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Add Bigotry To Threats

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 30, 2008

Every American president is at risk of an assassination attempt. But because of the historic nature of President-elect Barack Obama's victory as the first black in that office, the risk of assassination is greater.

Obama is a target for the deranged, the politically extreme and other would-be assassins. He also arouses the hatred of bigotry, as evidenced by the ugly underside of the election. He has received more death threats than any other president-elect, authorities say.

So it is not surprising that people reacted with outrage about a sign in a Standish, Maine, store that invited customers to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be assassinated. The sign, written on an eraser board, said "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool. Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count. Let's hope someone wins."

The sign was reported to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. When a deputy went to the Oak Hill General Store on Nov. 7, the sign was gone. Store owner Steve Collins implausibly denied any knowledge of the message that had been written on his board.

Because the sign disappeared before the deputy showed up, Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion said no charges will be filed. The sheriff added that posting that particular sign would not necessarily constitute a threat or a terrorization incident.

What exactly was it if not an invitation to kill or harm the president-elect? A cynical attempt at a joke? The Cumberland County sheriff should keep an eye on Oak Hill General Store and its proprietor.

There is in this a lesson for all law-enforcement agencies, large and small. This incoming president inspires high hope in Americans, but also hatred and vilification. On election night, race crimes were reported in the South and the Northeast. On Mount Desert Island in Maine, The Bangor Daily News reported, black figures were hanged from nooses. Crosses were burned in the yards of Obama supporters in Hardwick, N.J., and Apolacan Township in Pennsylvania.

The threats are real, and they're not going to go away. Bigotry has a long shelf life. While sheriffs and police chiefs shouldn't overreact to race crimes and malevolent acts like the sign in the Maine store, they can't afford to take them lightly, either.

Police nationwide must be extra vigilant.

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