A few sporadic thoughts on the increasingly racialized tone of the race …

The closer we get to Nov. 4th, the more tense it gets, of course. But, watching the tone of the race take on an increasingly racialized tone – either subtle or not-so-subtle references.  What do you think about this?  We never really talked about it, but now there was a flood of news on a recent AP/Yahoo poll showing quite a few White voters who won’t vote for Obama because he’s Black.

Some concern over what happens the day after – if Obama loses.  Say he loses and the exit polls find that one of the main reasons (if not the main reason) he lost is because a huge chunk of White voters couldn’t bring themselves to vote for this cat.  So, the question is:
 
1) How will Black folks respond?  Perhaps middle class/working middle class Black folks will be upset/angry/depressed, going about daily business with a heightened sense of awareness that racial tensions are going to be inflamed over the loss and that many White folks will now feel even more empowered to further impose their power.  But, at the end of the day, nothing different about that, right?  
 
Since Obama appears each day as more than just a Presidential candidate to certain demographics, being treated like the second coming of King, what does that mean.  If he loses, could we have a “flashpoint” of tension occur?  There are a few who worry on this; then others who say that the reasoning behind a loss would be so nuanced that speculation of a completely racial vote would be just that: speculation.  Plus, as the economy tanks: who would really care?

But, as history shows, when the economy tanks, societies act out and use race/religion as a scapegoat.

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