I just read the diary on a woman's encounter with vicious right wing fanatics at a bar in Richmond, Virginia, which brings to mind a little social experiment I tried during the winter holidays.
I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, but now live and work in Chicago. I went back home during winter break and decided to try something. I wore a trucker hat with the Kerry-Edwards logo, and beneath it was inscribed, "We TRIED to tell you!" I went out into every public venue, wearing that hat, whether it was a movie theater, shopping mall, or a starbucks. The goal was to see how many Bush supporters would confront me verbally or even physically. One of my friends was actually worried and offered to protect me if something happened.
Much to my dismay, not a single Republican (this is Georgia, mind you) confronted me. I got a lot of cold angry stares but not a single comment. Now, I'm a 6'1'' Asian guy who is reasonably well-built, so I'm wondering if my size intimidated some people. Or is it because most Republicans are just too scared to confront unashamed liberals? I really couldn't figure out why because a part of me wanted the rush of a confrontation. After reading the woman's diary it makes me wonder what drives right wing extremists to openly confront strangers over politics while in my case, deep in the heart of Red America, not a single person challenged me.