember the 1992 L.A. riots and the chaos that ensued in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina? Gun sales spiked during these events. Again, people bought guns for protection.

Christian Fundamentalists
Remember televangelist Pat Robertson? He supported Jerry Falwell when he blamed 9/11 on "abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, and the ACLU." On the January 2 episode of "700 Club," Robertson predicted a recession and a major stock-market crash. When he's right, his followers rise up. Robertson is a Southern Baptist, which is the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. with 16 million members. (In the interest of full disclosure, I became a card carrying member in the 4th grade.)

We've recently seen the stock market fall 20% in a week. That's a crash. We all know we're about to find out we're in recession.

Worst-case Scenarios
If McCain wins, that would suck for democrats. But democrats have a long history of not doing much. We had eight years of great Bush jokes, Fahrenheit 9/11, and a guy who threw a trash can through a Starbucks window in Seattle. When democrats are asked what they'd do if McCain were to win, the common response is "I'd move."

If Obama wins, that would piss off more than just republicans. You anger the racists, the gun owners, the Christian fundamentalists, the pro lifers, the homophobes...

We've had democratic presidents in the past. But they've always been white men. We're about to elect a black democratic president as we enter a severe recession. You and I might be fine with this. You and I might want this. But remember, there are others.

Happy Halloween.