Could the assasination of a black president plunge the country into a civil war?

A civil war? This assumes that a significant portion of the country would support the side of the militant extremists, no? It seems like it could create a huge backlash against the KKK and other such groups, but I don't see how it would lead to civil war.

On another note, Alan Keyes for President? Huh?

 

lol

 

Was the inclusion of Alan Keyes meant as comic relief?

 

Civil War?? no, because not that many people have gunz and RPGz. The military will crush any kind of military action easily (unless the military seperate themselves into different racial groups and start fighting each other)

Endless urban riots??? highly possible

in the end, people will think of the assassination this way: One racist white jerk does not represent the viewpoint of the entire white population

 

I think it would depend on the reaction. It isn't like all the white people would stand behind the assassin and all the black people would blame whitey and attack every white person. That said, many people will fight back if attacked, and once racial violence began, the cycle of violence could draw more and more people in. So, if there was enough of a violent outburst following such an assassination it could lead to a long period of racial violence in the country. If such a thing happened, people would probably be grateful for the large amount of self-segregation that exists in this country.

 

No. While there are underlying racial tensions in America that most people would rather not talk about -- or just pretend are not there -- we're not nearly at the point where one incident would lead to an all-out civil war.

Moreover, minorities in America are more 'integrated' than -- say -- their counterparts in Europe, not to mention that there is a sizable 'interracial' population in America. Furthermore, we're less of a 'tribalist' and more so a 'classist' society; so-called 'class warfare' is more likely, IMO.

Another thing is that you're presuming that all Black people 'think alike' or in unison, which is clearly not the case. Blacks aren't simple minded to the point where they see anyone with similar skin color/complexions as 'one of us'; this clearly wasn't the case with individuals like Condeleeza Rice or even Colin Powell. Rocker River touched on this with Obama, whom he noted doesn't necessarily know how to relate to the average Black American, largely due to his unique, more 'privileged' background. In some cases, Blacks view certain individuals as 'Uncle Toms' or 'sellouts' and hold them with certain disdain, not high regard.

All those are factors to consider...

IMO, the Katrina debacle was more 'depressing' to the Black community than anything we've witnessed in recent times, probably more so than this particular hypothetical situation would be.

I think in America, it's "class, stupid" more so than anything else...

 

If Obama ran for president and got the Democractic nomination, he would instantly become a major figure in black history in this country. IMO, blacks would rally around him as one of their own despite his very unique background. If he was elected president and later assasinated, there would not be a civil war. Certainly violence would break out; how much and for how long is anyone's guess. But large numbers of people would become angry & bitter and there would be a LOT of long lasting tension. It's a lot more about class than race than it used to be, but race is still a major issue in the good ole USA.

 

I am going to say no. Why would it?

 

obama is half-white, raised by his (white) mom, so maybe only half a civil war, cause, black people just don't know any other way of expressing themselves.

Spoiler

 

I'm black, and I was a senior in high school in a small-ish southern town when O.J. was acquitted. They announced the verdict right around lunch, and I saw a pretty diverse group of whites, blacks and hispanics "celebrating." Four years earlier, when the Rodney King verdict was announced, I can recall two or three separate times when whites around me made a point of expressing their disgust at the verdict. And a few years back, my father told me when they caught James Earl Ray, an old white woman walked up to him grinning, and said "we got him."

My point is that, on a large scale, over the long term, whites and blacks actually agree and get along more often than your scenario would suggest. Where do you think all the light-skinned black people come from?

Besides, you've got nothing to worry about: unless "race war" is a code-phrase for "streetball tourney" or "free-style rap contest," the smart money's on the pasty straight-hairs.

I bet Bill Clinton got more Republican primary votes in '96 than Alan Keyes did. Keep an eye out for Mike Steele, though. I'm a pretty staunch liberal Democrat, but some of the racial attacks on this guy in his Senate run have really made my stomach turn, lots of the same "OREO" type stuff I had to deal with right around junior high-age (only from whites, though).

 

But in that situation, you had the black community blaming the white community for the verdict. In an assassination, I don't think you'd have the black community saying the white community wanted that. For one, you'd have a lot of national unity as always happens in national crises. Second, in order for the black president to get elected in the first place, it would be quite clear that a whole lot of white people wanted him there. I don't think the scenarios are similar at all.

 

The scenarios are very different but criminals and hoodlums would use either scenario to justify their actions. The white "community" wasn't on the jury; the white "community" wouldn't assasinate a black president. If "race war" is defined as riots, there would definitely be riots IMO. How many, how large, how long they last is anyone's guess.

 

Hard to predict. A lot can happen in 14 years.

Spoiler

The minimum age to be President is 40. Shane Battier just turned 28 a month ago. He'll be eligible for the 2020 election.

 

Minimum age is 35.

 

Even if every single black American in the country came out to vote for Obama/Rice, you would still need more than that many white Americans to even have a chance to get voted in. Black America is less than 13% of our total population.

 

True, but with either one of them as a major party candidate, 5-10-15% of the vote becomes a difference maker, especially given the assumption, by me, that black population is distributed more heavily in larger states.

 

Oh I totally agree that the black population would influence the election. My only point is that to be elected, 40 million white Americans still have to vote for the guy - so I wouldn't think it turn into Black America against White America.