2008 Woodie Awards
Smear tactics gone too far
Scott Harris, Collegian Columnist
Issue date: 10/14/08 Section: Editorial / Opinion
On a sunny day in Sept. 1963, the pews were packed with men, women and children ready to jump to their feet in prayer for a brighter future. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley gathered in the basement to prepare for Youth Sunday, an 11 a.m. sermon which the four girls led with inspiring vigor.
When the first hymn of the day, "God, Our Father, We Adore Thee," began, Charles Decker recalled he had heard the lyrics chanted from his general store nearly five blocks away.
The screams traveled further, he noted. The only thing that could match the congregation, it seemed, were the explosions that ripped through them.
Members of the Ku Klux Klan had planted pipe bombs in the basement of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church to send a message to the black community: know your place. All four girls were casualties of that message.
The foot soldiers of white supremacy that rigged the devices were to blame, of course, but the radicalization was derived from state and national figures who told them that the only reason for pain in their lives was the creeping progress of desegregation and civil rights.
In the United States and around the world, this kind of scapegoating has led to incalculable violence. It is obvious, then, that no one should ever seek to rip those wounds open again.
I fear that the conduct we have witnessed by John McCain, Sarah Palin and their supporters has moved us dangerously close to doing just that.
After the financial crisis unfolded and Barack Obama's message on the economy gained more traction, McCain's poll numbers tanked. From an essentially tied race immediately after the Republican convention, McCain now sits nine points behind the Democrat and looks to be headed to a wipe-out in November.
McCain's camp concluded sometime last week that the only way to turn the tide in their favor was to stoke anxiety over Barack Obama's alleged ties to William Ayers, Tony Rezko and Jeremiah Wright. They believed that a message of fear about Obama's "otherness" would tilt the race just enough for them to win in a squeaker.
When the first hymn of the day, "God, Our Father, We Adore Thee," began, Charles Decker recalled he had heard the lyrics chanted from his general store nearly five blocks away.
The screams traveled further, he noted. The only thing that could match the congregation, it seemed, were the explosions that ripped through them.
Members of the Ku Klux Klan had planted pipe bombs in the basement of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church to send a message to the black community: know your place. All four girls were casualties of that message.
The foot soldiers of white supremacy that rigged the devices were to blame, of course, but the radicalization was derived from state and national figures who told them that the only reason for pain in their lives was the creeping progress of desegregation and civil rights.
In the United States and around the world, this kind of scapegoating has led to incalculable violence. It is obvious, then, that no one should ever seek to rip those wounds open again.
I fear that the conduct we have witnessed by John McCain, Sarah Palin and their supporters has moved us dangerously close to doing just that.
After the financial crisis unfolded and Barack Obama's message on the economy gained more traction, McCain's poll numbers tanked. From an essentially tied race immediately after the Republican convention, McCain now sits nine points behind the Democrat and looks to be headed to a wipe-out in November.
McCain's camp concluded sometime last week that the only way to turn the tide in their favor was to stoke anxiety over Barack Obama's alleged ties to William Ayers, Tony Rezko and Jeremiah Wright. They believed that a message of fear about Obama's "otherness" would tilt the race just enough for them to win in a squeaker.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
Ed Cutting
posted 10/14/08 @ 9:05 AM EST
If anyone ever wanted to know why I have absolutely no respect for the radical left, this column is proof positive.
First, it is clear that the author has absolutely no knowledge of American history. (Continued…)
David Hunt '90
posted 10/14/08 @ 2:19 PM EST
And Obama rallies are purest sweetness and light:
http://www.patterico.com/2008/10/12/obama-rallies-turn-ugly/
Let's not forget the utmost respect shown to Sarah Palin:
http://gatewaypundit. (Continued…)
Andrew F
posted 10/15/08 @ 11:22 AM EST
Replying to Ed's post.
1) What period are you referring to? The Hard Cider elections? Lincoln-Douglas? Nixon's dirty tricks?
If we're looking at the 19th century, I will concede that elections were less civil and more explosive. (Continued…)
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