[collegechic20]

So, as you all know, the election of the year has caused a lot of tension between races in some states. My problem is that in the state that I live in, I feel like I could be a target for abuse or murder all because of the current election. It honestly has me afraid to leave my house or be home alone because of all the crime going on. Should I be afraid of going outside or what should I do to stop being so scared of people that I don't even know?

[tickle]

Collegechic, you have to be kidding, right ? Were do you live, in a third world country ?

[collegechic20]

See, things like that just make me feel even worse because I get called crazy or something for being worried

[KBC]

What makes you think your going to be targeted?

Why are you the one to be targeted,instead of your neighbors?

If I were you, I would look into getting some counseling to get you past this phobia.

Your fear is real to you,might be justified,I don't know,I don't live where you are and don't have a lot of information beyond your original post(a little vague)If you continue to write in maybe myself and others can help you further.

KBC

[collegechic20]

What makes me think that? I'm a black female that worries about being targeted by others that are angry with the current politicial situation

[Fr_Chuck]

What trouble between races on the election. There are black people voting for Rep, and white people voting for Obama.

You need to get mental health counseling, first the entire idea of this election causing trouble, and second that you are a target.

[KBC]

I agree with Fr_Chuck in this.

Think about it,do any of your rational friends think like this?

Neighbors?

It sounds like your making a dramatic cry for help,seeking outside counseling for this is warranted.

KBC

[Choux]

There have been hundreds of attacks on black people by the usual morons since the election of Obama.

I think you would be correct to watch yourself if you live in a backward state, near backward neighborhoods.

Take care, :)

[Fr_Chuck]

100's of attacks, seem to have missed making any news ?

To believe that there has been an increase because of the election, please get serious.

[Choux]

It's true, Chuck. It is a news story on the Internet, not on mainstream media. Mainstream media is entertainment.

**HUNDREDS**

[Choux]

"Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting "Assassinate Obama." Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars.

Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are dampening the postelection glow of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America.

From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical attack. Insults and taunts have been delivered by adults, college students and second-graders.

There have been "hundreds" of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes.

One was in Snellville, Ga., where Denene Millner said a boy on the school bus told her 9-year-old daughter the day after the election: "I hope Obama gets assassinated." That night, someone trashed her sister-in-law's front lawn, mangled the Obama lawn signs, and left two pizza boxes filled with human feces outside the front door, Millner said.

She described her emotions as a combination of anger and fear.

"I can't say that every white person in Snellville is evil and anti-Obama and willing to desecrate my property because one or two idiots did it," said Millner, who is black. "But it definitely makes you look a little different at the people who you live with, and makes you wonder what they're capable of and what they're really thinking."

Potok, who is white, said he believes there is "a large subset of white people in this country who feel that they are losing everything they know, that the country their forefathers built has somehow been stolen from them."
Story continues below

Grant Griffin, a 46-year-old white Georgia native, expressed similar sentiments: "I believe our nation is ruined and has been for several decades and the election of Obama is merely the culmination of the change.

"If you had real change it would involve all the members of (Obama's) church being deported," he said.

Change in whatever form does not come easy, and a black president is "the most profound change in the field of race this country has experienced since the Civil War," said William Ferris, senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina. "It's shaking the foundations on which the country has existed for centuries."

"Someone once said racism is like cancer," Ferris said. "It's never totally wiped out, it's in remission."

If so, America's remission lasted until the morning of Nov. 5.

The day after the vote hailed as a sign of a nation changed, black high school student Barbara Tyler of Marietta, Ga. said she heard hateful Obama comments from white students, and that teachers cut off discussion about Obama's victory.

Tyler spoke at a press conference by the Georgia chapter of the NAACP calling for a town hall meeting to address complaints from across the state about hostility and resentment. Another student, from a Covington middle school, said he was suspended for wearing an Obama shirt to school Nov. 5 after the principal told students not to wear political paraphernalia.

The student's mother, Eshe Riviears, said the principal told her: "Whether you like it or not, we're in the South, and there are a lot of people who are not happy with this decision."

Other incidents include:

_Four North Carolina State University students admitted writing anti-Obama comments in a tunnel designated for free speech expression, including one that said: "Let's shoot that (N-word) in the head." Obama has received more threats than any other president-elect, authorities say.

_At Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read: "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." Customers could sign up to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be killed. "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count," the sign said. At the bottom of the marker board was written "Let's hope someone wins."

_Racist graffiti was found in places including New York's Long Island, where two dozen cars were spray-painted; Kilgore, Texas, where the local high school and skate park were defaced; and the Los Angeles area, where swastikas, racial slurs and "Go Back To Africa" were spray painted on sidewalks, houses and cars.

_Second- and third-grade students on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho, chanted "assassinate Obama," a district official said.

_University of Alabama professor Marsha L. Houston said a poster of the Obama family was ripped off her office door. A replacement poster was defaced with a death threat and a racial slur. "It seems the election brought the racist rats out of the woodwork," Houston said.

_Black figures were hanged by nooses from trees on Mount Desert Island, Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported. The president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas said a rope found hanging from a campus tree was apparently an abandoned swing and not a noose.

_Crosses were burned in yards of Obama supporters in Hardwick, N.J. and Apolacan Township, Pa.

_A black teenager in New York City said he was attacked with a bat on election night by four white men who shouted 'Obama.'

_In the Pittsburgh suburb of Forest Hills, a black man said he found a note with a racial slur on his car windshield, saying "now that you voted for Obama, just watch out for your house."

Emotions are often raw after a hard-fought political campaign, but now those on the losing side have an easy target for their anger.

"The principle is very simple," said BJ Gallagher, a sociologist and co-author of the diversity book "A Peacock in the Land of Penguins." "If I can't hurt the person I'm angry at, then I'll vent my anger on a substitute, i.e., someone of the same race."

"We saw the same thing happen after the 9-11 attacks, as a wave of anti-Muslim violence swept the country. We saw it happen after the Rodney King verdict, when Los Angeles blacks erupted in rage at the injustice perpetrated by 'the white man.'"

"It's as stupid and ineffectual as kicking your dog when you've had a bad day at the office," Gallagher said. "But it happens a lot."

___

Associated Press writers Errin Haines, Jerry Harkavy, Jay Reeves, Johnny Clark and researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.

[KBC]

Well I can't see this having any profound effect nationwide,it's a few making many fearful.

I live in the sticks,too far from the 'Mainstream Media' I guess.

This 'report' is the first I have heard about this uprising,not even my normal watching of FOX news has even mentioned anything about any of these episodes,seems to me someone is blowing the situation out of proportion somewhere.

To encourage this line of reasoning,not nationally reported about,only 'Internet scribblings' is irresponsible and downright fatalistic,why endorse violence,especially when someone is attempting to get help,not fuel for the fire.

If this person feels threatened,don't show them how to be more afraid, show them how to get the help they think they need.

I believe in looking for the solution, not concentrating on the problem,this OP has enough on their mind, no need to beat the dead horse.

I hope this isn't repeated when someone else writes in for help.

KBC

[letmetellu]

so, as you all know, the election of the year has caused a lot of tension between races in some states. my problem is that in the state that i live in, i feel like i could be a target for abuse or murder all because of the current election. it honestly has me afraid to leave my house or be home alone because of all the crime going on. should i be afraid of going outside or what should i do to stop being so scared of people that i don't even know?

I don't think you have any more worries now than you did before the election. But I do think that if there are big problems about race in the next four years it will erase any progress that has been made in the desegration efforts.

Collegechic20, If I were you I would go to a Dr and talk to him about depression and anxiety, you could be suffering from one or both. Either one can ruin your life if you do not get help but with help they can make your life happier than it has ever been.

[Fr_Chuck]

And as in all the white people who always claim that the black person robbed them, I doubt if a lot of the reports are factual, and in many cases, at least personaly believe they are staged for the benefit of ohers.

The position of blacks being victims is a major need of having a victim that needs to be saved, and of course by government.

[collegechic20]

Thanks for the answers, but I think my paranoia is here for a while until someone proves me wrong. I think I may be suffering from anxiety big time and I'm going to talk to someone. Thank you for your help. Consider this topic closed

[Ferghus]

so, as you all know, the election of the year has caused a lot of tension between races in some states. my problem is that in the state that i live in, i feel like i could be a target for abuse or murder all because of the current election. it honestly has me afraid to leave my house or be home alone because of all the crime going on. should i be afraid of going outside or what should i do to stop being so scared of people that i don't even know?

Well... it should be obvious that MILLIONS of white people voted for Obama... as did I. But his election has brought the friggin rednecks out of the woodwork. It'll take some time for them to settle down... but settle down they will.

[collegechic20]

It's that article mentioned above that has me feeling this way. I can't sleep, every time I walk outside, I feel like I may not come back, I feel dizzy sometimes, I can't think of anything else. People tell me not to be afraid because of the town I live in and the state I live in, but there's racism in IL too, just not around me, but I think I have a anxiety disorder and I just want to be happy again.

[KBC]

it's that article mentioned above that has me feeling this way. i can't sleep, everytime i walk outside, i feel like i may not come back, i feel dizzy sometimes, i can't think of anything else. people tell me not to be afraid because of the town i live in and the state i live in, but there's racism in IL too, just not around me, but i think i have a anxiety disorder and i just want to be happy again.

Hi,

I,so far, have seen NO evidence showing this to be an epidemic.(No reliable sources of information/valid reports)

Instead of the outside situations,which you have no control of,lets look at the way you can deal with this phobia.

As I said before,If you believe this to be real,then it is real.Now lets see what can be done about it.

Who is closest to you,someone you trust to talk,in person,about this feeling?
Do you think they would understand?

I would ask also,how far is the local health care facility?Free counseling is always available to those in need.I think you should call and get an appointment with them,every day you delay,the more difficult this is going to address.

Treatments for anxiety can include medications,counseling,psychiatric therapy,group counseling,and so on.

Keep an open mind and try to believe you can overcome this fear.

I hope this isn't the last we hear from you,

KBC

[Ferghus]

Well... it should be obvious that MILLIONS of white people voted for Obama... as did I. But his election has brought the friggin rednecks outta the woodwork. It'll take some time for them to settle down... but settle down they will.

Letmetellu asks me what my definition of REDNECK is.

I lump the hard core racists and the people with lingering doubts about blacks together and call them Rednecks.

The hard core racists will remain so till their dying day... but the majority, I think are those whites who have their lingering doubts.

I believe once the hard core minority is proved wrong... and they ARE proved wrong a little each day, over the years... Once all their BS is proved false, the majority doubters will realize those fears were unfounded and become more tolerant.

[chrystal_clean]

How do you buy an abandoned home in California?:o