"FROM BRIEFS TO BOXERS" - AN EXCELLENT COMMENT BY LOFF56 ON PL'S POST: "BARACK OBAMA IS NOT WHITE!!"

Here's LOFF56:

Well, I don't disagree completely that there are some scared racists out there who simply want Obama to fail because he's black. But I don't necessarily think that they're the core of what you're coining the "Lord of the Flies re-enacters" at these town meetings. I think it was Jon Stewart who recently blew the cover off these "astro-turf roots" movements that have been disrupting these meetings recently. Apparently memos released from many an organization affiliated with the health care industry have been advocating the organization of groups of people who are told to go to these meetings, fill up as much of the front rows as possible to make it appear as though they're in the majority and literately shout out certain talking points in those memos without allowing any response. The effect being that it appears that everyone in these meetings, and thus the population as a whole, is vehemently against this health care reform.
It's a pretty insidious tactic that unfortunately is gaining traction. However I'm just not sure that race in this particular case is the overriding "frightening factor" if you will. The Health Insurance industry's insistence that somehow we're all gonna' die if this plan goes through on the other hand is a much larger factor.
It is playing on the "fear of change" tactic, and granted Obama being a black man is one kind of change, so that certainly doesn't help. But I think if Hillary were in Obama's position the same exact thing would happen. Would that then be sexist? But if it were Joe Biden in Obama's position, again, the same thing would happen.
Then there's this; these same people that are disrupting these meetings, I could almost say for certain would have nothing but good things to say about Condoleeza Rice.
Ultimately I don't think this fear of Health Care Reform specifically is about racism, but about a serious fear of change. Which arguably is a lot worse.
The article in the Washington Post that you cite presents an interesting argument that one major aspect of this fear of change is a further equilibrium between the races in this country. Granted, but as you point out these people are such infant souls as you say, that I wouldn't doubt if these people would have just as much anxiety if they were forced to change from briefs to boxers. Ultimately change is change, you either embrace it or fear it. THANKS, L56! GREAT ONE!!