Sunday, November 27, 2016

Defining the Darkness.4

"A civil rights group is calling for more police protection of mosques after several in California received letters that praised President-elect Donald Trump and threatened Muslim genocide.

The Los Angeles Times reports Saturday  the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the same handwritten, photocopied letter was sent last week to the Islamic Center of Long Beach, the Islamic Center of Claremont and the Evergreen Islamic Center in San Jose.

The letter was addressed to “the children of Satan” and said Trump will “cleanse America and make it shine again. And, he’s going to start with you Muslims.” It is signed by “American for A Better Way.”

Salon
11/26/2016

This is only the most recent reported incident of racial intimidation.  Anecdotally,  Humboldt State minority students report a number of racial incidents both in town and on campus, including one report of a black student surrounded by whites making racial slurs.

These are just one expression of the racism and xenophobia that is coming out of the shadows. In fact, in psychological terms, this can be seen as classic cases of shadow eruptions--racism repressed because of societal disapproval, now unleashed due to perceived permission by a power shift in that society.

The image of a post-racial society was shattered during the Obama presidency, and now it seems that the image of millennials and younger Americans as especially "post-racial" was oversold.  Darkness spreads, and this may be just the beginning.

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