There's been a ton of activity/interest, and rightly so, over the past 2 days over the Valley Swim Club outrage, but while this was a disgraceful act of blatant racism, it doesn't feel so much like a Bush-era leftover as a strange bit of '50's Civil Rights Movement-era stupidity that was teleported 50+ years into the future.
THIS story, however, is a direct result of the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rush/O'Reilly/Coulter fear & hatemongering over the past 8 years; if you're looking for an example of what we're gonna have to deal with until it flushes through the system, look no further than this asshole:
Man says threats against Muslims were to 'defend America'
SEATTLE -- Police here have arrested a man accused of threatening a local woman and her baby because of their race and religion.
The incident took place on July 1 when the 25-year-old woman and her 6-month-old baby visited the Seattle Indian Health Board at 611 12th Avenue South, according to the statement of probable cause.
Investigators said Eric Gardner reportedly made derogatory comments like
"You Muslim people scare people when you wear that clothing," and "When I see a black woman, it makes me want to throw up."
The alarmed mother said she asked him what was wrong, to which he responded, "I'm talking to you (expletive), Muslim people," the document said.
I'll leave it at that for fair-use reasons; the article isn't long, but you get the idea.
Just to clarify: No, of course the Bush years didn't invent crazy racist idiots, but they sure as hell fanned the flames and encouraged them. The McCain/Palin campaign, of course, took it to the next level, culminating in this sort of nonsense.
This schmuck is 24 years old, which means he was around 15-16 when Bush took office, around 17-18 on 9/11, and around 20 when we invaded Iraq.
His entire adult existence--along with several million other twentysomethings--has been inundated with wingnut propaganda.
Part of me feels sorry for him; his parents clearly did a shitty job of preparing him for adulthood, and he then spent another 8 years absorbing nothing but fear, hate and ignorance.
How many more lost souls are there like this dickhead? (I said I almost feel sorry for him...he's still a dickhead, though...)