Passing Comment?

I commented today on a remark made by a friend of mine on her facebook page. Her name is Deana and she lives in Arkansas, but don't hold that against her. She's a transplant, a native Texan in fact.

Deana stated she had the safety of the Obama family in her prayers. I so got that but others didn't. I can't help but wonder why.

My comment was as follows: "There's a special kind of crazy that racists and white supremacists possess. A scary kind of crazy, to me anyway. Any kind of hate that motivates grown men to wear hoods and dance around a fire together while burning the symbol of our Lord's most precious sacrifice is indicative of a scary, special kind of crazy. And even if they don't do that, their are many levels of nutjobs out there. But Deana may be thinking something else ..."

I mean, I'm in no way the most educated of persons. I do read though and I own a television and I am aware that these people exist. They are organized and their hate is spread through generations and they are capable of great evil. I think it is very reasonable to worry about the safety of our President elect.

I think Barack Obama has the challenge of uniting our country, restoring our reputation and replenishing our hope. I happen to believe he has the wisdom and ability to do just that. He can "use his words" as most of us were taught in Kindergarten to solve problems. Oh, I am so excited of what the future holds!

I know that older generations will have a hard time with this. They were taught differently. I don't blame them and I don't exactly blame the generation before them. But as Maya Angelou said, "When you know better, you do better." I know better. Hopefully my kids will know even better than I do. My generation is breaking the mold on hatred, be it based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or skin color. Break, break, break.

I am also well aware that there are plenty of people my age and younger who still perpetuate the hate. They writhed in their seats at the thought of a black President. They were thrilled to see the slander pour into their inboxes (and more than happy to pass it on) that gave them so called justification for their choice at the polls. And let's be clear here ... they weren't so much choosing John McCain as they were allowing themselves to hate Barack Obama.

Bill Maher said, "23% of Texans still think Barack Obama is a Muslim," just a few days before the election. Two things are sad about that. One, that they thought it was true and that fact allowed them to hate him and not vote for him. And two, they allowed that to be a reason to hate him. How embarrassing on both counts ... and on soooo many levels.

(My favorite haters are the ones who had double hate. They hated him because they thought he was a Muslim and then they hated him because of Reverend Wright. So a Muslim sat in a Christian church and listened to Rev. Wright week after week. Sure. WhatNever. Perhaps you should have to pass a minimal IQ test to be allowed to register to vote.)

I realize that many Republicans suffered a disappointing blow with the direction this campaign went. However, I appreciate so much the ones who have since adjusted their mind set enough to offer support to our new Commander in Chief; who have realized what an amazing accomplishment Barack Obama's election is for our country; and those who have not started down a hateful, bitter, racist path to hope for nothing but the demise of our new leader.

To those wallowing in their own hate and bitterness, step up.