according to a white, overweight, 40-something guy driving a gas-guzzling Chevy Surburban in the bank drive-through line in Huntsville, Alabama.
My mom is a white-haired grandmother who drives a 1989 Camry, wears LLBean cardigans, listens to NPR and belongs to AARP. What could a mild-mannered, peaceful woman like this possibly do to earn such a vile comment?
Wait for it ...
She had a John Kerry sticker on her bumper.
This actually happened to my mother a few years ago. I was dumbstruck when she told me about it, and since then I have been extremely wary of voicing my opinion in this state.
Alabama may be the reddest of the red states, with only 10% of white Alabamians voting for Obama last year. The front page newspaper photo of Obama after winning the election was posted on our office refrigerator. A co-worker drew a Hitler mustache and swastikas on the photo. Obama = Hitler has been around a long time here in the Bible Belt.
In Alabama, you cannot claim to be a Christian and a Democrat. They are considered mutually exclusive. Democrats are demonized as pro-abortion baby-killers, welfare slobs (read unwed, black with multiple kids), and granola-eating tree-huggers.
I've watched the level of hatred in Alabama ratchet up dramatically since Obama was elected. Honestly, it scares me. I pray that the hatred does not escalate to more violence than it already has.
Since I'm a Democrat, though, I guess my prayers won't do any good.